





























THE NEW 

>\ 

Imperial Encyclopedia 

and 

Dictionary 


A LIBRARY OF UNIVERSAL 
KNOWLEDGE AND AN UN¬ 
ABRIDGED DICTIONARY OF 
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 
UNDER ONE ALPHABET 


RICHARD GLEASON GREENE, A.M., Editor-in-Chief 

\ 

(Formerly Editor-in-Chief of the International Cyclopedia) 

Assisted by a large corps of trained 
cyclopedists 


IN FORTY VOLUMES 


• » 


”) 


SAN FRANCISCO 

PACIFIC NEWSPAPER UNION 


LIBRARY of CONGRESS 


Two CoDies Received 

MAY 15 1906 


Copyright Entry 

rrU^/Lj-.iQo (o 

CLASS/ CL XXc. No. 

)L±S 


% 


COPY 


^6 

B. 


Copyright, 1908, 


BY 

WILLIAM S. BRYAN. 



IMPERIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA 


AND DICTIONARY. 

1904-05. 

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE. 

The perfect Cyclopedia must, as its name implies, 
cover the entire circle of human knowledge, and must 
answer every question which is put to it; to do this in 
the elaborate detail which would meet all the needs of 
the thorough scholar, would expand a Cyclopedia into 
a very large library; therefore, to keep within prac¬ 
ticable compass, its elaboration, not its scope, must be 
limited; to the unlearned it may thus tell, perhaps, all 
that he needs to know, but to the scholar it will fur¬ 
nish, often, only the clue, the key, the suggestion, which 
he will know how to follow—or it may serve merely to 
refresh his memory—all he may need at the time. 

In actual experience it is found that Cyclopedias go 
into the homes of the masses, more largely than into 
the libraries of students—not to say of “scholars.” 
Even of the Britannica, probably five times as many 
copies have been sold to mechanics as to college 
graduates, though it was made especially for profound 
students, and not for the unlearned. 

School children, and their teachers; mothers at home, 
with the expanding, inquiring minds of children ap¬ 
pealing to them; ambitious clerks and mechanics; the 
boy on the farm who “wants to know”; the general 
reader of newspapers and magazines, who meets a 
word, or thought, or fact, which he wants to “hunt 
down,” and find where it leads; the country clergyman, 
or lawyer, or doctor, who wants to know more, not about 
theology, or law, or medicine, but about the things which 
touch other people’s lives, possibly, even more than his 
own—these are the ones who most use Cyclopedias. 

The ideal Cyclopedia will have its place in the most- 
used room of home, or in the most convenient corner in 
school, in the best light, where one may turn to it for 
answer to a question, while the question is in mind, as 
one would ask it of an intelligent friend who stands by. 
It must be in small, handy volumes, because weak hands 
of children and of women most often handle it—because, 
if “utility” be the object, it is simple common-sense, for 
any one, that it shall be “handy”; you may then bring 
the page most readily to the best light and to the proper 
focus tor the eye, and find knowledge-seeking to be pleas¬ 
ure instead of labor. 


PUBLISHER’S NOTICE. 


It should be, also, in a handy Revolving Book Case, 
so that you may, by a touch, bring to your eye and hand 
the volume you seek. 

The combination of Cyclopedia and Dictionary, made 
first in this work, is found, for popular use, infinitely 
convenient. Each helps the other; a word leads to a 
fact, and facts to words which open new paths for fol¬ 
lowing. Magnitude, and multiplicity of volumes, are 
no obstacles, because alphabetical order, instantly, in 
the handy form and with Revolving Case, leads to the 
thing you seek. 

The thought of convenience—utility—which caused 
this first combination of Cyclopedia and Dictionary in 
one work, has led, in the present edition, to further ex¬ 
pansion, and to the inclusion of a variety of things 
usually relegated to the “supplements” of dictionaries, 
where they are so inconvenient to find. 

With the Dictionary Cyclopedia at your elbow, when 
you are reading a paper, magazine or book, and you find 
a place, or man, or thing mentioned about which you 
want to know more, you turn to the Cyclopedia; you 
find a word or quotation, you consult the same. You 
do not have to go to a big dictionary, which needs, 
almost, a “derrick” to handle it; nor to the dark 
shelves of a remote corner, for a clumsy Cyclopedia 
volume—and find it, possibly, the wrong one; nor do 
you “dig” in a series of “supplements”; you consult the 
Dictionary Cyclopedia, and know, instantly, where to 
turn. 

A Cyclopedia never can be “complete” or “up-to-date” 
in a true sense. Every day brings new events, discov¬ 
eries, inventions—what not—which must find important 
place in the next edition of the Cyclopedia. The world 
moves; life is growth, and Cyclopedias must grow. 

This Cyclopedia is the first ever constructed along 
lines adapted to expansion and growth. Because of its 
small page, without foli^, it is like a card catalogue 
or index, in which a new entry is readily made, or an 
old one re-written to fit new facts, and placed in its 
alphabetical order. Thus, at each printing, which may 
be several times in a year, the Cyclopedia may be in 
some important, if small, measure, made new. 

Partly with the purpose of serving those who have 
bought previous editions of the Cyclopedia, and want 
the additions necessitated by time and events, and partly 
for the convenience of including a vast number of small 
and new matters which would be more difficult and ex¬ 
pensive to put in alphabetical order in the body of the 
Cyclopedia, with this edition supplementary vol¬ 
umes are introduced, the contents of which will be kept 
actually standing in type, and will be continually re¬ 
vised and expanded as would be impracticable for the 
body of the Cyclopedia, which is necessarily in the 
form of electrotype plates. In the body of the Cyclo¬ 
pedia you find the older knowledge, the* longer articles, 



PUBLISHER’S NOTICE. 

and the large dictionary of English words; for later 
facts, and the mass of little but important matters 
which a complete, up-to-date Cyclopedia must cover, 
consult the supplementary volumes. 

The numerous maps find their appropriate place in a 
separate volume, large atlas size, instead of being 
folded and scattered among the pages of many volumes 
—and this finds its place of ideal convenience on the 
top of the Revolving Book Case, which is supplied with 
the Cyclopedia at approximate cost of manufacture, be¬ 
cause it adds so greatly to the use and appreciation of 
the Cyclopedia. 




SCHEME OF SOUND SYMBOLS 

FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF WORDS. 


Note.-(-) is the mark dividing words respelt phonetically into syl¬ 
lables; ('), the accent indicating on which syllable or syllables the 
accent or stress of the voice is to be placed. 


Bound-sym¬ 
bols ein- Representing the Sounds as 
ployed in exemplified in the Words. 
Itespelling. 


Words respelt with 
Sound-symbols and Marks 
for Pronunciation. 


a.. .mate, fate, fail, aye. mat, fat, fal, a. 

a.. .mat, fat.. mat, fat. 

d. . .far, calm, father. .far. Mm, father. 

а. .. care, fair... car, far. 

aw. .fall, laud, law . fawl, lawd, law. 

e. . .mete, meat, feet, free . met, met, fet,fre. 

e.. . met, bed. met, bed. 

e .. .her, stir, heard, cur... her, ster, herd, her. 

1 .. .pine, ply, height . pin, pH, hit. 

1 .. .pin, nymph, ability. pin, nlmf, a-bil'l-ti. 

d.. .note, toll, soul. not, tol, sol. 

б. ..not, plot. not, plot. 

6.. .move, smooth. mor, smoth. 

6. . .Goethe (similar to e in her).. .gd'teh. 

ow. .noun, bough, cow. nown, bow, how. 

oy . .boy, boil. boy, boyl. 

u.. .pure, dew, few. pur, du,fu. 

it .. .bud, come, tough. bud, hum, tuf. 

<&.. .full, push, good.. ful, push, gud. 

u .. .French plume, Scotch guid. .plum, gud. 


ch... chair, match. char, mach. 

Ih... German buch, Heidelberg, 

Scotch loch (guttural). boch, hi'del-berch, loch. 

g. ...game, go, gun. gam, go, gun. 

j. .. .judge, gems gin.. juj,jem , jin. 

k. . .king, cat, cot, cut. king, kat, kot, kut. 

8 _sit, scene, cell, city, cypress . .sit, sen, sel, sit'i, si'pres. 

$&...shun, ambition. shun, dm-bish'un. 

th... thing, breath. thing, breth. 

^...though, breathe. tho, breth. 

z... .zeal, maze, muse. zel, maz, muz. 

zh... azure, vision... azh'er, vwh'un. 























































































































































■ 












































































- 






ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS WORK. 


a., or ad j.... adjective 


a.b .Bachelor of Arts 

abbr_abbreviation, abbre¬ 

viated 

abl. or abla.ablative 

Abp.Archbishop 

abt.about 

Acad.Academy 

acc. or ac. .accusative 

aceom.accommodated, ac- 

commodation 

act.active 

a.d .in the year of our 

Lord [Anno Dom¬ 
ini ] 

Adjt.Adjutant 

Adm .Admiral 

adv. or ad..ad verb 

A. F.Anglo French 

Ag.Silver [ Argentum ] 

agri.agriculture 

A. L.Anglo-Latin 

A1.Aluminium 

Ala.Alabama 

Alb.Albanian 

alg.algebra 

a.m .before noon [ante 

meridiem] 

a.m .Master of Arts 

Am.Amos 

Amer.America, -n 

anat.anatomy, anatomical 

anc.ancient, anciently 

an. m .in the year of the 

world [Anno Mun- 
di] 

anon.anouymous 

antiq.antiquity, antiqui¬ 

ties 

aor .aorist. -ic 

app.appendix 

appar.apparently 

Apr.April 

Ar .Arabic 

arch .architecture 

archaeol.... archaeology 

arith.arithmetic 

Ark.Arkansas 

art.article 

artil.. artillery 

AS. .Anglo Saxon 

As.Arsenic 

Assoc.Association 

asst.assistant 

astrol .astrology 

astron.astronomy 

attrib.attributive 

atty ..attorney 

at. wt.atomic weight 

Au .Gold [Aururn] 


A.U.C. 

..in the vea** of the 


building of the city 
(Rome) [A nnourbis 

Aug. 

conditce] 

. .August 

aug. 

. .augmentative 

Aust. 

. .Austrian 

A. V. 

,. .authorized version 

avoir. 

[of Bible, 1611J 
..avoirdupois 

B. 

.. Boron 

B. 

..Britannic 

b . 

..born 

Ba . 

.. Barium 

Bart .... 

...Baronet 

Bav . 

.. Bavarian 

bl.; bbl.. 

..barrel; barrels 

B.C. 

.. before Christ 

B.C.L- 

.. Bachelor of Civil 


Law 

B.D. 

.. Bachelor of Divinity 

bef . 

. before 

Belg. 

. ..Belgic 

Beng. 

. .Bengali 

Bi. 

..Bismuth 

biog. 

. .biography,biograph- 


ical 

biol. 

...biology 

B.L. 

. .Bachelor of Laws 

Bohem... 

...Bohemian 

bot. 

...botany, botanical 

Bp. 

. .Bishop 

Br. 

...Bromine 

Braz .... 

.. Brazilian 

Bret. 

..Breton 

Brig. 

. ..Brigadier 

Brit. 

..British, Britannica 

bro . 

. ..brother 

Bulg. 

.. Bulgarian 

bush. 

...bushel, bushels 

C. 

.. .Carbon 

c.. 

..century 

Ca . 

Cal. 

Camb.... 

Can . 

Cant. 

cap 

Capt. 

. ..Calcium 
...California 
. .Cambridge 
..Canada 
. .Canterbury 
...capital 
. .Captain 

Card .. . 

...Cardinal 

carp. 

Cath. 

. .carpentry 
...Catholic 

cans. 

...causative 

cav. 

..cavalry 

Cd. 

. .Cadmium 

Ce . 

...Cerium 

Celt. 

..Celtic 

cent.. 

...central 

cf. 

. .compare [confer] 

ch or chh...church 































































































ABBREVIATIONS. 


Chal.... 


chap.... 


chem... 


Chin.... 


Chron.. 


chron... 


Cl. 


Class... 

.. ..Classical [ — Greek 


and Latin] 

Co. 


Co. 

CO . 

. ...Company 

cog. 

Col. 


Col ... . 

.. Colossians 

Coll. 

.. .College 

colloq... 


Colo.... 


Com.... 


com_ 



cial 

com. 


comp ... 


comp .. 



pound 

compar... .comparative 

conch.conchology 

cong.congress 

Congl.Congregational 

conj .conjunction 

Conn or Ct.Connecticut 
contr.contraction, con¬ 

tracted 

Cop.Coptic 

Cor.Corinthians 

Corn.Cornish 

corr.corresponding 

Cr.Chromium 

crystal.crystallography 

Cs .Caesium 

ct. . cent 

Ct. or Conn.Connecticut 

Cu.Copper [ Cuprum ] 

cwt .a hundred weight 

Cyc.Cyclopedia 

D.Didymium 

D. or Dut. .Dutch 

d. . ..died 

d. [1. s. d.]..penny, pence 

Dan.Daniel 

Dan.Danish 

dat .dative 

dau.daughter 

D. C.District of Columbia 

d.c.l .Doctor of Civil [or 

Common] Law 

d.d .Doctor of Divinity 

Dec.December 

dec.declension 

def.definite, definition 

deg.degree, degrees 

Del.Delaware 

del.delegate, delegates 

dem.democratic 

dep.deputy 

dep.deponent 

dept.department 

deriv.derivation, deriva¬ 

tive 

Deut.Deuteronomy 

dial.dialect, dialectal 

diam.diameter 

Die.Dictionary 


diff. 

. .different, difference 

dim. 

.diminutive 


dist. 

.district 


distrib.. . 

. distributive 


div. 

. division 


doz. 

.dozen 


Dr. 

.Doctor 


dr. 

.dram, drams 


dram. 

.dramatic 


Dut. or D. 

..Dutch 


dwt . 

..pennyweight 


dynam or 


dyn. 

. dynamics 


E. 

..Erbium 


E. or e — 

.East, -era, -ward 

E. or Eng. 

. English 


Eccl. 

.Ecclesiastes 


eccl. or 

j ecclesiastical 

[af- 

eccles... 

. j fairs 1 

ed . 

e.g . 

.edited, edition, 
tor 

.for example 

edi¬ 

ted 

gratia ] 

E. Ind. or j East Indies, East 

E. I.... 

. j Indian 


elect. 

.electricity 


Emp. 

. Emperor 


Encyc. 

Eng. or E. 

.Encyclopedia 

.English 


engin. 

.engineering 


entom .. . 

.entomology 


env. ext... 

.envoy extraordinary 

ep.. 

.epistle 


Eph. 

. Ephesians 


Episc . 

. Episcopal 


eq. 01 =.. 

.equal, equals 


equiv. 

.equivalent 


esp. 

.especially 


Est . 

.Esther 


estab. 

.established 


Esthon.... 

.Esthonian 


etc. 

.and others like 

[et 

Eth. 

cetera] 

.Ethiopic 


ethnog.... 

. ethnography 


ethnol. 

.ethnology 


et seq. 

.and the following 

let seouentia 1 


etym. 

.etymology 


Eur. 

European 


Ex. 

.Exodus 


exclam.... 

.exclamation 


Ezek. 

. Ezekiel 


Ezr. 

. Ezra 


F . 

.Fluorine 


F. or Fahr. Fahrenheit 


f. or fern.. 

.feminine 


F. or Fr... 

.French 


fa. 

. father 


Fahr. or F.Fahrenheit 


far. 

. farriery 


Fe. 

.Iron [ Ferrum ] 


Feb. 

. February 


fern or f. . 

.feminine 


hg. 

.figure, figuratively 

Fin. 

.Finnish 


F.-L . 

French from Latin 

Fla. 

. Florida 


Flem. 

.Flemish 


for. 

. foreign 


fort. 

fortificatior 


Fr. or F. .. 

.French 


fr . 

.from 















































































































ABBREVIATIONS. 


freq .... 


Fris . 

.... Frisian 

ft. 


f ut. 

.. future 

G. or Ger...German 

G. 

. ...Glucinium 

Ga. 


Ga. 

... Georgia 

Gael ... 

...Gaelic 

Gal . 


gal. 

... gallon 

galv. 

... .galvanism, galvanic 

gard.... 


gen. 


Gen. 


Gen .... 

.. .Genesis 

«en . 

.. genitive 

Geno.... 


geog ... 
geol. 

.. -geography 
...geology 

geom... 
Ger. 

. ...geometry 
....German, Germany 

Goth.... 


Gov. 


govt. 


Gr . 

. .. Grand, Great 

Gr . 


gr. 


gram ... 


Gr. Brit. 

.. .Great Britain 

Gris. 


gun .... 

H . 

H . 

h . 

Hab. 

Hag. 

H. B. M. 

... gunnery 

... Hydrogen 
...hour, hours 
... Habakkuk 
. ..Haggai 

....His [or Her] Britan- 


nic Majesty 

Heb. 


her. 

...heraldry 

herpet.. 


Hg. 

... Mercury [ Hydrar - 


gyrum ] 

hhd. 

..hogshead, hogsheads 

Hind.... 

... Hindustani, Hindu, 


or Hindi 

hist. 

... history, historical 

Hon .... 


hort. 

. ..horticulture 

Hos .... 

... Hosea 

Hung.... 


Hydros.. 


I . 


I.; Is.... 

.. .Island ; Islands 

Icel. 


ichth .. 


Ida. 


i.e. 


Ill. 

... .Illinois 

illus .... 

.... illustration 

impera 

or 

impr.. 


impers.. 

. ...impersonal 

impf or imp imperfect 

impf. p. 

or 

imp .. 

.. .imperfect participle 

lmprop.. 


In. 


in. 

.inch, inches 

incept... 


Ind. 


Ind. 

...Indiana 


ind.indicative 

indef .indefinite 

Indo-Eur.. .Indo-European 

inf.infantry 

inf or infin.infinitive 

instr.instrument, -al 

int.interest 

intens.intensive 

in ter j. or 

int.interjection 

interrog.... interrogative pro¬ 

noun 

intr. or 

intrans...intransitive 


Io... .Iowa 

Ir.Iridium 

Ir.Irish 

Iran.Iranian 

irr .irregular, -ly 

Is.Isaiah 

It .Italian 

Jan.January 

Jap.Japanese 

Jas.James 

Jer.Jeremiah 

Jn.John 

Josh.Joshua 

Jr. .Junior 

Judg .Judges 

K.Potassium [Kalium] 

K.Kings [in Bible] 

K.king 

Kan.Kansas 

Kt.Knight 

Ky.Kentucky 

L.Latin 

L.Lithium 

1. [1. s. d.], t pound, pound* 

or £ .< [sterling] 

La.Lanthanium 

La.Louisiana 

Lam.Lamentations 

Lang.Languedoc 

lang.language 

Lap__Lapland 

lat .latitude 

lb.; lib. or (pound; pounds 

lbs.I [weight] 

Let.Lettish 

Lev.Leviticus 

LG.Low German 

l. h.d .Doctor of Polite Lit¬ 

erature 

Lieut.Lieutenant 

Lim.Limousin 

Lin.Linnaeus, Linneean 

lit.literal.-ly 

lit .literature 

Lith.. .Lithuanian 

lithog.lithograph, -y 

LL.Late Latin, Low 

Latin 

ll.d .Doctor of Laws 

long.longitude 

Lutn.Lutheran 

M.Middle 

M....Monsieur 

m..mile, miles 

m. or masc. .masculine 

m.a .Master of Arts 

Macc.Maccabees 

mach.machinery 

Mag.Magazine 






















































































































ABBREVIATIONS. 


Ma.j.Major 

Mai.Malachi 

Mai.Malay, Malayan 

manuf.manufacturing, 

manufacturers 

Mar.March 

masc or m. masculine 

Mass.Massachusetts 

math .mathematics, math¬ 

ematical 

Matt.Matthew 

m.d .Doctor of Medicine 

MD.Middle Dutch 

Md .Maryland 

ME.Middle English, or 

Old English 

Me.Maine 

mech.mechanics, mechani¬ 

cal 

tned.medicine, medical 

mem.member 

mensur.... mensuration 
Messrs, or 

MM .Gentlemen, Sirs 

metal.metallurgy 

metaph_metaphysics, meta¬ 

physical 

meteor.meteorology 

Meth.Methodist 

Mex.Mexican 

Mg .Magnesium 

M. Gr .Middle Greek 

MHG_Middle High Ger¬ 

man 

Mic.Micah 

Mich .Michigan 

mid.middle L voice] 

Milan.Milanese 

mid. L. or j Middle Latin, Me- 

ML.| dieeval Latin 

milit. or 

mil.military [affairs] 

min .minute, minutes 

mineral. ...mineralogy 

Minn ..Minnesota 

Min. Plen. .Minister Plenipoten¬ 
tiary 

Miss .Mississippi 

ML. or 1 Middle Latin, Me- 

mid. L... | diaeval Latin 

MLG.Middle Low German. 

Mile.Mademoiselle 

Mme .Madam 

Mn.Manganese 

Mo.Missouri 

Mo.Molybdenum 

mod.modern 

Mont .Montana 

Mr.Master [Mister] 

Mrs.Mistress [Missis] 

MS.; MSS..manuscript; manu 
scripts 

Mt.Mount, mountain 

mus.music 

mus. doc. ... Doctor of Music 
myth.mythology, mytho¬ 

logical 

N.Nitrogen 

N. or n.North, -ern, -ward 

n .noun 

n or neut...neuter 

Na.Sodium [Natrium] 

Nah.Nahum 


N. A., or 

N. Amer.North America, -n 


nat.natural 

naut.nautical 

nav.navigation, naval af¬ 

fairs 

Nb.Niobium 

N. C. or 

N. Car.. .North Carolina 

N. D.North Dakota 

Neb .Nebraska 

neg.negative 

Neh .Nehemiah 

N. Eng.New England 

neut or n...neuter 

Nev.Nevada 

N.Gr.New Greek, Modern 

Greek 

N. H .New Hampshire 

NHG.New High German 

[German] 

Ni.Nickel 

N. J.New Jersey 

NL .New Latin, Modern 

Latin 

N. Mex.New Mexico 


N. T.. or 

N. Test. ..New Testament 
N. Y.New York [State] 


nom .nominative 

Norm. F . .Norman French 
North. E ..Northern English 

Norw.Norwegian, Norse 

Nov.November 

Num.Numbers 

numis .numismatics 

O.Ohio 

O.Old 

O..Oxygen 

Obad.Obadiah 

obj .objective 

obs. or t .oosolete 
obsoles .. .obsolescent 

O.Bulg — .Old Bulgarian orOld 
Slavic 

Oct .October 

Odontog.. .odontography 

OE .Old English 

OF or 

O. Fr — Old French 

OHG.Old High German 

Ont.Ontario 

opt.optics, optical 

Or.Oregon 

ord .order 

ord..ordnance 

org.organic 

orig .original.-ly 

ornith.orni t hology 

Os .Osmium 

OS.Old Saxon 

O. T., or 

O. Test...Old Testament 

Oxf.Oxford 

oz.ounce, ounces 

P.Phosphorus 

P-; PP.page; pages 

p., or part..participle 
Pa. or Penn.Pennsylvania 

pain*.painting 

palaeon.palaeontology 

pari .parliament 

pass .passive 

































































































ABBREVIATIONS. 


pathol or 

path.pathology 

Pb.Lead [ Plumbum ] 

Pd .Palladium 

PeDn or Pa.Pennsylvania 

perf .perfect 

perh .perhaps 

Pers.Persian, Persic 

pers.person 

persp.perspective 

pert.pertaiuing [to] 

Pet.Peter 

Pg. or Port . Portuguese 
pnar.pharmacy 

ph. d .Doctor of Philoso¬ 

phy 

Phen.Phenician 

Phil.Philippians 

Philem.Philemon 

philol. ... .philology, philologi¬ 
cal 

philos. j philosophy, philo- 

or phil...] sophical 

phonog.phonography 

photog.photography 

phren.... ..phrenology 

phys.physics, physical 

physiol_physiology, physi¬ 

ological 

Pied.Piedmontese 

PI.Plate 

pi. or plu...plural 

PI. D.Platt Deutsch 

plupf.pluperfect 

p.m .afternoonLposf meri¬ 

diem) 

pneum.pneumatics 

P. O.Post-office 

poet.poetical 

Pol.Polish 

pol econ.. .po I i tical econ omy 

polit.politics, political 

pop.population 

Port, or Pg.Portuguese 

poss.possessive 

PP.pages 

pp...past participle, per¬ 

fect participle 

p. pr.present participle 

Pr. or Prov.Provengal 

pref..prefix 

prep_preposition 

Pres.President 

pres .present 

Presb.Presbyterian 

pret.preterit 

prim.primitive 

priv.privative 

prob.probably, probable 

Prof .Professor 

pron.pronoun 

pron.pronunciation, pro¬ 

nounced 

prop.properly 

pros.prosody 

Prot.Protestant 

Prov.or Pr. Proven gal 

Prov.Proverbs 

prov.province, provincial 

Prov. Eng..Provincial English 

Prus.Prussia, -n 

Ps..Psalm, Psalms 

psychol... .psychology 


pt.past tense 

pt.pint 

Pt.Platinum 

pub.published, publisher, 

publication 

pwt.pennyweight 

Q.Quebec 

qt.quart 

qtr.quarter [weight] 

qu.query 

q.v.which see [gwod 

vide] 

R.Rhodium 

R.River 

Rb.Rubidium 

R. Cath....Roman Catholic 

rec. sec.recording secretary 

Ref.Reformed 

refl.reflex 

reg.regular, -ly 

regt.regiment 

rel. pro. or 

rel.relative pronoun 

repr.representing 

repub.republican 

Rev-..Revelation 

Rev.The Reverend 

Rev. V.Revised Version 

rhet.rhetoric, -al 

R. I.Rhode Island 

R. N.Royal Navy 

Rom .Roman, Romans 

Rom.Romanic or Ro- 


Rom. Cath. 
Ch. or R. 
C. Ch.... 


mance 

Roman Catholic 
Church 


r.r.railroad 

Rt. Rev ...Right Reverend 

Ru .Ruthenium 

Russ.Russian 

r. w.railway 

S.Saxon 

S.Sulphur 

s.second, seconds 

s. [1. s. d.]..shilling, shillings 

S. ors.South, -ern, -ward 

S. A. or 

S. Amer..South America, -n 

Sam .Samaritan 

Sam.Samuel 

Sans, or 


Skr.Sanskrit 

Sb.Antimony [Stibium] 

s.c.understand, supply. 

namely [ scilicet ] 

S. C. or 

S. Car....South Carolina 

Seand.Scandinavian 

Scot.Scotland. Scotch 

scr..scruple, scruples 

Scrip.Scripture [s], Scrip¬ 

tural 

sculp.sculpture 

S. D.South Dakota 

Se.Selenium 

sec.secretary 

sec.section 

Sem.Semitic 

Sep .September 

Serv.Servian 

Shaks.Shakespeare 

Si..Silicon 












































































































ABBREVIATIONS, 


Sic.Sicilian 

sing.singular 

sis.sister 

Skr. or 

Sans.Sanskirt 

Slav.Slavonic, Slavic 

Sn.Tin [ Stannum ] 

Soc.Society- 

Song Sol.. .Song of Solomon 

Sp.Spanish 

sp. gr.specific gravity 

sq.square 

Sr.Senior 

Sr .Strontium 

.Saint 

«..« «•«.«.street 

stat.statute 

s, t. d .Doctor of Sacred 

Theology 

subj.subjunctive 

suf.suffix 

Su. Goth.. .Suo-Gothic 

superl.superlative 

Supp.Supplement 

Supt .Superintendent 

surg..surgery, surgical 

Surv.surveying 

Sw.Swedish 

Swab.Swabian 

sym.symbol 

syn.synonym, -y 

Syr.Syriac, Syrian 

t .town 

Ta.Tantalum 

Tart.Tartar 

Te.Tellurium 

technol.... technology 

teleg.telegraphy 

Term.Tennessee 

term.termination 

terr...territory 

Teut.Teutonic 

Tex.Texas 

Th .Thorium 

theat .theatrical 

theol.theology, theological 

therap.therapeutics 

Thess .Thessalonians 

Ti.Titanium 

Tim.Timothy 

Tit.Titus 

Tl.Thallium 

toxicol.toxicology 

tp....... .....township 

tr. or trans.trausitive 

transl.translation, 

lated 


trigon.trigonometry 

Turk.Turkish 

typog.typography, typo¬ 

graphical 

U.Uranium 

ult.ultimate, -ly 

Unit.Unitarian 

Univ.Universalist 

Univ.University 


U. Presb...United Presbyterian 


U. S.United States 

U. S. A.United States Army 

U. S. N.United States Navy 

Ut.Utah 

V .Vanadium 

v.verb 

Va.Virginia 

var.variant [word] 

var.variety of [species] 

Ven.Venerable 

Venet.Venetian 

vet.veterinary 

v. i. or 

v. intr. ...verb intransitive 

vil.village 

viz.namely, to-wit [vide¬ 

licet] 

v. n.verb neuter 

voc.vocative 

vol.volume 

vols.volunteers 

Vt..Vermont 

v. tr.verb transitive 

W.Tungsten [ Wolfram ] 

W.Welsh 

W. or w_West, -ern, -ward 

Wal .Walachian 

Wall.Walloon 

Wash.Washington 

Westph_Westphalia, -n 

W. Iud. j West Indies, West 

orW. I... I Indian 

Wis.Wisconsin 

wt.weight 

W. Va.West Virginia 

Wyo.Wyoming 

Y .Yttrium 

yd.yard 

yr.year 

Zech.Zechariah 

Zeph. .Zephaniah 

Zn.Zinc 

zool.zoology, zoological 

Zr.Zirconium 


trans. 

See also ABBREVIATIONS' in VoLL 

























































































IMPERIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA 
AND DICTIONARY. 


A, a: the first letter in almost all alphabets; the only 
exceptions, perhaps, are the Ethiopian, where it stands thir¬ 
teenth, and the Runic, in which the order is altogether 
different (see Runes). A has in English at least four dis¬ 
tinct sounds, as heard in ale, man , father, all. Of these, the 
third may be considered its primitive and proper sound; it 
is its name-sound in perhaps all languages except English, 
and is that which is assigned to it in comparative grammar. 
This sound is the purest and fullest in human speech; it is 
that which the child learns first and most easily to produce, 
and its sign stands as if by right at the head of the alphabet. 
In the oldest languages it is the predominating vowel, and 
gives them their peculiar fulness and strength. Philolo¬ 
gists consider it the heaviest of the three fundamental vow¬ 
els ; the other two, i and u (whose primitive and proper 
sounds are heard in me and do), seem to have arisen out of a, 
by lightening or weakening it (Lat. cadence—incidence, 
calco—incwlco). By combining with these, a gives rise to 
at, au, which in their turn coalesce into e and 6. —In the 
Phoenician alphabet the letter A bears the name of aleph; 
i.e., ‘ox/ with reference to its most ancient form, which 
rudely represented an ox’s head. From this came the 
Greek name alpha. For engraving or tracing on stone or 
other hard materials, characters composed of straight lines 
are best adapted, and such was naturally the earliest form 
of A and the other letters. It is easy to trace the growth of 
our small a or a out of the monumental A. In Greek and 
Roman inscriptions executed hastily or carelessly the form 

is often found; and this, written with a flexible reed. 



became rounded into A .—For A and the other letters as 


abbreviations, see Abbreviations. 

A, an adjective of number, signifying one: the indefi¬ 
nite article used before adjectives or nouns that begin with a 
consonant or with the sound of a consonant. 

A, in composition : an Anglo Saxon prefix signifying at, 
to, in, or on : a Greek prefix, with its form an, signifying 
without, not : a Latin prefix, with its forms ab and abs, sig¬ 
nify mg from or away. 

A. a note in Music : the major sixth of the scale of 0 


Vol. 1 — I 



A 1—AA. 

4 

major. When perfectly in tune to C, it stands in the prt. 
portion of | of 1. But in this state it would not be a fifth 
to D, the second note of the scale of C, being a comma too 
flat, which difference is as 80 to 81. The ear being sensibly 
offended with this deficiency, the note A is therefore made 
the least degree higher than perfect—namely, T 9 / T , by which 
the advantage is gained that A is a fifth above D (Iff), or 
deficient only in the proportion of ||| —a deficiency so tri¬ 
fling that the ear accepts the fifth, D, A, and the sixth, C, A, 
as perfect, although, mathematically calculated, the one is 
too great and the other too small.—For A Major and A 
Minor, see Key. 

A 1: a symbol by which first-class vessels are known in 
the Record of American and Foreign Shipping and in 
Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, to de¬ 
note the highest rating of a merchant vessel. In the 
American Record the rating ranges from A 1, highest 
grade, to A 3, lowest. Intermediate degrees of seaworthi¬ 
ness are indicated by the numbers l£, If, 2, 2^. Vessels 
of the two highest grades (A 1, A 1|) are regarded as sea¬ 
worthy for all cargoes and all voyages during a fixed term 
of years; the intermediate grades (A If, A 2) for all car¬ 
goes on Atlantic voyages, and for transport of such goods 
as oil, molasses, sugar, etc., on long voyages; the classes 
A 2£ and A 3 for coasting only.—In Lloyd’s Register 
wooden ships are rated A 1 or first class for a term of years 
varying according to the materials and the fastenings used 
in their construction. The other symbols used in Lloyd’s 
Register are A 1 in red, JE, and E; and they indicate lower 
degrees of seaworthiness. Iron and steel vessels are classed 
for an indefinite period under a system of frequent sur¬ 
veys, the varying degrees of strength being indicated by 
the formulas 100 A 1, 90 A 1, 80 A 1, etc.—In the United 
States, vessels are rated by U. S. govt, surveyors; in Great 
Britain the rating is by a society of shippers incorporated 
under the name ‘Llyod’s Register,’and the society’s offi¬ 
cers make periodical inspections of all the shipping entered 
in the society’s books.—The expression A 1 denotes in the 
language of commercial business the highest mercantile 
credit; in colloquial language A 1, or A number one, ex¬ 
presses high commendation, and is equivalent to first-rate, 
first-class. 

AA : name of a number of rivers and streams in the n. 
of France, Holland, Germany, and Switzerland. As many 
as forty have been enumerated. The word is said to be of 
Celtic origin, but it is allied to the Old German aha, Gothic 
ahva, identical with the Latin aqua, 1 water. * Ach or Aach 
is another form of the same word. Four streams of the 
name of Ach fall into the Lake of Constance. The word, 
in both forms, occurs as final syllable in many names of 
places, as, Fulda (formerly Fuldaha), Biberach, Biberich, 
etc. In the plural, it is Aachen (waters, springs), which is 
the German name of Aix-la-Chapelle (q.v.) Aix, the French 
name of so many places connected with springs, is derived 
from Lat. Aquce, which became in old French Aigues, and 
then Aix. Compare the Celtic Esk, Ex, Axe, Ouse. 


AACHEN—AARD-WOLF. 

AACITEN: see Aix-la-Chapelle. 

AALBORG, awl'borg (Eel-town): a seaport in the n. oi 
Jutland, with considerable trade; pop. (1901) 31,457. 

AALI PASHA, ale pd-sha (Mehemed Emin): 1815- 
1871. Sep. 6; b. Constantinople: Turkish statesman. He 
was trained to the diplomatic profession from boyhood, 
beginning as a clerk in the foreign office and being ele¬ 
vated from one position to another at home and abroad, till 
1844, when he became ambassador at London. The fol¬ 
lowing year he was Appointed minister of foreign affairs, 
and thrice occupied that position. He waasalso chancellor 
of the divan, was made a pasha 1846, and grand vizier 
1852. He became identified with the cause of reform in 
Turkey. In the conferences at Vienna and Paris, 1855, he 
represented Turkey and signed the treaty of Paris of 1856, 
Mar. 30. He presided at the conference of the powers 
1864, May, for the purpose of settling the Roumanian ques¬ 
tion. In 1867 he was appointed regent of the empire, 
during the absence of the sultan. 

AALST, dlst: town in Belgium: see Alost. 

AALTEN: town in the Netherlands, province of Gel- 
derland,29 m. e. of Arnheim, about 3 m. from the German 
frontier, the n.w. boundary of Westphalia. Pop. 7,000. 

AAR, dr: next to the Rhine and Rhone, largest river in 
Switzerland: rises in the glaciers near the Grimsel in Bern, 
forms the Falls of Handeck, 200 ft. high, flow r s through 
lakes Brienz and Thun, and passing the tow r ns of Inter¬ 
laken, Thun, Bern, Soleure, Aarau, Brugg, and Klinge- 
nau, joins the Rhine a little above Waldshut, in Baden, 
after a course of nearly 200 miles. 

AARAU, a row: town in Switzerland, cap. of the can¬ 
ton of Aargau; on the Aar, 41 m. n.e. of Bern, 63 m. w. of 
Zurich. The tunnel of the Basel and Zurich railway 
passes under the towm. In 1798 A. was the cap. of the 
Helvetic republic. It has manufactories of ribbons, cotton 
cloth, math, instruments, leather, and vitriol, and a can¬ 
non-foundry. A. has an academy and library. Pop. 
about 7,000. 

AARIFI PASHA, d-re'fe pd-sha : Turkish statesman: 
b. Constantinople, 1830; son of a noted diplomatist, Shekib 
Pasha. As a boy of 15 years he received employment 
from the divan, and 2 years later went with Shekib Pasha 
to Rome, and subsequently to Vienna. Having become 
an expert linguist, he was appointed first sec. to the lega¬ 
tion in Vienna, afterward first translator in Paris to the 
Sublime Porte, and later first interpreter to the divan. 
From this point he rose to ambassador in Vienna, minister 
of pub. instruction, ambassador in Paris, and 1879 prime 
minister. He has held other important offices, and in 
1893 he was a senator. 

AARD-VARK, or Earth-Hog: see Ant-eater. 

AARD VVOLF: see Proteles. 


AARGAU-AB. 

AARGAU, dr'gow, or Argovie, dr-gd-ve': a canton of 
Switzerland, on the Aar, and having the Rhine for its n, 
boundary. Its surface is diversified, well wooded, and gen¬ 
erally fertile. Area, about 530 sq. m.; pop. (1900) 206,498, 
rather more than half being Protestants. Besides agricul¬ 
ture, there are considerable manufactures of cotton and silk, 
and prosperity has of late markedly increased. In this can¬ 
ton is the castle of Habsburg or Hapsburg, original seat of 
the imperial family of Austria. The chief town is Aarau, 
situated on the Aar; pop. about 7,000. 

AARHUUS, or'has: seaport on the e. coast of Jutland, 
and seat of a bishop; pop. (1880) 24,831. 

AARON, ar'on, elder brother of Moses: was appointed 
his assistant and spokesman, and at the givingof the Mosaic 
law received for himself and his descendants the hereditary 
dignity of the priesthood. Aaron assisted his brother in the 
administration of affairs. He died in the 123d year of his 
age, on Mount Hor, on the borders of Idumea. His third 
son, Eleazar, succeeded him in the office of high-priest. 

AARONIC, a. a-rm'ik, or Aaronical, a. a-ron'i-kdl: of 
or pertaining to Aaron or his priesthood. Aaron’s rod, in 
Arch., a rod with one serpent twining around it, as distin¬ 
guished from Mercury’s rod, w r hich has two. Aaron’s ser¬ 
pent, a figure expressive of some combination or power 
so irresistible as to break dow r n or swallow up all opposing 
interests or powers. 

AARSSENS, ar'sens, Frans van: diplomatist: 1572- 
1641; b. at The Hague; son of Cornells van A. He was 
trained from his youth to diplomacy, was minister resident 
of the states general 1598 in France, and ambassador 1609. 
He was ambassador to Venice 1609-15, and to England 
1626, and again 1640, when he arranged the marriage of 
William II. of Nassau, and Mary, daughter of Charles I., 
of England. He was accused of having instigated the 
death of Olden-Barnevoldt 1619. Richelieu deemed him 
one of the three ablest politicians of his time. 

AASEN, aw'sen, Ivar Andreas: Norwegian philologist: 
b. 1813, Aug. 5. He was privately educated, and in early 
life interested himself in botany, but afterward began in¬ 
vestigation of the different dialects used in Norway, and 
published a grammar (1848) and dictionary (1850). He at¬ 
tempted to remodel the Norse language, but was unsuc¬ 
cessful, though he was for a time supported by Bjornsterne 
Bjornson. 

A AS VAR: small group of islands off the coast of Nor¬ 
way, pear the Arctic circle, important for their herring 
fisheries. During the herring run, which lasts three weeks 
from Dec. 10. as many as 10,000 fishermen take 200,000 
kegs of fish; for the rest of the year the islands are unin¬ 
habited except by a few families. 

AB, db: Hebrew name of the 11th month of the Jewish 
civil year and the 5th of the ecclesiastical year; including 
portions of July and August. 


ABABDEH—ABAD. 

ABABDEH, or Ababde, or Ababdie: race of people 
occupying parts of Upper Egypt and Nubia, and as to tbe 
latter country, all parts between the Nile and the Red Sea. 
They are on good authority deemed of Hamitic origin, and 
allied to the Bishareeu or Bishari; are nomadic in their 
habits, residing mostly in the desert, where they serve as 
guides for travellers; are followers of Islam, and possess 
camels, horses, sheep, and goats. They have no firearms, 
but use bows and arrows. They are" under the general 
control of the khedive of Egypt, to whom they pay taxes. 
Their language is Arabic, with traces of Hamitic. 

ABACA, n. db'd-kd: the fibre of a species of plantain or 
banana ( Musa troglodytarum ), native of the Philippine Isles, 
where it is extensively cultivated. The leaf stalks are split 
into long stripes, and the fibrous part is then separated from 
the fleshy pulp. A laborer can in this way produce daily 
50 lbs. of hemp. Before 1825, the quantity produced was 
insignificant, but now it amounts to nearly 31,000 tons an¬ 
nually. In Manila there is a steam rope-work for making 
ropes of it for naval purposes. They are very durable, but 
not very flexible.—The fibre of a number of species of Musa 
is used in tropical countries. See Plantain., 

ABACK, ad, d-bdfc' [AS. on-bosc ]; on the back; back 
wards, as used by sailors; towards the mast; by surprise; 
unexpectedly. 

ABACO. sec Bahamas. 

ABACUS, n. ab'd-kus, Ab'acuses, n. plu. -kus-es [L. ab¬ 
acus; Gr. abaks, a board for calculations]; a counting 
frame; used in ancient and 
modern times for reckoning 
accounts, and in primary 
schools for teaching the rudi¬ 
ments of arithmetic. It con¬ 
sists of a frame with a num¬ 
ber of parallel wires, on which 
beads, ivory, and wood balls, and other counters are strung. 
It is universally employed by the Chinese in making up their 
accounts. Abacus Pythagoricus meant the multiplication 
table, as multiplying can be done on an Abacus. 

ABACUS, in Arch.; a square or oblong level tablet on 

the capital of a col¬ 
umn, and supporting 
the entablature. In 
the Doric, old Ionic, 
and Tuscan orders, 
the abacus is a regular 
Corinthian Abacus. oblong; but in the 

new Ionic, Corinthian, and Roman orders, the abacus has 
concave sides, with truncated angles. Square marble tab¬ 
lets let into walls, and fields with figures in them inserted 
in mosaic floors, were also included under the term abacus 
in ancient architecture. 

ABAD, d-bdd' (allied both in etymology and meaning to 
the Eng. abode): an affix to names of Persian origin, as 
Hy&ex-abad, the ‘ dwelling * or city of Hyder. 



IOO- 
JOOOO- 


-00000x>0' 
-oooooo- 


-ooooooooo- 
-DGO 


JOOOOOOOOO- 


-ooooo J 

3 


Abacus for Calculations. 
























ABADDON—ABANDON. 

ABADDON, n. d-bdd'don [Ileb. abad, to be lost or de¬ 
stroyed] : the destroying angel of the bottomless pit. See 
Apollyon. 

ABAFT, ad. prep, d-bdft' [AS. a, on, and baft —for bi- 
aft, by-aft; be-atftan, by-behind; aftan, after, behind; bc^ta, 
the back] : a seaman’s term; at or towards the stern or hinder 
part of a ship; behind. 

ABAISSE, a-bds-sa (lowered): in Heraldry. When the 
fesse, or any other armorial figure is depressed, or situated 
below the centre of the shield, it is said to. be abaisse. 
Adosse (back to back), affronte or confronts (facing or front¬ 
ing one another), aiguisse (sharpened at the point), aile 
(winged), are other heraldic terms borrowed, like abaisse, 
from the French, and used by English heralds in senses not 
differing essentially from their ordinary significations in 
French. 

ABANA and PHARPAR, d-bd'nd (or db'dn-d) and 
far'par: rivers of Damascus (see II Kings, v. 12). Abana 
is now known as the Barada, flowing directly through 
the city; Pharpar as the Awaj, 8 m. south. The two flow 
e. to w. across the plain of Damascus and are lost in 
marshes on the borders of the great Arabian desert. 

ABANCAY, d-vdn-ki : town of Peru, dept, of Cuzco; 
on the Abancay river, spanned here by one of the finest 
bridges in Peru. A. has large sugar refineries. Pop. 5,000. 

ABANCOURT, d-bong-kdr' , Charles Xavier Joseph 
d’: French soldier: 1758-1792., Sep. 9; b. Douai; nephew 
of Calonne. He rapidly rose in the army, becoming min¬ 
ister of war in the midst of the revolution 1792, June. In 
Sep. following he was denounced by Thuriot, and was 
murdered by the mob at Versailles. 

ABAND, v. d-bdnd' , for abandon in OE. 

ABANDON, v. d-bdn'dun [F. abandonner, to desert; aban¬ 
don, a giving up: OF. d bandon, at his own pleasure: mid. 
L. bandum , an order or-decree]: to give up; to desert; to 
. forsake entirely. Aban doning, imp. Aban doned, pp. 
-dund: Adj. wholly forsaken; given up; extremely profli¬ 
gate or corrupt. Aban donment, n. a giving up; a total 
desertion. Aban'doner, n. the nerson who irives up. An 
abandoned character, one wholly enslaved to vice.— Syn. 
of‘abandon’: to yield; give up; surrender; cede; forego; 
quit; relinquish; desert; forsake; resign: abdicate; renounce; 
withdraw from; leave; retire. Syn. of ‘abandoned’: de¬ 
serted; forsaken; profligate; vicious; corrupt; vile; odious; 
detestable; heinous; reprobate; wicked- criminal; depraved; 
abject; forlorn; destitute; derelict. 

ABANDON, n. d-bdng'ddng [F.—see preceding title] : a 
complete giving up; complete absorption in some pursuit or 
condition of mind; disregard of appearances or usual re¬ 
straints. 

ABANDON, Abandoning, Abandonment, in Law: 
{Contracts.) In insurances, abandonment is the act by 
which the insured relinquishes to the assurer all the prop¬ 
erty in the thing insured. The act must be performed 


ABANO—ABASCAL. 

within reasonable time after the loss, must be explicit and 
absolute, and must set forth the reasons upon which it is 
founded. Abandonment may be made when there is total 
loss, when the voyage is not worth pursuing on account of 
a peril provided against in the insurance, if" the cargo be so 
damaged as to be of little or no value, w r here the salvage is 
very high, and further expense being necessary the insurer 
will not engage to bear it, or if what is saved is of less value 
than the freight, etc. (Eights.) Legal rights, when once 
vested, must be divested according to law, but equitable 
rights may be abandoned: a mill-site, once occupied, may 
be abandoned; so may an application for land, an improve¬ 
ment, and a trust fund. (For torts.) The owner of an ani¬ 
mal is answerable for any damage that it may cause; but if 
the animal be lost, or have strayed for more than a day, he 
may discharge himself from this responsibility by abandon¬ 
ing the animal to the person who has sustained the in¬ 
jury—except in the case of a dangerous, or noxious animal. 
(Malicious.) The act of a husband or wife w T ho leaves his or 
her consort wilfully and with an intention of causing per¬ 
petual separation. When continued the length of time pre¬ 
scribed by the local statutes, this is cause for divorce. 

ABANO, a-bd'no, Pietro d’: 1250-1316; b. Abano, 
Italy. He studied in Paris and became a doctor of medi¬ 
cine and philosophy; then settled a Padua, where he gained 
great reputation. His large fees created scandal, ending 
in his arrest for practicing magic. During his second trial 
on this charge he died. 

ABARBANEL, d-vdr'vd-nel (or Abra'banel, d-brd'-, 
or Abravenel), Isaac ben Jehtjdah: Jewish writer: 
1437-1508; b. Lisbon, Portugal. He was employed in 
state affairs by Alfonso V. of Portugal and later by John 
II. By the latter he was suspected of treason, and in 1483 
was compelled to flee, while his property was confiscated. 
Afterward he entered the service of Ferdinand of Aragon. 
He shared in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain 1492. 
His works consist of doctrinal and critical commentaries 
on the Bible and philosophical treatises.—His eldest son, 
Juda Leon A., was known as doctor, philosopher, and 
author: his principal work was Dialoghi di Amove (1535). 

ABARIM, db'a- rim or d-bd'rim: range of mountains in 
the land of Moab, e. of the Jordan, whose highest point is 
Mt. Nebo, from which Moses saw the Promised Land. 

ABARIS, db'd-rls, ‘the Hyperborean’: legendary sage 
of antiquity, 3d to 5th c. Accounts of him in various 
authors are contradictory and mythical. He is said to 
have ridden on an arrow given him by Apollo, to have 
subsisted without food, and to have freed the earth fiom a 
great plague. Of his works, nothing is known. 

ABASCAL, Jose Fernando: Spanish statesman: 1743 
-1821, June 30. He joined the army 1762, and assisted in 
the defense of Havana against the English 1796. He was 
gov. of New Galicia, was made ‘Marques de la Concordia 
Espanola del Peru ’ by the Spanish cortes 1812, May 30; 
and was viceroy of Peru 1804-16. 


ABASE—ABATIS. 

ABASE, v. a-bas' [F. dbaisser, to lower—from mid. L. 
abdssdre, to lower—from mid. L. ad, to; bassus, lowest] : to 
lower or depress; to bring low; to degrade; to cast down. 
Aba'sing. imp. Abased, pp. d-bdst' . Abase'ment, n the 
act of humbling or bringing low.—S yn. of ‘abase’: to 
bring low; degrade; depress; humble; cast down; debase. 

ABASH, v. d-bdsh' [OF. esbahir, to set agape, to confound: 
Wall, esbawi, to astonish—from bawi, to look at with open 
mouth]: to put to confusion from any strong emotion; to 
confuse with guilt; to make ashamed. Abash ing, imp. 
Abashed, pp. d-bdshf, confounded; put to silence. Abash¬ 
ment, n. confusion from shame.— Syn. of ‘ abash ’: to 
confound; confuse; disconcert; shame. 

ABATE, v. d-bdt' [OF. a batre; F. abattre , to beat down: 
mid. L. and It. abbdttere, to overthrow—from ah, from; mid. 
L. batter e; OF. halve, to beat] : to beat down; to lessen; to 
lower in price; to grow or become lower or less; to subside. 
Aba ting, imp. Aba ted, pp. Abatable, a a-bd td-bl., 
that can be lessened or abated. Abate ment, n. a reduction; 
a lessening; the sum abated. Aba ter, n. the person, or 
thing that abates.— Syn. of ‘abate’: to lessen; decrease; 
subside; diminish; decline; intermit. 

ABATEMENT, in Heraldry: a mark placed over a por¬ 
tion of the paternal coat-of-arms of a family, significative of 
some base or ungentleman-like act on the part of the bearer. 
Marks of abatement are generally repudiated by the best 
heraldic authorities. An A. is to be distinguished from 
such subtractive alterations in coats-of-arms (cadency, etc.) 
as signify juniority of birth, or removal from the principal 
house or senior branch of the family. 

ABATEMENT, in Law : A., in contracts, is a reduction 
made by the creditor, in return for the prompt payment of 
a debt. In mercantile law, the term is understood to mean 
the deduction sometimes made at the custom-house from 
the duties chargeable upon goods when they are damaged. 
A., in pleading, means the overthrow of an action in conse¬ 
quence of some error committed in bringing or conducting 
it, when the plaintiff is not forever barred from bringing an¬ 
other action. Pleas relating to the jurisdiction of the court 
can only be inquired into under the general issue, and that 
is where no court of the country has jurisdiction of the 
cause, for in that case no action can be maintained. In re¬ 
gard to the person—the defendant may plead to the person of 
the plaintiff that there never was any such person in rerum 
natura. A nominal plaintiff in ejectment, however, may 
sustain an action. Death of plaintiff before the serving of 
the original writ may be pleaded in A. A suit brought by 
a lunatic under guardianship shall abate. A. of legacies is 
the reduction of legacies for the purpose of paying the tes¬ 
tator’s debts. A. of nuisances is the prostration or removal 
of them, and any person may do it, either by destruction or 
removal. See Action: Customs Duties: Freehold: Leg¬ 
acy: Mercantile Law: Nuisance. 

ABATIS, n. db'd-tls or db'd-te, also spelt Ab'attis, Ab'- 
ATIses, Eng. plu. -is-es [F. abatis , a felling, as trees; abattre > 


ABAT-JOUR—ABAT-VOIX. 

to beat down: mid. L. abbdticius— from abbdttire: see 
Abate] : a species of intrenchment, and one of the oldest. 
It consists of trees felled (< abattu ), and laid side by side, 
with the branches directed towards the enemy, the softer 
twigs being cut off. It thus forms a breastwork to fire 
over, and is very useful in field-works and in the out-works 
of regular fortifications, for retarding the enemy’s advance. 

ABAT-JOUR, n. d-bd' zhor [Fr. from abattre to throw 
down; jour, day]: a skylight or aperture admitting light 
from above; outside attachment to a window, like a box 
flaring open at the top to direct light downward into a room 
—also preventing a view from within of objects outside. 

ABATTOIR, n. ab'dt-war, Ab'attoirs, Eng. pin. -wdrz 
[F.]: a public slaughter-house. The use of this term passed 
into England from France, where were the first public 
establishments for the slaughter of animals used as food, on 
such a scale and with such sanitary arrangements as to 
obviate the injurious effects of private slaughter-houses in 
the midst of a crowded population. This great public im¬ 
provement originated with Napoleon, who passed a decree 
in 1807 for the erection of public abattoirs. The extensive 
works connected with this design w'ere nearly completed 
before the fall of the Empire; but it w r as not till the close of 
1818 that the Parisian butchers ceased to slaughter in their 
private establishments. There are now a number of these 
abattoirs in ’Paris, which, both in architectural propriety 
and completeness of internal arrangement, are models of 
their kind. The charge per head is, for an ox, 6 francs, a 
cow 4 fr., a calf 2 fr., and a sheep 50 centimes. Other 
towns in France have similar abattoirs; and so have Mantua 
and Brussels. Owing to the large export trade in live, dead, 
and preserved meat from the United States, the slaughter¬ 
houses of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New York, 
are large and perfectly equipped. 

A BATTUTA, d bdt-tota [Ital.]: in music: in strict or 
measured time. 

ABAT-VENT, n. a-bd'vong [Fr. from abattre, to throw 
down; vent, wind]: series of broad slats or narrow' roofs 
sloping downward and outward, filling the opening into a 
belfry, admitting air and light, while excluding rain and 
wind and directing the sound of the bells downward; a 
contrivance for protecting an opening from the wind; e.g., 
a revolving metallic cap with a wind vane, on a chimney to 
prevent wind from blowing down. 

ABAT-VOIX, n. d-bd’moo [Fr., from abattre, to throw 
down; voix voice]: sounding board over a speaker’s plat¬ 
form or over a pulpit, in a large room or space ; to throw 
the speaker’s voice down toward the audience. 


ABAUZIT—ABADIE. 

ABAUZIT, d-bd-ze' Firmin: 1679—1767: French, savant, 
b. at Uzes, Languedoc, of Protestant parentage. At the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he was 6 years of age, 
and was sent to Geneva, where he studied with intense 
ardor, becoming versed in almost all the sciences. He 
travelled in England and Holland 1698, and made the ac¬ 
quaintance of Newton, Bayle, and other eminent writers. 
King William sought in vain to retain him in England; he 
returned to his mother in Geneva. He translated the New 
Test, into French 1726. He wrote numerous theological 
and archaeological treatises, which mostly were burned by 
his Rom. Cath. heirs. His orthodoxy has been disputed. 
His personal qualities gained universal esteem. Rousseau, 
who could not bear to praise a contemporary, penned on 
A. his solitary panegyric.—A. d. in Geneva. 

ABB, n. db [AS.]: the yarn of a weaver’s warp. 

ABBA, n. db'bd [Chald. or Syr., a father]: a name given 
in the East to church dignitaries—the names baba, papa, 
pope, are also used in same sense. Abbacy, n. db'bd-si, Ab ¬ 
bacies, n. plu. -bd-siz [F. abbaye; OF. abdie; mid. L. 
abbdtld; It. abbadia; Sp. abadia, an abbey: Chald. abba, a 
father] : the dignity or rights and privileges of an abbot. 
Abbatial, a. d-baJshl-dl , or Abbatical, a. d-bdti-kdl , of 
or pertaining to an abbey. Abbe, n. db'be [F.], a father; a 
title of courtesy or honor given to persons in many Catholic 
countries who have given themselves to the study of divinity 
and literature. Abbess, n. db'bes [It. abbadcssa; mid. L. 
adbdtissd\ : a lady placed over a nunnery (see Monk). Abbey, 
n. ab'bi, Abbeys, n. plu. db'dtz: the place of residence of 
religious persons secluded from the world, either male or 
female. Abbot, n. db'but, the superior or chief person over 
an abbey or monastery. Ab'botship, n. the office of an 
abbot.— Syn. of ‘abbey’: convent; cloister; nunnery; mon¬ 
astery; priory. 

ABBADIE, a ba de' , Antoine and Arnotjld-Miciiel d’: 
two brothers, French travellers, known for their researches 
in Abyssinia,. from 1837 to 1845. According to their own 
account, their objects were purely ethnological and geo¬ 
graphical; but they were regarded by certain English 
travellers and missionaries as agents employed by the 
French government for religious and political purposes; 
among the results of their travels are a catalogue of Ethi¬ 
opian MSS., an Ethiopic version of the Pastor of Hermas, 
and the Oeodesie de VEthiopie. Antoine issued, 1881, a 
Dictionary of the Amarinna (Amharic) language. Arnould 
published, 1868, his Douze Ans dans la Haute-Ethiopie; he 
has also distinguished himself by his study of the Basque 
language. Arnould d. 1893, Nov. 13. 

ABBADIE, Jacques, d.d. : French Prot. clergyman and 
author: about 1658—1727; b. Nay, in Bern; of humble 
family. Discerning friends provided for his education, in 
which he made such progress that at the age of 17 he re¬ 
ceived at ‘ Sedan his degree of doctor in theology. After 
several years as pastor of a French Prot. church in Berlin, 
he went with Marshal Schomberg to London, 1688, and be- 


abbandonamehte-abbassides. 

came minister of the Frencli church in the Savoy. King 
William appointed him dean of Ivillaloe, Ireland. He died 
in London.—Though an able and eloquent preacher, A. is 
known chiefly for his religious treatises, some of which 
were translated into other languages and circulated through¬ 
out Europe. His most important works are: Traite de la 
Verite de la Religion Chretienne; its continuation, Traite de 
la Divinite de Jesus Christ; and L'Art de se connditre Soi- 
meme. 

ABBANDONAMENTE, db-bdn'don a ment’d (Ital.), in 
Music: with self-abandonment; despondingly. 

ABBAS, ab-bds': d. 652; the uncle of Mohammed, the 
Arabian prophet, and the chief promoter of his religion ; 
founder of the family of the Abbassides. 

ABBAS, db-bds', I., the Great, sovereign of Persia 
1567-1623 (reigned 1585-1628); youngest son of Shah Mo¬ 
hammed Khodabendeh. At the age of 18, he took the 
throne, by rebellion against his father, having caused a 
brother to be assassinated. His reign was marked' by a 
series of military triumphs. His first victory was over the 
Uzbecks, in a battle near Herat, whence they were driven 
out of his domiuions. In 1605 he extended his empire be¬ 
yond the Euphrates; 1611 he gained Shirwan and Kurdi¬ 
stan; 1618 he defeated the allied armies of the Turks and 
Tartars near Sultanich; 1623 Bagdad capitulated to him, 
after a year’s siege, and by British help he wrested the island 
of Ormuz from the Portuguese. At his death, his em¬ 
pire extended from the Indus to the Tigris. He con¬ 
structed highways and built bridges, and showed strange 
tolerance toward foreigners, especially Christians. His 
inconsistencies were glaring and his fame is blurred by 
almost incredible acts of cruelty. It is recorded that, 
through his insane jealousy, the eyes of his children were 
put out and one of his sons was slain. 

ABBAS-MIRZA, db'bds-mer'zd: Persian prince and 
soldier: 1783-1833; son of the Shah Feth-Ali. A. had 
great talents, and saw the advantages of western civiliza¬ 
tion. With help of English officers, he applied himself to 
the reform of the army. He was the brave, but unsuccess¬ 
ful leader of the Persian army in wars with Russia, 1811-13 
and 1826-28, in which Persia lost all share in Armenia. 
In making peace A. became a dependent on Russia, 
which compelled severance of his relations with England. 
He visited St. Petersburg 1829, was received by the czar 
with kindness, and loaded with presents. 

ABBASSIDES, The : n. db-as'id-ez or ab ds-sedz [after 
Abbas, the paternal uncle of Mohammed; - ides , descendants 
of—from Gr. ides, patronymic postfix]: a line or dynasty of 
Arab caliphs, reigning from a.d. 749-1257, the most cele¬ 
brated of whom was Haroun-al-Raschid, died 802. They 
ruled as caliphs of Bagdad, 749-1257, and afterwards 
exercised the spiritual functions of the caliphate in Egypt, 
under the protection of the Mamelukes, till 1517, w T hen that 
dignity passed to the Turkish sultan. Descendants of this 
family still live in Turkey and India. 


ABBASSIDES—ABBE. 

ABBASSIDES, The : a reigning family in Persia; were 
descended from the race of the Sofi, who ascribed their 
origin to the caliph Ali. This race acquired dominion in 
1500, and became extinct in 1736. Among them, Abbas I., 
surnamed the Great, was the most eminent. He came to the 
throne 1586; d. 1628. His reign was marked by a series of 
victories over the Turks. In alliance with England, he 
destroyed, in 1621, the Portuguese colony at Ormuz. 

ABBATE, db-ba'td, Niccolo Dell, or Niccolo Abati : 
1509 or 12-71; b. Modena, d. Paris: artist in fresco-painting; 
a follower both of Raphael and Correggio; yet ne rather 
blended the two styles in one than imitated cither separately. 
His influence is traceable in art during the second half of 
the 16th c. His earlier works are to be seen at Modena; his 
later ones at Bologna, among which is his ‘ Adoration of 
the Shepherds/ considered his finest; but he is best known 
by the frescoes which he executed for the Castle of Fontain 
bleau, from the designs of Primaticcio. These, however, 
with the exception of the tableaux representing the historv 
of Alexander the Great, were unfortunately destroyed in 
1738, at the barbarous suggestion of an architect who wished 
to enlarge the builiing. 

ABBATUCCI, cl-bd-tti'che: Corsican family of diplomats 
and soldiers, zealous supporters of the Bonaparte dynasty. 
Jacques Pierre Charles A. (1791-1857) held important 
offices under Napo leon III. 

ABBE (see Abba) : the French name for an Abbot (q. v.), 
but often used in the general sense of a priest or clergyman. 
By a concordat between Pope Leo X. and Francis I. (1516), 
the French king had the right to nominate upward of 200 
Abbes Commendataires, who, without having any duty to 
perform, drew a considerable proportion of the revenues of 
the convents. The hope of obtaining one of those sinecures 
led multitudes of young men, many of them of noble birth, 
to enter the clerical career, who, however, seldom went 
further than taking the inferior orders (see Orders, Holy); 
and it became customary to call all such aspirants abbes— 
jocularly, Abbes of St. Hope. They formed a considerable 
and powerful class in society; and an abbe, distinguished by 
a short black or violet-colored frock, and a peculiar style 
of wearing the hair, was found as friend or ghostly adviser 
in almost every family of consequence. When a candidate 
obtained an abbey, he was enjoined to take holy orders; but 
many procured dispensation, and continued to draw the 
revenues as secular or lay abbots. 

ABBE, ab'be, Cleveland : astronomer and meteorolo¬ 
gist: b. New York, 1838, Dec. 3. He graduated at the Free 
Academy, and after a short service as mathematical teacher 
in Trinity Latin School, went to the Michigan Univ., where 
he taught mathematics and studied astronomy till 1860, 
when he took up his residence in Cambridge, Mass., and 
was engaged in work for the U. S. Coast Survey during the 
next four years. In 1865-6, he studied at the Imperial Ob¬ 
servatory at Pulkova, Russia. Soon after his return he 



ABBESS—ABBEY. 

was made director of tlie Cincinnati Observatory. In 1869, 
lie began his labors in weather prognostication, which re¬ 
sulted in the establishment (1871) by the U. S. war dept, of 
the present weather bureau, of which Prof. Abbe was made 
first meteorologist under the general direction of the late 
Gen. Albert J. Myer, chief of the army signal service, and 
from his tri-daily tabulations and prognostications soon 
became known as ‘Old Probabilities.’ His scientific con¬ 
tributions to periodicals and books of reference are well 
known and of a high order. 

ABBESS (.see Abba) : the superior of a religious com¬ 
munity of women, corresponding in rank and authority to 
an abbot (q.v.), except in not being allowed to exercise the 
spiritual functions of the priesthood—such as preaching, 
confession, etc. 

ABBETT, Leon: lawyer: b. Philadelphia, 1836, Oct. 8; 
died 1894, Dec. 4. He studied at the public schools of 
Philadelphia, and in 1853 graduated from the high school. 
He entered the law ofiice of U. S. Dist.Atty. Ashmead, 
where he remained until he w r as of age, when he began 
practicing law on his own account. In 1862, Oct. 8, he 
married, and immediately thereafter moved to Hoboken, 
N. J., and began to interest himself in politics. In 1864, 
he was elected, as a democrat, to the state assembly, where 
he served two terms. He was also corporation counsel of 
Hoboken for three years, and held the same ofiice for the 
town of Union, N. J., for two years, and in 1876 for Jersey 
City. In 1869 and 70 A. represented the first dist. of Hud¬ 
son in the state assembly, 1874 vais elected senator from 
Hudson co., and 1877 chosen president of the senate. He 
was elected gov. of N. J. as a democrat in 1883 and 89, 
and in the interval practiced law. He d. 1894, Dec. 4. 

ABBEVILLE, db-vel': fortified town of France, dept, of 
Somme, on river Somme, 12 m. from its mouth, and 90 m. 
n.-by-w. of Paris. It is built partly on an island and 
partly on the banks of the river; the streets are narrow and 
ill paved, and the houses built mostly of brick and wood. 
The building most worthy of notice is the Church of St. 
Wolf ran, commenced in the reign of Louis XII., whose 
facade is a splendid example of the flamboyant style, 
pierced by three deep portals, and surmounted by three high 
Gothic towers. The chief manufactures of A. are velvets, 
serges, cottons, linens, sacking, hosiery, jewelry, soap, 
glass-wares, glue, paper, etc. It is a station on the Railway 
du Nord, and connected by canals with Amiens, Paris, 
Lille, and Belgium. Vessels of between 150 and 200 tons 
can sail up the Somme as far as A. Pop. (1896) 19,669. 

ABBEY: see Abba: Monastery. 

ABBEY: used in a legal sense in Scotland, signifies the 
sanctuary or protection against legal process afforded to 
a- debtor by the A. of Holyrood. This privilege had its 
origin in the ancient regard for churches as a sanctuary and 
shelter for all who took refuge within their w^alls. The 
first instance known of a debtor seeking refuge in Holyrood 
Abbey—that of John Scott, 1531—is recorded by George 
Buchanan. See Sanctuary. 


ABBEY—ABBON OF FLEURY. 

ABBEY, ab'bi, Edwin Austin: artist: b. Philadelphia, 
Penn., 1852; studied at the Pennsylvania Academy. He 
began to draw for books and magazines at an early age, 
and later took up painting in water-colors with consider¬ 
able success. In 1888, he established himself in London, 
where he became a member of the London Institute of 
Water-colors. Much of his drawing has been done for 
publications by Harper & Bros., notably the poems of 
Robert Herrick, and Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer. Ilis 
best-known paintings are The Stage Office (1876);. The Evil 
Eye (1877); Lady in a Garden (1878); Rose in October 
(1879); The Widower (1883); and Reading the Bible (1884). 
He designed a series of paintings for the Boston Public 
Library, illustrating the “Holy Grail,” and in 1902 was 
selected to paint the scene of the coronation of King Ed¬ 
ward VII. 

ABBIAT^-GRASSO, db-be d'ta-grds'so: town of Italy, 
province of Milan, 14 m. w.-s.-w. from Milan city, on the 
Canal di Bereguardo. It lias silk manufactures. Pop. 10,489. 

ABBEY, ab'bi, HenkyE.: theatrical manager: b. Akron, 
O., 1846. He learned ike jewelry business, and for a time 
kept a store in Buffalo, N. Y. He began his theatrical 
career as advance agent for Edwin Adams 1870, and the 
following year was lessee of the Akron Opera-House. He 
was manager for John T. Raymond and for Miss Crabtree 
(‘Lotta’), and in 1876 was manager of the Park Theatre, 
New York. He managed starring tours of Sarah Bern¬ 
hardt, Adelina Patti. Adelaide Neilson, Mrs. Langtry, and 
Edwin Booth; managed simultaneously the Grand Opera 
House and Booth’s Theatre, New York, and the Park 
Theatre, Boston, and the Lyceum Theatre, London. He 
opened the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and con 
ducted the tour in America of Henry Irving. His man¬ 
agement had remarkable success. He d. in 1896. 

ABBON OF FLEURY, d-bong' or fleh-re' , or Abbo Flo- 
biacensis, db'bd flo-ri-d-sen sis: 945-1004; b. near Orleans. 
He assisted Abp. Oswald of York in restoring the monastic 
system, and 970 was made abbot of Fleury; was twice 
sent to Rome by Robert the Wise, each time nullifying a 
threatened papal interdict. He was killed while quelling 
a monkish revolt. He wrote the Lives of the Roman Pon¬ 
tiffs, etc. 


ABBOT. 

ABBOT (‘ father ’—see Abba) : name originally given to 
any aged monk, afterward more strictly applied to the 
superior of a monastery or abbey. Since the 6th c., 
abbots have belonged to the clerical orders, but at first they 
were not necessarily priests. After the second Nicene 
Council, 787, abbots were empowered to consecrate monks 
for the lower sacred orders; but they remained in subordi¬ 
nation under their diocesan bishops until the 11th c. As 
abbeys became wealthy, abbots increased in power and 
influence ; many received episcopal titles; and all were 
ranked as prelates of the church next to the bishops, and 
had the right of voting in church-councils. Evcd abbesses 
contended for the same honors and privileges, but without 
success. In the 8th and 9th c., abbeys began to come into 
the hands of laymen, as rewards for'military service. In 
the 10th c., many of the chief abbeys in Christendom were 
under lay-abbots (Abbates Milites, or ARxe-comites), while 
subordinate deans or priors had the spiritual oversight. The 
members of the royal household received grants of abbeys 
as their maintenance, and the king kept the richest for 
himself. Thus, Hugo Capet of France was lay-abbot of St. 
Denis, near Paris. Sometimes convents of nuns were 
granted to men, and monasteries to women of rank. These 
abuses were, in a great measure, reformed during the 10th 
c. After the reformation of the order of Benedictines, 
monasteries arose that were dependent upon the mother- 
monastery of Clugny and without abbots, being presided 
over by priors or vro-abbates. Of the orders founded after 
the 11th c., only some named the superiors of their convents 
abbots; mos*, from humility or other cause, used the titles 
of prior, major, guardian, rector. Abbesses have almost 
always remained under the jurisdiction of their diocesan 
bishop; but the abbots of independent or liberated abbeys 
Icknowledged no lord but the pope. In the middle ages, 
’he so-called Abbates Mitrati frequently enjoyed episcopal 
'Sties, but only a few had dioceses. Before the period of 
secularization in Germany, several of the abbots in that 
country had princely titles and powers. In England there 
tvere a considerable number of Mitred Abbots who sat and 
Voted in the House of Lords. The election of an abbot 
belongs, as a rule, to the chapter or assembly of the monks, 
and is afterward confirmed by the pope or by the bisbop, 
according as the monastery is independent or under episco¬ 
pal jurisdiction. But from early times, the pope in Italy 
has claimed the right of conferring abbacies, and the con¬ 
cordat of 1516 gave that right to the king of France. Non- 
monastic clergy who possessed monasteries were styled 
Secular Abbots; while their vicars, who discharged the 
duties, as well as all abbots who belonged to the monastic 
order, were styled Regular Abbots.. In France, the abuse of 
appointing secular abbots was carried to a great extent 
previous to the Revolution. (See Abbe.) Often monas¬ 
teries themselves chose some powerful person as their secular 
abbot, with a view of ‘ commending ’ or committing their 
abbey to bis protection {Abbes Commendataires). In countries 
which joined in the Reformation, the possessions of abbey/ 


ABBOT 

•were mostly confiscated by the crown; but in Hanover, 
Brunswick, and Wurtemberg several monasteries and 
convents were retained as educational establishments. In 
the Greek Church, the superiors of convents are called 
Hegumeni or Mandrites, and general abbots, Archimandrites. 

ABBOT, Benjamin, ll. d.: educator: about 1762-1849, 
Oct. 25. He was a Harvard graduate of 1788. Dr. A. 
was best known as principal of Phillips Exeter Acad., 
N. H., 1811-38. Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, Daniel 
Webster, and George Bancroft were among his pupils. 

ABBOT, Charles: see Colchester, Lord. 

ABBOT, Ezra, d.d., ll.d.: 1819, Apr. 28—1884, Mar* 
21: b. Jackson, Me.; eminent biblical scholar, a layman. 
After studying at Phillips Exeter Acad, he graduated at 
Bowdoin College, 1840. In 1856 Dr. A. was appointed asst, 
librarian in Harvard Univ., and soon became an authority 
on bibliography. In 1872 he became prof, of New Test, 
criticism in Harvard Diviuity School. He was one of the 
American Committee of New Test. Revisers. Dr. A.was a 
frequent contributor to the leading religious magazines, in¬ 
cluding the Bibliotheca Sacra (Andover) and the Unitarian 
Review, and was the author of a valuable examination into 
the “ Authorship of the Fourth Gospel,” which has taken 
rank among the highest authorities on that disputed theme. 
He also compiled the extraordinary bibliographical -work at¬ 
tached as an appendix to Alger’s History of the Doctrine of 
the Future Lfe, containing more than five thousand three 
hundred titles of works relating to the Nature, Origin, and 
Destiny of the Soul. This invaluable catalogue is provided 
with uotes and alphabetical indexes, and has two appen¬ 
dixes containing titles of the more remarkable works on 
Modern Spiritualism, and relating to the Souls of Brutes. 
Dr. A. was an enthusiastic lover of nature, particularly of 
flowers and of the starry heavens. He was modest and re¬ 
tiring in disposition, a gentle, kindly Christian in character, 
a student all his life—industrious and painstaking, and a 
critic of rare judgment, of perfect candor, and accuracy. 

ABBOT, ab'ot, George: 1562-1633: English prelate under 
the Stuarts—remarkable chiefly for his position as an active 
opponent of the policy of Laud and a despotic court: the son 
of a cloth-manufacturer in Guildford. After studying at 
Oxford, he was appointed chaplain to the Earl of Dunbar, 
1608, with whom lie went to Scotland. This appointment 
was the basis of A.’s subsequent promotion. For a short 
time he held the see of Lichfield and Coventry, and in 1610 
was made archbishop of Canterbury. As a learned and 
able man, but more especially as a friend of toleration, he 
gained the esteem of all parties in an age of religious ani¬ 
mosities. James I. employed the advice of A. in the most 
important affairs of state, and the prelate often opposed the 
arbitraly principles -of the king. A.’s intolerance of Armin- 
ian doctrines was an exception to his general rule of con¬ 
duct. His independent and liberal spirit incurred the dis¬ 
pleasure of Charles I. A. was employed on the authorized 
translation of the Bible under James I. 


ABBOT. 

ABBOT, George, ‘The Puritan’: English theologian 
1603-1648, Feb. 2; b. Easington, East Yorkshire. England. 
He was a member for Tamworth in the Long Parliament, 
and fought against Prince Rupert during the civil war. 
He was remarkable for scholastic learning and critical 
ability; and though a layman he wielded a profound in¬ 
fluence amid the fierce religious controversies of his time. 
He wrote the Whole Book of Job Paraphrased (1640); 
Vindicm Sabbathi (1641); and Brief Notes upon the Whole 
Book of Psalms (1651). A. is very commonly mistaken for 
others of the same name, e.g., a son of Sir Morris Abbot. 

ABBOT, Gorham Hummer, ll.d.: educator: 1807, Sep. 
3—1874, July 31; b. Hallowell, Me.; bro. of Jacob Abbott 
(though he spelled his name with one t ). He graduated 
from Bowdoiu College 1826; studied theology at Andover; 
ordained as a Congl. minister 1831; taught in New York; 
afterward settled in New Rochelle, N. Y., where he also 
did literary work for the Amer. Tract Soc. He established, 
with bis brothers, the Abbot Institute, New York; and 
founded Spingler Institute 1847, conducting it till 1860. 
Dr. A. was noted as a biblical student; and was author of 
well-known Sunday school books; also Family at Home , 
Pleasure and Profit , Mexico and the United States. 

ABBOT, db'bot, Henry Larcom: military engineer: b. 
Beverly, Mass., 1831, Aug. 13; graduated at West Point, 
1854. He was attached to the office of the Pacific railroad 
surveys in Washington, and afterward to that of the delta 
of the Mississippi river. He served through the civil war; 
was wounded at the first battle of Bull Run; brevetted 
maj.gen. of vols., and brig.gen. U. S. A., 1865, Mar. 
13 ; appointed maj. of U. S. engineers, 1865, Nov. 11, and 
promoted lieut.col. 1880, Mar. 31, and col. 1886, Oct. 12. 
He is the inventor of a system of submarine mines for 
coast defense, and has written and published numerous 
reports and treatises on engineering } ordnance, and military 
hydraulics. 

ABBOT, Joel: naval officer: 1793, Jan. 18—1855, Dec. 
14; b. Westford, Mass. Early in the second war with Eng¬ 
land he was appointed midshipman and ordered to the 
frigate President, as aid and signal officer to Com. Rogers, 
by whom A. was recommended to Com. Macdonough, 
commanding the naval forces on Lake Champlain. The 
com., learning that the enemy had a large number of spars 
in store at Sorel, commissioned A. to destroy them. This 
he did, risking death as a spy by entering the enemy’s lines 
in the disguise of a Brit, officer. But the hardships at¬ 
tending the exploit left him, on his return, in a state of 
nervous prostration from which he was long in rallying. 
For gallantry in this instance, as well as in an action off 
Cumberland Head, 1814, congress promoted him to lieut. 
and voted him a sword. He was placed in charge of a private 
craft, the Mariana, captured off the coast of Africa 1818. 
The crew mutinied on the home voyage, but A. held them 
at bay, and successfully brought the vessel to port. He 
was appointed commander 1838; was in command of the 


ABBOTSFORD—ABBOTT. 

Boston navy-yard 1839-42; and commanded the Macedo¬ 
nian, of the Japan expedition 1852, succeeding Com. Perry 
as flag officer of the squadron. He d. in Hong Kong. 

ABBOTSFORD : the seat of Sir Walter Scott; on the s. 
bank of the Tweed, a little above its confluence with the 
Gala, and about three miles from the town of Melrose. Be¬ 
fore it became, in 1811, the property of Sir Walter, the site 
of the house and grounds of A. formed a small farm known 
by the name of Clariy Bole. The new name was the inven¬ 
tion of the poet, whom it pleased thus to connect himself 
with the days when Melrose abbots passed over the fords of 
the Tweed. On this spot, a sloping bank overhanging the 
river, with the Selkirk Hills behind, he built at first a small 
villa, now the western wing of the castle. Afterwards, as 
his fortune increased, he added the remaining portions of 
the building, on no uniform plan, but with the desire of com¬ 
bining in it some of the features (and even actual remains) 
of those ancient works of Scottish architecture which he 
most venerated. The result was that singularly picturesque 
and irregular pile, which has been aptly characterized as ‘ a 
romance in stone and lime.’ The present proprietor of A. 
is the Hon. Joseph Constable Maxwell, son of Lord Herries, 
who, in 1873, married a great-granddaughter of the novel¬ 
ist, and assumed the name of Scott. A. is visited annually 
by thousands of people of every nationality. 

ABBOTT, Austin, ll.d.: legal writer: b. Boston, 1831, 
Dec. 18; son of Jacob A. Removing to New York he 
graduated at the univ. of that city, and there began the 
practice of law. In early life he joined with his brothers 
Benjamin V. and Lyman in writing: two novels, Conecut 
Corners (1855), and Matthew Caraby (1858). He is known- 
as the compiler, in part jointly with his bro. Benjamin V., 
of legal reports and of digests of federal and state laws oi 
very high value to the legal profession. He d. 1896, Apr. 19. 

ABBOTT, Benjamin: minister of the Metli. Episc. 
Chh.: 1732-1796, Aug. 14; b. on Long Island, N. Y. In 
youth he spent several years in Philadelphia, where he 
led a profligate life. At the age of 33, in N. J., he was 
converted under the preaching of an itinerant Methodist, 
and soon entered with fervent zeal on the work of preach¬ 
ing. After 16 years as a local preacher, he served as an 
itinerant in N. Y. and N. J., and from 1793 as an elder 
in Md. He lacked education; but possessed a natural 
eloqueuce which, with his fervid piety, gave him wonder¬ 
ful effectiveness in the pulpit, so that multitudes of rough 
and hardened men were melted under his appeals. He d. 
in Salem, N. J. 

ABBOTT, Benjamin Vaughan: legal writer: 1830, June 
4—1890, Feb. 17; b. Boston; son of Jacob A. He was 
educated at the Univ. of the City of New York; and was 
admitted to the bar 1851. He has been indefatigable and 
prolific in the the production (partly in conjunction with 
his bro. Austin) of vols. of digests of federal and state laws. 
He has written many other works on various departments 
of law; and was a member of the national commission to 


ABBOTT. 

prepare a digest of the laws of the United States. His 
legal writings hold high rank. He d. in Brooklyn. 

ABBOTT, Charles : see Tenterden, Lord. 

ABBOTT, Charles Conrad, m,d.: naturalist: b. Tren¬ 
ton, N. J., of Quaker ancestry, 1843, June 4; educated at 
an academy in Trenton. He studied medicine at the 
Unir of Pennsylvania, and graduated 1835. Dr. A. is 
known as an archeologist, having investigated pre-historic 
remains in this country beyond any other scientist, and 
collected as many as 20,000 specimens, including stone 
implements, etc., which he has placed in the Peabody 
Museum, Cambridge, Mass. As a contributor to the scien¬ 
tific journals and on account of his valuable reports of 
government surveys, Dr. A. is highly esteemed, and also 
as the author of a number of important works, including 
Primitive Industry , or Illustrations of the Handwork in Stone, 
Bone , and Clay of the Native Races of the North Atlantic Sea¬ 
board of America (1881); A Naturalist’s Rambles about 
Home (1884), Upland and Meadow (1886); Waste-land Wan¬ 
derings (1887). Many of his valuable papers have appeared 
in The Popular Science Monthly, Smithsonian Reports . 
Science, Nature , etc. 

ABBOTT, Edward: clergyman and editor: b. Farming- 
ton, Me., 1841, July 15; son of Jacob A. He graduated atT 
the Univ. of New York 1860, and studied theology at An¬ 
dover Seminary. In 1862-3, during the civil war, he 
served in the U. S. Sanitary Commission, in Washington, 
and with the Army of the Potomac. In 1863 he was or¬ 
dained a Congregational minister, and 1865 became founder 
and pastor of the Pilgrim Cough Church, Cambridge. In 
1869 he resigned his pastorate to become one of tLe 
editors of the Congregationalist, Boston, from which posi¬ 
tion he withdrew 1877; and having taken orders i'll the 
Prot. Episc. Church, became rector of St. James’s Parish, 
Cambridge, which position hestill holds. In 1877 alsohebe- 
earne part owner and editor-in-chief of the Literary World. 
For many years he was a frequent contributor to the 
Christian Union and the Independent, also contributing to 
the magazines. He has published several books, including 
The Conversations of Jesus; Revolutionary Times; a memoir 
of his father, in the ‘ memorial edition ’ of the Young Chris¬ 
tian; and Authorship of the Fourth Gospel , and Other Critical 
Essays (1889). 

ABBOTT, Edwin, d.d.: English educator and author: 
b. London, 1838. He graduated at St. John’s College, 
Cambridge, 1861; was ordained priest 1863; and was ap¬ 
pointed head-master of City of London School 1865. He 
was the author of the clause in the education bill of 1870 
forbidding the teaching of any religious catechism in the 
board-schools. He was also responsible for the provision 
which secures to the successful candidate from the schools 
under the London board free admission to City of London 
School. Dr. A. received the degree d.d. from the abp. of 
Canterbury 1872. His Shakspearean Grammar and Eng¬ 
lish Lessons for English People are well known. He has 


ABBOTT. 

published also: Cambridge Sermons (1875); Bacon's Essays 
(1876); Through Nature to Christ, Bacon and Essex (1877); 
Oxford Sermons, Philochristus (1878); Onesimus (1882). 

ABBOTT, Emma: see Wetherell, Emma (Abbott). 

ABBOTT, Jacob : 1803-79; b. Maine: 1825 to 1829, a 
professor in Amherst College. In 1838 he began writing 
those simple and popular works, mainly for the young, by 
which his name was so widely known. His works num¬ 
bered 300 vols.; but it is perhaps not too much to say, that 
of all works intended for the juvenile mind, his are the best 
in the English language. So thoughtful an instructor of 
youth even as Dr. Arnold speaks in high terms of The Way 
to do Good. Nearly all his books have been repeatedly re¬ 
published in England, and some have been translated into 
various European and Asiatic languages. His most popular 
work is The Young Christian. Besides this, he has written 
The Franconia Stories; Histories of Celebrated Persons, 30 
vols.; Harper's Story boohs, 36 vols.; etc. 

ABBOTT, John Joseph Caldwell: Canadian states- 
man:b. 1821,Mar. 12—’93,Oct.30; b. St.Andrews. He gradu¬ 
ated at M’Gill College, Montreal; studied for the bar, 
and was admitted to practice. From 1859-67 he represented 
Argenteuil in the Canadian assembly, and was solicitor- 
gen. 1862. On the formation of the Dominion 1867 he 
entered parliament, but on account of certain disclosures, 
retired and resumed his private law practice. In 1879 he 
visited England in connection with the dismissal of the 
ministry, but re-entered the Canadian parliament a year 
later. He joined Sir John A, Macdonald’s cabinet 1887, 
and succeeded him as premier 1891, June, resigning 1892, 
Nov., from failing health. He is credited with having 
originated many important acts of Canadian legislation, 
including the Insolvency Act, 1864. 

ABBOTT, John Stephens Cabot: 1805-77; b. Maine: 
clergyman and author, brother of Jacob. He was a graduate 
of Bowdoin College and Andover Theol. Sem. After 
studying systems of education in the United States and Eu¬ 
rope, he was ordained in 1830, and was pastor of Congrega¬ 
tional churches successively in Worcester, Koxbury, and 
Nantucket, Mass. The success of The Mother at Home, 
published by him, 1833, and of a succeeding work, The 
Child at Home, induced him to devote himself to literary 
work, mainly of a historical and religious character. 
Among his larger works are: Kings and Queens; or, Life in 
the Palace; The French Revolution of 1789; The History of 
Napoleon Bonaparte; Napoleon at St. Helena; The History 
of Napoleon III.; History of the Civil War in America; Ro¬ 
mance of Spanish History; The History of Frederick the 
Second of Prussia; and The History of Christianity. He 
also wrote many smaller biographies. His most popular 
work is The History of Napoleon Bonaparte. His style was 
graphic and vivid, his historical grouping effective, his nar¬ 
rative and description lively, and his works had an enor¬ 
mous sale in this country and abroad. He d. in Fairhaven, 
Conn. 


ABBOTT—ABBREVIATE. 

ABBOTT, Lyman, d.d. : Congl. clergyman and editor, 
b. Roxbury, Mass., 1835, Dec. 18; sou of Jacob A., the 
eminent author. In 1853 he graduated from the Univ. 
of the State of New York, and began the study of law. 
Three years later he entered into partnership with his 
brothers, Benjamin V. A. and Austin A., but afterward 
abandoned the bar and studied theology with his uncle, 
the Rev. John S. C. A. In 18G0 he was ordained a minis¬ 
ter in the Congl. Church, Farmington, Me., and the same 
year accepted a call to the First Congl. Church, Terre Haute, 
Ind., where he remained until 1865, when he was appointed 
sec. of the American Freedman’s Commission, which office 
he held till 1868. During 1866-69 he was pastor of the 
New England Congl Church, New York, but in the latter 
year he resigned to engage in literary work. He was 
joined with his brothers in the authorship of two novels, 
Cone-Cut Corners (1855) and Matthew Caraby (1858). These 
were his only attempts at fiction, his principal works 
being the following: The Result of Emancipation in the 
United States (1867); Old Testament Shadows of New Test¬ 
ament Truths (1870); Jesus of Nazareth: His Life and 
Teachings (1869); Illustrated Commentary on the New Test¬ 
ament, 4 vols. (1875 et seq.); A Layman's Story (1872); a 
Dictionary of Religious Knowledge (1872); Life of Henry 
Ward Beecher (1883); Family Worship (1883); In aid of 
Faith ( 1886); Signs of Promise (1889); and The Evolution 
of Christianity (1892). Dr. A. has had important editorial 
connections with Harper's Monthly Magazine , was the 
editor of The Illustrated Christian Weekly , published by 
the American Tract Soc.; and was associated with Henry 
Ward Beecher in editing The Christian Union , of which 
paper, now The Outlook, he afterward became editor-in- 
chief. He has also edited two volumes of sermons and 
a selection of writings by Mr. Beecher. After Mr. Beech¬ 
er’s death, Dr. A. acceded to a request from Plymouth 
Church that he should act as pastor till a permanent selec¬ 
tion was made. 1888, May 25, he was unanimously called 
to the permanent pastorate, and 1890, Jan. 16, was for¬ 
mally installed at a council of ministers and laymen. He 
resigned the pastorate in 1898. 

ABBOT OF MISRULE, or Abbot of Fools, or 
Abbot of Unreason: leader of the festival revels of 
the middle ages in England and Scotland, by some sup¬ 
posed to have originated in the monastic festivals. 

ABBREVIATE, v. db-bre'vl-dt [mid. L. abbreviates, 
shortened—fromL. ab, brevis , short]: to shorten; to reduce 
to a smaller size; to abridge. Abbre via ting, imp. Ab- 
bre'via'ted, pp. Abbreviation, n. db-bre vX-a shun, the 
act of shortening; a part of a word used for the whole. 
Abbre'via'tor, n. one who. The Abbreviators were a body 
of 70 papal scribes assigned to the work of preparing in 
due form the pope’s bulls, briefs, and decrees. Abbrevia- 
tory, a. db-bre vX-d-tor-X, shortening. Abbre'viature, n. 
- vUl-tur . an abbreviation.— Syn. of ‘abbreviate’: to 
abridge; curtail; contract. 


ABBREVIATIONS. 


ABBREVIATIONS : contrivances in writing for saving 
time and space. They are of two kinds, consisting either 
in the omission of some letters or words, or in the substitu¬ 
tion of some arbitrary sign. In the earliest times, when 
uncial or lapidary characters were used, A. by omission 
prevailed, such as w r e find on the inscriptions on monu¬ 
ments, coins, etc. In these, the initial letter is often put 
instead of the whole word, as M. for Marcus, F. for Filius. 
It was after the small Greek and Roman letters had been 
invented by transcribers for facilitating their work, that 
signs of abbreviation, or characters representing double con¬ 
sonants, syllables, and whole words, came into use. Greek 
manuscripts abound with such signs, and often only one 
that has expressly studied Greek palteography can interpret 
them. From the manuscripts, they passed into the early 
printed editions of Greek books, and it is only recently that 
they have quite disappeared. Among the Romans, signs of 
abbreviation were called notes, and professed scribes who 
employed them were notarii. To such an extent was the 
system carried, that L. Annaeus Seneca collected and classi¬ 
fied 5,000 A. The same practice has prevailed in all lan¬ 
guages, but nowhere more than in the Rabbinical writings. 
—The A. used by the ancient Romans were continued and 
increased in the middle ages. They occur in inscriptions, 
manuscripts, and legal documents; and the practice con¬ 
tinued in these long after the invention of printing had made 
it unnecessary in books. An act of parliament was passed in 
the reign of George II. forbidding the use of A. in legal 
documents. Owing to these A., the deciphering of old 
writings requires special study and training, and forms a 
separate science called Diplomatics (q.v.), on which numer¬ 
ous treatises have been written. Tassin’s Nouveau Traitede 
Diplomatique (6 vols., Par. 1750-65) contains, in the third 
volume, an exposition of Roman A. Other works on the 
subject are—Gatterer’s Abriss der Diplnmatik (2 vols., Gott. 
1798); Pertz’s Schrifttafeln (4 Nos., Iiannov. 1846); and 
Kopp’s Palceographica Critica (4 vols., Manh. 1817-29).—In 
ordinary writing and printing, few A. are now employed. 
The sign <£, originally an abbreviation for the Lat. et, 
‘and,’ is perhaps the only one of the arbitrary kind still 
used. It does not stand properly for a word, for it is used 
in different languages, but for an idea, and is as much a 
symbol as The A. by using the initials of Latin words 
are now confined chiefly to titles, dates, and a few phrases; 
as, M.A. {magister artium), Master of Arts; A.D. (, annodom - 
ini), in the year of our Lord; e.g. {exempligratia), for exam¬ 
ple. Many are now formed from English words in the 
same way; as, F.G.S., Fellow of the Geological Society; 
B.C., before Christ.—Most of the sciences and arts have sets 
of signs of abbreviation, or symbols, peculiar to themselves. 
These are of great use both for brevity and clearness. See 
Chemical Symbols, etc. 

The following are the more important A. in general use : 


A, or a (Alpha.) Greek A, a. 
A., or Ans. Answer, 
a., arc (of the French metric 
system). 


A. Acre, Acting, Adjective, 
Afternoon, Alto. 

A. (Commerce.) Accepted. 
Al. First class or rate. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


a., or @. At, or to. 

a., or aa. (Ana, Gr. ava) In 
med., of each the same quantity. 

A.A. Associate of Arts. 

Aa. Aaron. 

AAA. ( Amalgama .) Amalga¬ 
mation. [See AMM.] 

A. A. A. G. Acting Assistant 
Adjutant General. 

A. A. A. S. American Associa¬ 
tion for the Advancement of 
Science, American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences. 

AA. C. Antarctic Circle. 

A. A. G. Assistant Adjutant 
General. 

A. A. Q. M. Acting Assistant 
Quarter Master. 

A. A. Q. M. G. Acting Assist¬ 
ant Quarter Master General. 

A. A. S. American Academy 
of Sciences. 

A. A. S. ( Academics Ameri- 
cance Socius.) Fellow of the 
American Academy. 

A. A. S. S. ( Americana} Anti¬ 
quarians Societatis Socius.) 
Slember of American Antiquari¬ 
an Society. 

A. B. Able-bodied seamen. 

A. B. (Artium Baccalaureus.) 
Bachelor of Arts. [See B. A.] 

Abb. Abbot, or Abbess. 

Abbr, or Abbrev. Abbrevi¬ 
ated, or Abbreviation. 

A B. Q. F. M. American Board 
of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions. 

Ab ex. ( Ab extra) From with¬ 
out. 

A. B. I. S. W. Associated Broth¬ 
erhood of Iron and Steel Workers. 

A’ B* K’ (AA <pa Be7a Kanna.) 
Alpha Beta Kappa (College So¬ 
ciety). 

Abl. Ablative. 

A bp. Archbishop. 

Abr. Abridge, or Abridged. 

A.B. S. American Bible Society. 

Abs. (vied.) Absinthe. 

Abs. re. (Absente reo.) Law. 
While the defendant was ab¬ 
sent. 

A. C. (Ante Christum.) Before 
Christ. 

A. C. Army Corps. 

Ac. Acre. 

Acad. Mus. Academy of Music. 

Acc. Accusative. 

Acc., or acct. Account. 

Acct. Cur. Account Current. 

Acct. Sales. Account of sales. 

A. C. G. S. Acting Commissary 
General of Subsistence. 

A. C. S. American Coloniza¬ 
tion Society. 

A C S. Acting Commissary of 
Subsistence. 

Act. Active. 

A. C. U. L. Alden’s Cyclopedia 
of Universal Literature. 

A. D. (Anno Domini.) In the 
Year of our Lord. 

a. d. After date. 


Ad. or Adv. Adverb, Adver 
tisement. 

Adag. (Adagio.) In mus., a 
slow movement. 

A. 1). C. Aide-de-Camp. 

Ad. Ex. Adams Express. 

Ad. Inf, (Ad Infinitum.) With, 
out limit. 

Ad. Int. (Ad Interim.) In the 
meanwhile. 

Adj. Adjective. 

Adjt. Adjutant. 

Adjt. Gen , or A. G. Adjutant 
General. 

Ad. lib., or Ad. libit. (Ad libi¬ 
tum.) At pleasure. 

Adm. Admiral, Admiralty. 

Adm. Co. Admiralty Court. 

Admr. Administrator, Admiu- 
istration. 

Admx. Administratrix. 

A- A - <£• (AA <t>a AeAra 4>i.) Alpha 
Delta Phi (College Society). 

Ad v. (Ad valorem.) At the 
value. 

Adv. Advocate, Advent. 

iE., or iEt. (JEtatis.) Of age, 
Aged. 

Af , or Afr. Africa, African. 

A. F. A. M. Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons. 

A. E. I. 0. U. (Austrice est Im- 
perare Orbi Universo. or Alles 
Erdreich 1st Oesterreich Unter - 
than.) It is given to Austria to 
Rule the whole Earth (The de¬ 
vice of Austria first adopted by 
Frederick HI.) 

A. G. Adjutant General, Ac¬ 
countant General. 

Ag. (Argentum.) Silver. 

Agr., Agri., or Agric. Agricul¬ 
ture. 

A. G. S. S. American Geo¬ 
graphical and Statistical Society. 

Agt. Agent. 

A. H. (Anno Hegirce.) In the 
year of the Hegira, or flight of 
Mohammed. 

A. H. M. S. American Home 
Missionary Society. 

A. I. American Institute. 

A. I. A. American Institute of 
Architecture. 

A. I. G. Assistant Inspector 
General. 

Al. Aluminium. 

Ala. Alabama. 

Alas. Alaska Territory. 

Aid. Alderman. 

Alex. Alexander. 

Alf. Alfred. 

Ali. (Alibi.) Elsewhere. 

Alt. Altitude. 

Alum. Yalen. (Alumnus Ya - 
lensis.) Alumnus of Yale Col¬ 
lege. 

A. M. (Artium Magister.) Mas¬ 
ter of Arts. [See M. A.] (Ante 
Meridiem.) Before noon. (Anna 
Mundi.) In the Year of the 
World. ( Ante Mortem ) Before 
death. 

Am. Amos. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 


Am., or Amer. America, Amer¬ 
ican. 

A. M. A. American Medical 
Association. 

A. M. 0. Alden's Manifold Cy¬ 
clopedia. 

Am. Ant. Soc. American Anti¬ 
quarian Society. 

Am. Asn. Soc. Sci. American 
Association for Advancement of 
Social Science. 

Am. Col. Soc. American Colo¬ 
nization Society. 

Am. Cyc. American Cyclopae¬ 
dia. 

Am. Ex. American Express. 

Amer. Phar. Soc American 
Pharmaceutical Society. 

A. M. G. Acting Major General. 

Amh Coll. Amherst College. 

Am. L. of H. American Legion 
of Honor. 

AMM. ( Amalgama.) Amalga¬ 
mation. [See AAA.] 

Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. American 
Museum of Natural History. 

Am. Num. Arch. Soc. Ameri¬ 
can Numismatic and Archseologi 
cal Societjc 

Am. Philog. Soc. American 
Philological Society. 

Am. Phil. Soc. American Phil¬ 
osophical Society. 

Amt. Amount. 

Am. Vet. Coll. American Vet¬ 
erinary College (New York). 

An. (Anno.) In the year. 

An., or Ans. Answer. 

Ana. (met?.) In equal quantity. 

An. A. C. ( Anno Ante Christ¬ 
um.) In the Year before Christ. 

Anal. Analysis. 

Anat. Anatomy. 

Anat. Mus. Anatomical Muse¬ 
um. 

Anc. Ancient, Anciently. 

Anc. Hist. Ancient History. 

And. Andrew, Andre, Andrea. 

And. Theol. Sem. Andover 
Theological Seminary. 

Ang. ( Anglice.) In English. 

Ang.-Sax. Anglo-Saxon. 

Anno. Annotate. Annotation. 

Anon. Anonymous. 

Ans. Answer. 

Ant., or Antiq. Antiquity, or 
Antiquities. 

Anth. Anthony. 

Anthr. Soc. Arfthropological 
Society. 

A. 0. F. Ancient Order of For- 
esters 

A. 6. H. Ancient Order of Hi¬ 
bernians. 

Aor. Aorist, Aoristic. 

A. 0. S. S (Americanos Orien- 
talis Societatis Socius.) Mem¬ 
ber of the American Oriental So- 
ciety. 

A. 6. U. W. Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. 

Ap. Apostle, April, Appius. 

Ap. ( Apud.) In the writings of, 
As quoted by. 


A P. H. A. American Public 
Health Association. 

A. P. M. Assistant Pay Master. 

Apo. Apogee. 

Apoc. Apocrypha, Apocalypse. 

Apen. Apennine. 

Apr. April. 

A pri. (A priori.) From some¬ 
thing prior. 

Aq (Aqua.) Water. 

A. Q. M. Assistant Quarter 
Master. 

A Q. M. G. Assistant Quarter 
Master General. 

A. R. ( Anno Regni.) In the 
Year of the Reign. 

A. R. A. Associate of the Royal 
Academy. 

Arab. Arabic, Arabian. 

Arc. Circ. Arctic Circle. 

Arch. Architect, Architecture, 
Archibald. 

Archd. Archdeacon. 

Arg. Rep. Argentine Republic. 

A. R. H. A. Associate of the 
Royal Hibernian Academy. 

Arith. Arithmetic. 

Ariz. Ter. Arizona Territory. 

Ark. Arkansas. 

Am. Arnold. 

Arr. Arrived. 

A. R. R. (Anno Regni Regis, or 
Reginas.) In the year of the 
King’s or Queen’s Reign. 

A. R. S. A. Associate of the 
Royal Scottish Academy. 

A. R. S. S. ( Antiquariorum 
Regice Societatis Socms.) Fellow 
of the Royal Society of Anti¬ 
quaries. 

Art. Article, Artemus. 

Arth. Arthur, Arthurean. 

A. S. Academy of Science. 

A. S , or Assist. Sec. Assistant 
Secretary. 

A. S. Assistant Surgeon. 

As. Arsenic, Arkansas, Astron¬ 
omy, Asia, Asiatic. 

A. S. A. American Statistical 
Association. 

A. S., A-S., A S., A. Sax., or 
Ang.-Sax. Anglo-Saxon. 

A. S. A. S. Member of the 
American Statistical Associa¬ 
tion. 

A. S. C. E. A. American So¬ 
ciety of Civil Engineers and Ar¬ 
chitects. 

A. S. P. C. A. American Soci 
ety for Prevention of Cruelty to 
Animals. 

Ass’t'd. Assorted. 

Asst. Surg. Assistant Surgeon. 

A. S. S. U. American Sunday 
School Union. 

Astrol. Astrology. 

Astron. Astronomy. 

A. T. S American Tract Soci¬ 
ety, American Temperance Soci¬ 
ety. 

Ats. At suit of. 

Atty. Attorney. 

Att.-Gen. Attorney-General. 

At. Wt. Atomic Weight. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Au. ( Aurum.) Gold. 

A. V. A. American Unitarian 
Association. 

Aub. Theol. Sem. Auburn 

Theological Seminary. 

A. U. C. ( Anno Urbis Conditce, 
or Ab Urbe Condita.) In the 
Year from the Building of the 
City—(Rome). 

Aud. Treas Dept. Auditor 
Treasury Department. 

Aug. August. 

Aur. (Aurum.) Gold. 

Auth. Ver., or A. V. Author¬ 
ized Version (of the Bible). 

Av. Average, Avenue. 

Ave. Avenue. 

Avoir. Avoirdupois. 

A. Y. M. Ancient York Masons. 

B, or /3. (Beta.) Greek B, b. 

B. Base or Bass (in music), 

Baron, Book, Bay. 

b. Born, Book. 

B. A. Bachelor of Arts. [See 

A. B.] British America. 

Ba. Barium. 

Baa. Baal, Baalam. 

Bach. Bachelor. 

B. Agr. Bachelor of Agricul¬ 
ture. 

Bald. Baldwin. 

Balt. Baltimore. 

Bank. Banker, Banking. 

Bar. Barrel, Baruch, Barom¬ 
eter, Barrister. 

B. Arch. Bachelor of Architec¬ 
ture. 

Bart., or Bt. Baronet. 

Bat. Battery, Battalion. 

B. B. Bill Book. 

B. B. C. Base Ball Club. 

Bbl. Barrel, Barrels. 

B. C. Before Christ, Board of 
Control. 

B. C. L. Bachelor of Civil Law. 

B. D. Bachelor of Divinity. 

Bd. Bound, Bond, Bound in. 

Bds. Boards. 

Be. (Beryllium.) Glucinum. 

Beau. Beaufort, Beauregard. 

Benj. Benjamin. 

Berks. Berkshire. 

Bev. Beverley. 

B F., or B. fir. Firkin of Butter. 

B. I. British India. 

Bi. Bismuth. 

Bib. Bible, Biblical. 

Biog. Biography. 

Bis. Bismarck, Bismuth, Bis¬ 
sextile. 

Bisc. Biscayan. 

Bk. Book, Bank. 

Bk. Comr. Bank Commis¬ 
sioner. 

Bk. Ex. Book Exchange. 

Bk.-Kr. Book-Keeper. 

B. L., Bachelor of Laws. [See 
LL. B.] 

By L. (com.) Bill of Lading. 

Bl., or Bis. Barrel, Barrels. 

B. Lit. (Bacca laureus Litera- 
rum.) Bachelor of Letters. 

B. LL. (Baccalaureus Legam.) 
Bachelor of Laws. 


B. M. (Baccalaureus Medi 
cince.) Bachelor of Medicine. 
LSee M. B.] 

B. M. (Beatce Memoriae.) Of 
blessed memory. 

B. M. E. Bachelor of Mechan¬ 
ical Engineering, Bachelor of 
Mining Engineering. 

B. Mech. Bachelor of Mechan¬ 
ics. 

B. Mus. Bachelor of Music. 

Boliem. Bohemian. 

Bon. Bonaparte. 

Bor. Borough, Boron, 

Bot. Bought. 

Bot. Botany, Botanical, Bota 
aist. 

Boul. Boulevard. 

Bowd. Coll. Bowdoin College. 

Bp. Bishop. 

B/P. Bill of Parcels. 

B. Pay. Bills Payable. 

B. P. B. Bank Post Bills. 

B. P. O. Elks. Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks. 

B. R. The King’s or Queen’i 
Bench. 

Br. Brother, Bromine, Brig. 

Braz Brazil, Brazilian. 

B. Rec. Bills Receivable. 

Brig. Brigade, Brigadier. 

Brig. Gen. Brigadier General. 

Brit. British, Bi’itain, Britan¬ 
nia, Britannicus. 

Brit. Mus. British Museum. 

Bro., Bros. Brother, Brothers. 

Brook. N. Y. Brooklyn Navy 
Yard. 

Br. Univ. Brown University. 

B. S., or B. Sc. Bachelor of 
Science. 

B/S. Bill of Sale. 

Bu , or Bush. Bushel. 

Bucks. Buckinghamshire. 

Burg. Burgomaster, Burgess. 

B. V. ( Bene Vale.) Farewell, 
(Beaca Virgo.) Blessed Virgin, 

B. Vet. Med. Bachelor of 

Veterinary Medicine. 

B. V. M. Blessed Virgin Mary. 

B. W. T. A. British Women’s 
Temperance Association. 

C. Chairman, Carbon, Church, 
Consul, Chapter. 

C. (Centum.) A hundred, 

Cent, Centime. 

C. (Congius.) Gallon. 

C/—. Currency, Coupon. 

Ca. (Circa.) About. 

Cr,. Centare (metric system). 

C. A. commercial Agent, 
Comptroller (or Controller) of 
Accounts, Chief Accountant, 
Chartered Accountant, Confeder¬ 
ate Army. 

Ca. Canada, Canadian. 

Cadav. (med.) Cadaver. 

Cal. Calcium, California. 

Cal. (Caiendce.) Calends, Cal¬ 
endar. 

Cam. (med.) Camphor. 

Cam., or Camb. Cambridge. 

Camb. Obs. Cambridge Obser* 
atory. 



ABBREVIATIONS 


C?an. Canada. Canon. 

Cant. Canticles. 

Cantab. ( Cantabrigiensis .) Of 
Cambridge. 

Cantuar. ( Cantuarensis .) Of 
Canterbury. 

Cap., or c. ( Caput Capitulum.) 
Chapter. 

Cap. Capitol, Capital, Capital 
Letter. 

Caps. Capitals. 

Capt. Captain. 

Capt. Gen. Captain General. 

Car. Carat. 

Card. Cardinal. 

Ca. Resp. ( Capias ad respond¬ 
endum.) A legal writ. 

C. A. S. ( Connecticuttensis 
Academia Socius.) Fellow of 
Connecticut Academy. 

Ca. Sa. ( Capias ad satisfaci¬ 
endum.) A legal writ. 

Cash. Cashier. 

Cast. Castle. 

Cat., or Catal. Catalogue. 

Cath. Catherine, Catholic, 
Cathedral. 

Cath. Inst. Catholic Institute. 

Caus. Causative. 

Cav. Cavalry. 

C. B. (Communis Bancus.) 
Common Bench. 

C. B. Companion of the Bath, 
Cape Breton. 

Cb. Columbium. 

C. C. Cubic Centimetre. 

C. C. Caius College. ( Compte 
Courante) Account Current, 
Crown Clerk, County Court, 
County Clerk, Consular Clerk, 
County Commissioner. 

C. C. A. Chief Clerk of the 
Admiralty. 

C. C. C. Corpus Christi Col¬ 
lege, Christ's College, Cambridge. 

C. C. P. Court of Common 
Pleas. 

Cd. Cadmium. 

Ce. Cerium. 

C. E. Civil Engineer, Canada 
East. 

Cel. or Ce't. Celtic. 

Cen. Century, Centennial. 

Cent. {Centum.) A hundred. 

Cf. (Confer.) Compare. 

C. F. I. Cost, Freight, and In¬ 
surance. 

C. G. Commissary General, 
Captain" of the Guard, Coast 
Guard. 

C. G. H. Cape of Good Hope. 

C. G. S. Commissary General 
of Subsistence. 

C. H. Court House, Captain of 
the Host, Custom House. 

Ch. Church, Chapter, Char¬ 
lotte. Charles. 

Cham, (med.) Chamomile. 

Chamb. Chamberlain. 

Chal., or Chald. Chaldron, 
Chaldee. Clialdaic, Chaldean. 

Chamb. Encyc. Chambers’s 
Encyclopaedia. 

Chanc. Chancellor. 


Chap. Chapter, Chaplain. 

Char. Charter. 

Chas. Charles. 

Chat. Chattel. 

Chem. Chemistry, Chemical, 
Chemist. 

Chey. Cheyenne. 

Chf. Chief. 

Chf.Con. Chief of Construction. 

Chf. E., or Chf. Eng. Chief 
Engineer. 

Chf. Med. Pur. Chief Medical 
Purveyor. 

Chf. Ord. Chief of Ordnance. 

Chftn. Chieftain. 

Chi. (x) Greek Ch. 

Chin. Chinese. 

Chlo. Chloroform, Chloride. 

tn., or Xn. Christian. 

tnty., or Xnty. Christianity. 

Chr. Christopher, Christian. 

tmas., or Xmas. Christmas. 

Chron. Chronicles. 

Cic. Cicero. 

Cin. Cincinnati, 

Cit. Citizen, Cited. 

Civ. Civil, Civilian. 

C. J. Chief Justice. 

Cl. Clergyman, Chlorine, Clerk. 

Cl. Centilitre (metric system). 

C. L. A. Chautauqua Lake As¬ 
sembly. 

Class. Classical. 

Cleop. Cleopatra. 

Cleve. Cleveland. 

Cld. Cleared. 

Clk. Clerk. 

C. L. S. C. Chautauqua Literary 
and Scientific Circle. 

C. M. (Congregattonis Mis- 
sionum.) Vincentians or Lazar- 
ists. 

C. M. ( Chirurgice Magister.) 
Master in Surgery, Certificated 
Master, Common Metre. 

C. M. G. Companion of the 
Order of St. Michael and St. 
George. 

Co. Company, County Cobalt. 

C. O. Colonial Office, Crown 
Office, Criminal Office. 

Coad. ( Cum jure sue.) Coad. 
jutor, with right of succession. 

Coad. Bp. Coadjutor Bishop. 

Cocli., or Cochl. ( Cochleare .) 
A teaspoonful, a spoonful. 

C O. D. Cash (or collect) on 
delivery. 

Cog. Cognate. Cognate with. 

Col, Colonel, Colossians, Colo 
rado, Column, Colonial, Color. 

Col. Corp. Color Corporal. 

Col. Gd. Color Guard. 

Coll. Collector, Colleague, Col 
lege, Collection. 

Coll., or Colloq. Colloquial, 
Colloquially. 

Colo. Colorado. 

Col. Sergt.. Color Sergeant. 

Com. Commerce, Commit 
tee. Commentary, Commissioner, 
Commodore, Commune, Com¬ 
munity, Common, Commoner 
Commission. Communication. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 


Com. Agric. Committee on 
Agriculture, Commissioner of 
Agriculure. 

Com. An*. Committee of Ar¬ 
rangements. 

Com. Bk. Committee on Banks. 

Com. Cont. Elec. Committee 
on Contested Elections. 

Com. Cont. Ex. Committee on 
Contingent Expenses. 

Com. Dept. Commissary De¬ 
partment. 

Comdg. Commanding. 

Comdt. Commandant. 

Com. Ed. Committee on Edu¬ 
cation. 

Com. Fin. Committee on Fi¬ 
nance. 

Com. Fin. Adj. Committee on 
Final Adjournment. 

Com. For Rel. Committee on 
Foreign Relations. 

Com. Gov. Mes. Committee on 
Governor’s Message. 

Com. H. Committee of the 
House. 

Com. Inc. Committee on In¬ 
corporations. 

Comm. Commentary. 

Com. M. and R. Committee on 
Manual and Roll. 

Com. Merch. Commission Mer¬ 
chant. 

Com. Mil. Aft'. Committee on 
Military Affairs. 

Commo. Commodore. 

Com. Off. Commissioned Offi¬ 
cer. 

Comp. Compare, Compound, 
Compositor, Composition, Com¬ 
parative, Compounded. 

Compar. Comparative. 

Com. Pard. Commissioner of 
Pardons. 

Com Pub. Gds. and Bldgs. 
Committee on Public Grounds 
and Buildings. 

Com. R. R. Committee on Rail¬ 
roads. 

Com. Sen. Committee of the 
Senate. 

Com. Sergt. Commissary Ser¬ 
geant. 

Com. S. P. Committee on State 
Prison. 

Com. Unf. Bus. Committee on 
Unfinished Business. 

Com. Ver. Common Version 
(of the Bible). 

Con. {Contra.) Against, in 
opposition. 

Con. Constitution, Constanti¬ 
nople, Concordance, Contract. 

Conch. Conchology. 

Con. Cr. Contra credit. 

Cong. Congress, Congregation, 
Congregationalist. 

Cong. Lib. Congressional Li¬ 
brary. 

Cong. Rec. Congressional Rec¬ 
ord. 

Conj. Conjunction. 

Conn., Conn’t., Con., or Ct. 
Connecticut. 


Con. Sect. Conic Sections. 

Cons, et Prud. ( Consilio et 
Prudentia.) By counsel and pru¬ 
dence. 

Cons. Mus. Conservatory of 
Music. 

Cont. {Contra.) On the other 
hand. 

Cont. Bon. Mor. {Contra bonos 
mores.) Against good manners. 

Contr, Contradict, Contrac¬ 
tion. 

Conv. Convent. 

Cop. Copper, Copernican. 

Cop., or Copt. Coptic. 

Cor. Correspondent, Correc¬ 
tion, Corinthians, Coroner. 

Cor. Mem. Corresponding 
Member. 

Corn. Univ. Cornell University. 

Corol. Corollary. 

Corr. Corrupt, Corruption. 

Cor. Sec. Corresponding Secre 
tary. 

Cos. Cosine. 

Coss. {Consules.) Consuls. 

C. P. Common Pleas, Chief 
Patriarch, Court of Probate, 
Clerk of the Peace. 

C. P. C. Clerk of the Privy 
Council. 

C. P. S. {Custos Privati Sigilli.) 
Keeper of the Privy Seal. 

C. R. ( Custos Eotulorum.) 
Keeper of the Rolls. {Civis Eo - 
manus.) A Roman Citizen. {Ca¬ 
rolus Eex.) King Charles. {Car¬ 
olina Eeqina.) Queen Caroline. 

Cr. Creditor, Credit, Chro¬ 
mium, Crown. 

Cres. {mus.) Crescendo. 

Cri. Crime, Crimean. 

Crim. Criminal, Criminally. 

Crim. Con. Criminal Conver¬ 
sation or Adultery. 

C. R. P. {Calendarium Eotulo¬ 
rum Patentium.) Calendar of 
the Patent Rolls. 

Crystal., or Crystallog. Crys¬ 
tallography. 

t, or X. Cross. 

tJohn (or other name.) The 
signature of a Roman Catholic 
Bishop. 

Cs. Caesium. 

C. S. Court of Sessions, Com¬ 
missary of Subsistence. 

C. S. {Custos Sigilli.) Keeper 
of the Seal. 

C. S. A. Confederate States 
of America, Confederate States 
Army. 

C. S. I. Companion of the Star 
of India. 

C. S. N. Confederate States 
Navy. 

C. S. O. Chief Signal Officer. 

Ct. Cent. {Centum.) A hun¬ 
dred. 

Ct. Connecticut, Court, Count. 

C. T. Certificated Teacher. 

C. Theod. {Codex Theodosi• 
anus.) The Theodosian Cod©. 

Cts. Cents. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Cu. {Cuprum.) Copper. 

Cum d/—. With dividend. 

Cur., or Curt. Current ( i.e ., this 
month). 

Cwt. (Lat. Centum, a hundred, 
and Eng. weight.) Hundred 
weight. 

Cyc. Cyclopedia. 

Cym. Cymric. 

A, or 5. (AeAra.) Greek D. d. 

D. David, Duke, Duchess, Dow¬ 
ager, Didymium, Dutch, Dose. 

D. Day, Died, Dime, Deputy, 
Daughter, Degree. ( Denarius , or 
Denarii.) A penny, hr pence. 

D. Five Hundred 

D. A. G. Deputy Adjutant Gen¬ 
eral. 

Dak. Dakota. 

Dan. Daniel, Danish. 

Dart. Coll. Dartmouth College. 

Dat. Dative. 

D. B., or Domesd.B. Domesday 
Book. 

Dbk. Drawback. 

D C. Deputy Consul. {Da 
Capo.) Again, or From the begin¬ 
ning. 

D. C. District of Columbia. 

D. C. L. Doctor of Civil (or 
Canon) Law. 

D. D. Doctor of Divinity. 

d/d—. Day’s date. 

D. D. S. Doctor of Dental Sur¬ 
gery. 

Del. Delaware. 

Dea. Deacon. 

Dec. December, Declaration, 
declension. 

Decid. Deciduous. 

Def. Definition. 

Deft. Defendant. 

Deg. Degree, or degrees. 

Del. Delaware, Delegate. 

Del. ( Delineavit .) He (or 
she) drew it,—appended to the 
draughtsman’s name. 

Dem. Democrat, Democratic. 

Den. Denmark. 

Dent. Dentist. 

Dep. Deputy, Department. 

Dep. Q. M. G. Deputy Quar¬ 
termaster General. 

Dept. Department. Deponent. 

Deriv. Derivative, Derivation. 

Deut. Deuteronomy. 

D. F. Dean of the Faculty. 
{Fidei Defensor.) Defender of 
the Faith. 

Dft. Draft, Defendant. 

D. G. {Dei gratia.) By the 
Grace of God. {Deo gratias.) 
Thanks to God. 

dg. decigram (metric system). 

Dg. Dekagram (metric system). 

D. H. Dead Head. 

D. H. L {Literarum Humani- 
orum Doctor.) Doctor of Polite 
Literature. [See L. H. D.] 

Di. Didymium. 

Diam. Diameter. 

Diet. Dictator. Dictionary. 

Dim. Diminutive, Diminution. 

Dim. ( mus.) Diminuendo. 


Dioc. Diocese, Diocesan. 

Dioc. Sem. Diocesan Seminary. 

Dis. Distance. Distant. 

Dis., Disc., or Disct. Discount. 

Dist. District. 

Dist. Atty. District Attorney. 

Div. Divide, Divided, Division, 
Dividend, Divisor. 

Dl. Dekalitre (metric system.) 

D. Lit. ( Literarum Doctor). 
Doctor of Literature. 

D. L. O. Dead Letter Office. 

Dm. Dekametre (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

D. M. D. Doctor Dental Medi¬ 
cine. 

Do. {ditto.) The same. 

Do! , Dols.. $. Dollars. 

D. O. M. ( Deo Optimo Maximo.) 
To God, the best, the greatest. 

Dom. Dominion. 

Dom. Econ. Domestic Econ¬ 
omy. 

Dom. Prel. Domestic Prelate. 

Doz. Dozen. 

D. P. Doctor of Philosophy. 
[See P. D. and Ph. D.] 

D. P. O. Distributing-Post Of¬ 
fice. 

Dpt. Deponent. 

Dr. Debtor, Doctor, Dram. 

Dram. Pers. Dramatis Per¬ 
sonae. 

d/s. Days’ Sight. 

D. S. ( Dal Segno.) From the 
sign. 

D. S. Dekastere (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

D. Sc. Doctor of Science. 

D. T. Dakota Territory. 

D. V. ( Deo volente.) God will¬ 
ing. 

Dwt. (Lat. Denarius and Eng. 
weight.) Pennyweight, or Penny¬ 
weights. 

E. or e. (E7r<riAor.) Greek E. e. 

E. East, Eastern, Earl, Edin¬ 
burg, Erbium. 

Ea. Each. 

Eb. Erbium. 

E. B. English Bible. 

Eben. Ebenezer. 

E. by S. East by South. 

Ebor. ( Eboracum.) York. 

Eboracensis.) Of York. 

E. C. Eastern Central (Posta 
District, London), Established 
Church. 

Eccl. Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasti¬ 
cal. 

Eccl. Hist. Ecclesiastical His 
tory. 

Ecclus. Ecclesiasticus. 

Ed. Editor, Edition. 

E. D. Eastern District (of Brook¬ 
lyn, N. Y.). 

Edin. Edinburgh. 

Edit. Edition. 

Edtn. Edmund. 

Eds. Editors. 

Edvv. Edward, Edwin. 

E. E. and M. P. Envoy Extra¬ 
ordinary and Minister Plenipo 
tentiary. 







ABBREVIATIONS. 


E. FI. Ells Flemish. 

E. Fr. Ells French. 

e.g.,or ex. gr. (exempli gratia.) 
For example. 

Egypt. Egyptians. 

E. 1. East Indies, or East India. 

E. I. C., or E. I. Co. East India 
Company. 

E. I. C. S. East India Com¬ 
pany’s Service. 

Eliz. Elizabeth. 

E. Long. East Longitude. 

E. M. Mining Engineer. ( Equi- 
turn Magister.) Master of the 
Horse. 

Em. Emma, Emily, Emman¬ 
uel. 

Emp. Emperor, Empress, Em¬ 
pire. 

Ency., or Encyc. Encyclopae¬ 
dia. 

Encyc. Amer. Encyclopaedia 
Americana. 

Encyc. Brit. Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

E. N. E. East-Northeast. 

Eng. England, English. 

Eng. Cyc. English Cyclopaedia. 

Engin. Engineering. 

Eng. in Chf. Engineer-in-Chief. 

Ens. Ensign. 

Ent., or Entom. Entomology. 

Env.Ext. Envoy Extx-aordinary. 

Ep. Epistle. 

Eph. Ephesians, Ephraim. 

Ephes. Ephesians. 

Epis. Episcopal. 

Eq. Equal, Equivalent. 

Equiv. Equivalent. 

E. S Ells Scotch. 

Esd. Esdras. 

E S. E. East-Southeast. 

Esp. Especially. 

Esq , or Esqr. Esquire. 

Esq., or Esqs. Esquires. 

Est. Estate. Estimate. 

Estab. Established, Establish¬ 
ment 

Esth. Esther. 

E. T. English Translation. 

et al. {Et alii , or alios,.) And 
others. (Et alibi.) And else¬ 
where (sometimes improperly 
written, et als.) 

Etc., or &c. (Et cop.teri, cazterce, 
or ccetera.) And other things, 
and so forth. 

Eth. Ethiopic. 

et seq. (Et sequentia , or et se- 
quentes.) And what follows, and 
the following. 

Etym. Etymology. 

Evang. Evangelical, Evangel¬ 
ist. 

Ex. Example, Exception, Ex¬ 
odus. 

Exc. Excellency, Exception. 

Exch. Exchequer, Exchange. 

Ex. cp., or xcp. Excoupon. 

Ex. d., or x/d. Exdividend. 

Exec. Executor. 

Exec. Com. Executive Com¬ 
mittee. 

Execx. Executrix. 


ex. g. (exempli gratia.) Fox 
example. 

Exod. Exodus. 

Exon. (Exonia.) Exeter. 

Exr., or Exx. Executor, Exe¬ 
cutrix. 

Ez. Ezra. 

Ezek. Ezekiel. 

F. France, Folio, Fellow, 
Fluorine, Friday, Fahrenheit. 

F. Feminine, Franc, Francs, 
Florin, Florins, Farthing, Far¬ 
things, Foot, Feet. 

F. A. A. Free of all Average. 

F. A. A. A. S. Fellow of the 
American Association for the 
Advancement of Science. 

Fahr. Fahrenheit. 

Fair. Fairfield, Fairhaven, 
Fah’mont, Fairview. 

F. A. M. Free and Accepted 
Masons. 

F. A. S. Fellow of the Anti¬ 
quarian Society. 

F. A. S. E. Fellow of the Anti¬ 
quarian Society of Edinburgh. 

F. B. S. Fellow of the Botani¬ 
cal Society. 

F. C. Free Church (of Scot¬ 
land). 

Fcap., or fcp. Foolscap. 

F. C. P. Fellow of College of 
Preceptors. 

F. C. P. S. Fellow of the Cam¬ 
bridge Philosophical Society. 

F. C. S. Fellow of the Chemical 
Society. 

F. D. (Fidei Defensor, or De- 
fensatrix.) Defender of the 
Faith. 

Fe. ( Ferrum .) Iron. 

F. E. Flemish Ells. 

Feb. February. 

Fee. (Fecit.) He did it. 

F. E. I S. Fellow of the Edu¬ 
cational Institute of Scotland. 

Fern. Feminine. 

Fern. Ac., or Acad. Female 
Academy. 

F. E. S. Fellow of the Entomo¬ 
logical Society, Fellow of the 
Ethnological Society. 

Feud. Feudal. 

F. F. P. S. Fellow of the Fac¬ 
ulty of Physicians and Surgeons 
(Glasgow), 

F. F. V. First Families of 
Virginia (humorous.) 

ff. Following. 

F. G. A. Foreign General Aver¬ 
age. 

F. G. S. Fellow of the Geolog¬ 
ical Society. 

F. H. S. Fellow of the Hci’ti- 
cultural Society. 

Fid. Def. (Fidei Defensor , or 
Defensatrix.) Defender of the 
Faith. 

fi. fa. (Fieri facias.) Cause it 
to be done. 

Fig. Figure, Figures, Figura¬ 
tive, Figu rati vely. 

Finn. Finnish. 

Fir. Firkin. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


F. K. O. C. P. I. Fellow of 
King ana Queen’s College of 
Physicians in Ireland. 

FI. Flemish, Flourished, 
Florin, Florins. 

Fla. Florida. 

FI. E. Flemish Ells. 

Flor. Florence. 

F. L. S. Fellow of the Linnsean 
Society. 

F. M. Field-marshal. 

Fo.,orfol. Folio. 

F. O. Field-officer. 

F. O. B. Free on Board. 

For. Foreign. 

For. Sec Foreign Secretary. 

Fort. Fortification. 

F. P. A. Free of Particular 
Average. 

F. P. S. Fellow of the Philo¬ 
logical Society. 

Fr Franc, Francs, French, 
France, Fragment, Francis, 
Friar, Frank. 

fr. From. 

Frankl. Inst. Franklin In¬ 
stitute, Philadelphia. 

F. R. A. S. Fellow of the Royal 
Astronomical Society. 

F R. C. P. Fellow of the Royal 
College of Physicians; E., of 
Edinburgh. 

F. R. C. S. Fellow of the Royal 
College of Surgeons; E., of Edin¬ 
burgh; I., of Ireland; L., of Lon¬ 
don. 

Fr. E. French Ells. 

Fred. Frederick. 

Freq. Frequentative. 

F. R G S. Fellow of the Royal 
Geographical Society. 

Fri. Friday. . 

F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal 
Society. 

F, R. S. S. A. Fellow of the 
Royal Scottish Society of Arts. 

Frs. Frisian, or Frisic. 

F. R. S. E. Fellow of the Royal 
Society, Edinburgh. 

F. R. S. L. Fellow of the Royal 
Society, London, Fellow of the 
Royal Society of Literature. 

F. S. A. Fellow of the Society 
of Arts, or of Antiquaries; I., of 
Ireland; L., of London. 

F. S. A. E Fellow of the Soci¬ 
ety of Antiquaries, Edinburgh. 

F. S S. Fellow of the Statisti¬ 
cal Society. 

Ft. Fortification. 

Ft. Foot, Feet, Fort. 

F. T. C D. Fellow of Trinity 
College, Dublin. 

Fth. Fathom. 

Fur. Furlong. 

Fut. Future. 

F. Z. S. Fellow of the Zoologi¬ 
cal Society. 

P, or y. (Gamma.) Greek G, g. 

G. Glucinum, Genitive. 

G. Guineas, Guinea, Gulf. 

G. A. General Assembly. 

Ga. Georgia. 

Gael. Gaelic. 


Gal. Galatians, Galen. 

Gal. Gallon, Gallons. 

Galv. Galvanism, Galvanic. 

G. A. R. Grand Army of the 
Republic. 

G. B. Great Britain. 

G. B. & I. Great Britain and 
Ireland. 

G. C. Grand Chancellor, Grand 
Conductor, Grand Chapter. 

G. C. B. Grand Cross of the 
Bath. 

G. C. H. Grand Cross of Han¬ 
over. 

G. C. L. H. Grand Cross of the 
Legion of Honor. 

G. C. M. G. Knights Grand 
Cross St. Michael and St. George. 

G. C. S. I. Knight Grand Com¬ 
mander of the Star of India. 

G. D. Grand Duke, Grand 
Duchess. 

G. E. Grand Encampment. 

Gen. Genesis, General. 

Gen. Genitive, Generally. 

Gent. Gentleman. 

Gent. Mag. Gentlemen’s Maga¬ 
zine. 

Geo. George, Georgia. 

Geog. Geography, Geographer. 

Geol. Geology, Geological, 
Geologist. 

Geom. Geometry, Geometer. 

Geor. Hist. Soc. Georgia His¬ 
torical Society. 

Ger. Gerund. 

Ger. German, Germany. 

G. F. G. Governor’s Foot 
Guard. 

G. H. G. Governor’s Horse 
Guard. 

Gi. Gills. 

G. L. Grand Lodge. 

Gl. ( Glossa.) A Gloss. 

G. M. Grand Master 

G. M. P. K. Grand Master o! 
the Knights of St. Patrick. 

G. O. General Order. 

Go., or Goth. Gothic. 

Gov. Governor. 

Gov.-Gen. Governor-General. 

G. P. (Gloria Patri.) Glory to 
the Father. 

G. P. O. General Post-Office. 

G R. (Georgius Rex.) Kii? 
George, Grand Recorder. 

Gr. Greek, Gross, Great. 

Gr. Grain or grains. 

Gram. Grammar. 

Gro. Gross. 

G X S. Grand Secretary, Grand 
Sentry, Grand Sentinel. 

G. T. Good Templars, Grand 
Tyler. 

Gtt. (Gutta, or guttce.) Drop, 
or drops. 

Gun. Gunnery. 

H. or ■»;. (Eta.) Greek e long. 

H. Hydrogen. 

H. Hour, Height, High, Har¬ 
bor, Husband. 

H., or hr. Hour, hours. 

h. a. (Hoc anno.) This year. 

Ha. Hektare (metric system). 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Hab. Habakkuk. 

Hab. corp. ( Habeas corpus.) 
You may have the body. 

Hab. fa. poss. ( Habere facias 
possessionem.) (law.) A writ to 
put the plaintiff in possession. 

Hag. Haggai. 

Ham. Coll. Hamilton College. 

Hants. Hampshire. 

H. B. C. Hudson’s Bay Com¬ 
pany. 

H. B. M. His (or Her) Britannic 
Majesty. 

H. C. House of Commons, 
Herald’s College. 

H. C. M. His (or Her) Catholic 
Majesty. 

Hdkf. Handkerchief. 

H. E. His Eminence, Hydraulic 
Engineer. 

h. e. ( Hoc est , or Hie est.) That 
is, or this is. 

Heb., or Hebr. Hebrew, He¬ 
brews. 

Hectol. Hectolitre (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

H. E. I. C. Honorable East In¬ 
dia Company. 

H. E. I. C. S. Honorable East 
India Company’s Service. 

Her. Heraldry. 

Herp. Herpetology. 

H. F. Holy Father. 

Hf.-bd. Half-bound. 

Hf. cf. Half calf. 

Hg. (Hydrargyrum.) Mercury. 

H. G. Horse Guards. 

H. H. His Holiness (the Pope), 
His (or Her) Highness. 

Hhd. Hogshead, Hogsheads. 

Hier. ( Hierosolyma.) Jerusa¬ 
lem. 

H. I. H. His (or Her) Imperial 
Highness. 

Hil. Hilary. 

Hind. Hindu, Hindustan, Hin- 
dustanee. 

Hist. History, Historical. 

H. J. S. (Hie Jacet Sepultus.) 
Here lies buried. 

H. L. House of Lords. 

HI. Hectolitre (metric system). 

H. M. His (or Her) Majesty. 

H. M. C. His (or Her) Majesty’s 
Customs. 

H. M. P. (Hoc monumentum 
posuit.) Erected this monument. 

H. M. S. His (or Her) Majesty’s 
Steamer, Ship, or Service. 

Ho. House. 

Hon. Honorable. 

Hor. Horace, Horizon. 

Hort. Horticulture. 

Hos. Hosea. 

Hosp. Sergt. Hospital Sergeant. 

Hosp. Stew. Hospital Steward. 

H. P. Horse Power, Half-pay, 
High Priest. 

Hr., Hrn. Mr., sir; Messrs., 
gentlemen. (German.) 

H. R. House of Representa¬ 
tives. 

H. R.E. Holy Roman Emperor, 
or Empire. 


H. R. H. His (or Her) Royal 
Highness. 

H. R. I. P. (Hie Requiescit In 
Pace.) Here rests in peace. 

H. S. (Hie Situs.) Here lies. 

H. S. H. His (or Her) Serene 
Highness. 

H. S. S. (Historice Societatis 
Socius.) Fellow of the Historical 
Society. 

h. t. (Hoc titulo.) This title, in 
or under this title. 

Hum., or Humb. Humble. 

Hun., or Hung. Hungary, Hun 
garian. 

Hund. Hundred, Hundreds. 

h. v. (Hoc verbum.) This word. 
(His verbis.) In these words. 

Hy. Art. Heavy Artillery. 

Hyd. Hydrostatics. 

Hydraul Hydraulics. 

Hydros. Hydrostatics. 

hypoth. Hypothesis, hypothet¬ 
ical. 

I, or i. Iwra, (Iota.) Greek 
I.i. 

I. Island, Iodine. 

I, II, III. One, two, three, or 
first, second, third. 

l a. Iowa. 

l b. , or Ibid. (Ibidem.) In the 
same place. 

Ice,, or Icel. Iceland, Icelandic. 

I. C. E. Institution of Civil En¬ 
gineers. 

Ich., or Ichth. Ichthyology. 

Icon. Encyc. Iconographic En¬ 
cyclopaedia. 

I. C. TH. U. S. (Gr. Iesous 
Christos , Theou Huios, Soter.) 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the 
Saviour. 

Ictus. (lurisconsultus.) Coun¬ 
selor at Law. 

Id. Idaho. 

Id. (Idxis.) Ides. 

Id. (Idein.) The same. 

I. e. (Id est.) That is. 

I. G. Inside Guardian. 

I. H. S. (Iesus [or Jesus] Homi~ 
num Salvator.) Jesus the Saviour 
of Men. 

ii. Two. 

Ill. Illinois. 

Imp. Imperial. (Imperato \.) 
Emperor. 

Imp., or Impel*. Imperative. 

Imp., or Imperf. Imperfect. 

Impers. Impersonal. 

In. Inch, Inches. 

l nc. , or Incor. Incorporated. 

Incept. Inceptive. 

Inch. Inchoative. 

Incog. (Incognito.) Unknown. 

l nd. India, Indian, Indiana, 
Index. 

Ind., or Indie. Indicative. 

I. N. D. (In Nomine Dei.) In 
the name of God. 

Indef. Indefinite. 

Ind. Meth. Independent Meth* 
odists. 

Indo. Eur. Indo-European. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 


Ind. T., or Ind. Ter. Indian Ter¬ 
ritory. 

Inf. (Infra.) Beneath or below. 

Inf. Infinitive, Infantry. 

in f. (in fine.) At the end of 
the title, law, or paragraph 
quoted. 

In lim. (In limine.) At the 
outset. 

In loc. (In loco.) In the place, 
on the passage. 

I. N. R. I. (Iesus [or Jesus] 
Nazar enus. Rex Judceorum.) 
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the 
Jews. 

l ns. Inspector, Insurance, In¬ 
stant. 

Insep. Inseparable. 

Insp. Gen. Inspector General. 

Inst. Instant (the present 
month). 

Inst. Institute, Institutes, In¬ 
stitution. 

Inst. Act. Institute of Actuaries. 

Inst. Bks Institute of Bankers. 

Inst. C. E. Institution of Civil 
Engineers. 

Inst. M. E. Institute of Mechan¬ 
ical Engineers. 

Inst. N. A. Institution of Naval 
Architects. 

In sum. (In summa.) In the 
summary. 

l nt. Interest. 

Int. Interpreter. 

Intens. Intensive. 

Interj. Interjection. 

Intr. Introduction. 

Intrans. Intransitive. 

in trans. (In iransitu.) In the 
passage. 

Introd. Introduction. 

Inv. Invoice. 

Io. Iowa. 

I. O. B. B. Independent Order 
of B’nai B’rith. 

I. O. F. Independent Order of 
Foresters. 

I. O. F. S. I. Independent Or¬ 
der of the Free Sons of Israel. 

I. O. G. T. Independent Order 
bf Good Templars. 

Ion. Ionic. 

I. O. O. F. Independent Order 
ef Odd Fellows. 

I. O. R. M. Independent (or Im¬ 
proved) Order of Red Men. 

I. O. S. H. Independent Order 
Sons of Hermann. 

I. O. S. M. Independent Order 
of the Sons of Malta. 

I. O. U. I owe you. An ac¬ 
knowledgment for money. 

I. P. D. (hi Prcesentia Domi- 
norum.) In presence of the Lords 
(of Sessions). 

Ipecac. Ipecacuanha. 

I. q. (Idem quod.) The same 
as. 

Ir. Ireland, Irish, Iridium. 

Iran. Iranian, Iranistan. 

Ire. Ireland. 

I. R. O. Internal Revenue Offi 

**■ 


Irreg. Irregular. 

I. S. Inside Sentinel, Irish So 
ciety. 

l s. , or Isa. Isaiah. 

Isl. Island. 

I. S. M. (Iesus [or Jesus] Salva¬ 
tor Mundi.) Jesus the Saviour 
of the World. 

l t. Italy, Italian. 

I. T. Indian Territory, Inner 
Temple. 

It., or Ital. Italic, Italian, Italy. 

Itin., or Itiner. Itinerant, itin¬ 
erary. 

IV. Four of Fourth. 

IX. Nine or Ninth. 

J. Justice or Judge, John, 
Julius, Julian. 

JJ. Justices. 

J/a. Joint Account. 

J. A. Judge Advocate. 

Jac. Jacob. 

J. A. G. Judge Advocate Gen¬ 
eral. 

Jan. January. 

Jas. James. 

J. C. Jesus Christ, Justice 
Clerk. 

J. C. (Juris Consultus.) Juris¬ 
consult. 

J. C. D. (Juris Civilis Doctor.) 
Doctor of Civil Law. 

J. D. ( Juris Doctor.) Doctor 
of Law, Junior Deacon. 

Je. June. 

Jeho. Jehosaphat. 

Jer. Jeremiah, Jerusalem, Jer¬ 
icho, Jersey. 

J. G. W. Junior Grand War¬ 
den. 

J. H. S. (Jesus Hominum Sal¬ 
vator.) Jesus Saviour of Man¬ 
kind. (See I. H. S.). 

Jno. John. 

Jnt. Joint. 

Jnt. Stk. Joint Stock. 

Jnt. Stk. Co. Joint Stock Com¬ 
pany. 

Jo. Joel. 

Jona. Jonathan. 

Jos. Joseph, Josephine. 

Josh. Joshua. 

Jour. Journal, Journeyman. 

J. P. Justice of the Peace. 

J. Prob. Judge of Probate. 

Jr. Junior. 

J. U. D., or J. V. D. (Juris Utri- 
usque Doctor.) Doctor of both 
Laws, Canon and Civil. 

Jud. Judith. 

Judg. Judges, Judge. 

Judge-Adv. Judge-Advocate. 

Jul. Jnly. 

Jun. June. 

Jun., orjunr. Junior. 

Jun. Part. Junior Partner. 

Jus Justice. (Used to denote 
Associate Justices.) 

Jus. P. Justice of the Peace. 

Just. Justinian, Justice. 

J. V. D. (Juris Utriusque Doc¬ 
tor.) Doctor of both Civil and 
Canon Law. 

J w ^yijior Warden. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


or k. Raima. (Kappa.) 
Greek K, k. 

K. King, Knight. ( Kalium .) 
Potassium. 

K. A. Knights of St. Andrew 
(in Russia). 

Kal. Kalends. 

K. A. N. Knight of St. Alexan¬ 
der Nevoskoj (in Russia). 

Kan. Kansas. 

K. B. King's Bench, Knight of 
the Batli (in Great Britain). 

K. B. A. Knight of St. Bento d’ 
Avis (in Portugal) 

K. B. E. Knight of the Black 
Eagle (in Russia). 

K. C. Knight of the Crescent 
(in Turkey), King’s Council. 

K. C. B. Knight Commander 
of the Bath (in Great Britain).' 

K. C. H. Knight Commander 
of Hanover. 

K. C. M. G Knight Commander 
of St. Michael and St. George. 

K. C. S. Knight of Charles III. 
©f Spain. 

K. C. S. I. Knight Commander 
of the Star of India. 

Ken. Kentucky. 

Kew Obs. Kew Observatory 
(England). 

K. F. Knight of Ferdinand (in 
Spain). 

Kg. Kilogram (metric system). 

K. G. Knight of the Garter (in 
Great Britain). 

K. G. C. Knight Grand Cross 
(in Great Britain), Knight of the 
Golden Circle (in the United 
States). 

K. G. C. B. Knight of the Grand 
Cross of the Bath (in Great Brit¬ 
ain). 

K. G. F. Knight of the Golden 
Fleece (in Spain or Austria). 

K. G. H. Knight of the Guelphs 
or Hanover. 

K. V G. Knight of Gustavns 
Vasa (in Sweden). 

K. H. Knight of Hanover. 

Ki. Kings. 

Kil. Kilderkin. 

Kilo, kilogram. 

K. J. Knight of St. Joachim. 

Kl. Kilolitre (metric system). 

K. L., or K. L. A. Knight of 
Leopold of Austria. 

K. L. H. Knight of the Legion 
of Honor. 

Km. Kilometre (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

Km. Kingdom. 

K. Mess. King’s Messenger. 

K. M. Knight of Malta. 

K. M. H. Knight of Merit in 
Holstein. 

K. M. J. Knight of Maximilian 
Joseph (in Bavaria). 

K. M. T. Knight of Maria The¬ 
resa (in Austria). 

K. N. S. Knight of the North 
Star (in Sweden). 

Knt. Knight. 

K. of H. Knights of Honor. 

.1—2 


K. of P. Knight, or Knights of 
Pythias. 

K. P. Knight of St. Patrick. 

Kr. Kreutzer (German coin). 

K. R. C. Knight of the Red 
Cross. 

K. R. E. Knight of the Red 
Eagle (in Prussia). 

Ks Kftiisss 

K. S. Knight of the Sword (in 
Sweden). 

K. S. A. Knight of St. Anne 
(in Russia). 

K. S. B. Kersher Shel Barzel. 

K. S. F. Knight of St. Fer¬ 
nando (of Spain). 

K. S. G. Knight of St. George 
(in Russia). 

K. S. H. Knight of St. Hubert 
(in Bavaria). 

K. S. I. Knight of the Star ol 
India. 

K. S. J. Knight of St. Januariuj 
(of Naples). 

K. S. L. Knight of the Sun antf 
Lion (in Persia). 

K. S. M. & S. G. Knignt of St 
Michael and St. George. 

K. S. P. Knigli^ of St. Stanisla 
(in Poland). 

K. S. S. Knignt of the Souther* 
Star (in Brazil). 

K. S. W. Knight of St. Wladi 
mir (in Russia). 

K. T Knight Templar, Knigb 
of the Thistle (in Scotland). 

Kt Knight. 

K T. S. Knigh t of the Towei- 
and Sword (in Portugal). 

K. W. Kuight of William (in 
the Netherlands). 

K. W. E. Knight of the White 
Eagle (in Poland.) 

Ky. Kentucky. 

A, or y. AapfiSa. (Lambda J 
Greek L. 1. 

L. Fifty or fiftieth, Laity, 
Latin, Low, Lord, London (aftti 
titles), Lithium, (Liber.) Book. 

L. League, Leagues, Lak t- 

Lane. 

L., 1., or lb. (Libra.) A pound 
in weight. 

L., £, or 1. (Libra, or Libra?.) 
Pound, or Pounds sterling. 

L., or £, s. d. (Librce, solidi, 
denarii.) Pounds, shillings, and 
pence. 

La. Louisiana, Lanthanum. 

L. A. C. Licentiate of the 
Apothecaries' Company. 

L. A. H. Licentiate of the 
Apothecaries’ Hail. 

Ladp. Ladyship. 

Lam. Lamentations. 

Lapp. Lappish. 

L. A, S, Lord Advocate of 
Scotland. 

Lai. Latitude, Latin. 

Lb. (Libra, or Librce.) Pound 
or pounds in weight. 

1. o. Lower case (in printing). 

l. c. (loco citato.) In the place 
before cited. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


£i/C. Letter of Credit. 

L. C. Lord Chancellor, Lord 
Chamberlain, Lower Canada. 

L. C. B. Lord Chief Baron. 

L. C. J. Lord Chief Justice. 

Ld. Lord. 

L. D. Lady Day, Light Dra¬ 
goons. 

Ldp., Lp. Lordship. 

Lea. League. 

Leg. {Legato.) Smoothly, 
Legate. 

Leg., or Legis. Legislature. 

Leip. Leipsic, or Leipzig. 

Lett. Lettish. 

Lev., or Levit. Leviticus. 

Lex. Lexicon, Lexicographer, 
Lexington. 

L. G. Life Guards, Low Ger¬ 
man. 

L. H. A. Lord High Admiral. 

L. H. C. Lord High Chancel¬ 
lor. 

L. H. D. ( Literarum Humani- 
orum Doctor.) Doctor of Polite 
Literature. 

L. H. T. Lord High Treasurer. 

L. I. Long Island, League 
Island, Light Infantry. 

Li. Lithium. 

Lib. {Liber.) Book. 

Lib. Library, Librarian. 

Lieut., or Lt. Lieutenant. 

Lieut. Col. Lieutenant Colonel. 

Lieut. Gen. Lieutenant Gen¬ 
eral. 

Lieut. Gov. Lieutenant Gover¬ 
nor. 

Linn. Linnsean, Linnaeus. 

Linn. Soc. Linnaean Society 
(London). 

Liq. Liquor. 

Lit. Literature, Literary. 

Lit. Literally. 

Lit. D. ( Literarum Doctor.) 
Doctor of Letters. 

Lith. Lithuanian. 

Liv. Livre. 

L. L. Low Latin, Late Latin. 

L. Lat. Low Latin, Law Latin. 

LL. B. {Legum Baccalaureus.) 
Bachelor of Laws. [See B. L. 
and B. LL.] 

LL. D. {Legum Doctor.) Doc¬ 
tor of Laws. [See B LL.] 

L. L. I. Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland. 

LL. M. {Legum Magister.) 
Master of Laws. 

loc. cit. {loco citato.) In the 
place cited. 

Lon. Longitude. 

Lon., or Lond. London. 

Long. Longitude. 

Lou., or La. Louisiana. 

Lp., or Ldp. Lordship. 

L. P. Lord Provost. 

L. P. S Lord Privy Seal. 

L. R. C. P. Licentiate of the 
Royal College of Physicians. 

L. R. C. S. Licentiate of the 
Royal College of Surgeons. 

L. S. Left Side. {Locus Sigilli.) 
Place of the Seal. 


L. S. A. Licentiate of th# 
Apothecaries’ Society. 

L. S. D. ( Librae , Solidi , Denarii.) 
Pounds, Shillings, Pence. 

L. T. {Lira Turca.) The 
Turkish Pound. 

Lt., or Lieut. Lieutenant. 

Lt. Batt. Light Battery. 

Lt., or Lieut. Com. Lieutenant 
Commander. 

Lt., or Lieut. Gen. Lieutenant 
General. 

Lt. Inf., or Infy. Light In. 
fantry. 

Lv. Livre, Livres. 

LX. Sixty or sixtieth. 

LXX. Seventy or seventieth. 

LXX. The Septuagint (Version 
of the Old Testament). 

LXXX. Eighty or eightieth. 

M, or u- Mi). {Mu.) Greek M, m. 

M. Monday. Middle, Morning, 

Monsieur. (Meridies.) Meridian, 
or Noon. {Mille) Thousand 

m. Married, Metre (metric 
system). 

Mr Moon, Masculine. Minute, 
Minutes, Month, Months, Mile, 
Miles, Mill, Mills. {Misce.) Mix. 
(Mistura.) Mixture. {Mensura.) 
Measure, by Measure. 

M. Minim. 

—/M. A thousand; as, e. g., 
50/m., fifty thousand. 

M., or Mons. {Monsieur.) Sir, 
Mister. 

M. 10,000. 

M. A. Master of Arts. [See A. 
M.] Military Academy. 

Mac., or Macc. Maccabees. 

Maced. Macedonian. 

Mach. Machinist, Machinery. 

Mad. Madam. 

Madm. Madam. 

Mad. Univ. Madison Univer 
sity. 

Mag. Magazine. 

Maj. Major. 

Maj. Gen. Major General. 

Mai. Malachi. 

Malay. Malayan. 

Man. Manege, or horseman* 
ship, Manual. 

Man, Manasses. 

M. A. N. S. Member of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences. 

Manuf. Manufactory, Manu¬ 
facture, Manufacturing. 

Mar. March. 

March. Marchioness. 

Marg. Margin. 

Marg. Tran. Marginal Trans¬ 
lation. 

Marq. Marquis. 

Masc. Masculine. 

Mass. Massachusetts. 

Math. Mathematics, Mathe¬ 
matician. 

Matt. Matthew. 

M. B. {Medicince Baccalau 
reus.) Bachelor of Medicine 
[See B. M ] 

Mbco. Marks banco. 

M. B. G. et H. ( Magna Britan 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


nia, Gallia , et Hibernia.) Great 
Britain, France, and Ireland. 

M. C. Member of Congress, 
Master of Ceremonies, Master 
Commandant, Master of the 
Classics. 

M/C. Metallic Currency. 

Mch. March. 

M. D. (Medicince Doctor.) Doc¬ 
tor of Medicine. 

Md. Maryland. 

M/d. Month’s date. 

M. E. Middle English (etymo¬ 
logical). 

M. E. Methodist Episcopal, 
Military or Mechanical Engineer, 
Most Excellent. 

M. E. S. Methodist Episcopal 
South. 

Me. Maine. 

Meas. Measure. 

Mech. Mechanics, Mechanical. 

Med. Medicine. 

Med. Dir. Medical Director. 

M. E. G. H P. Most Excellent 
Grand High Priest. 

Mem. Memorandum, Memo¬ 
randa. {Memento.) Remember. 

Mer. Meridian. 

Merc. Mercury. 

Messrs., or MM. {Messieurs.) 
Gentlemen, or Sirs. 

Met. Metaphysics, metaphor, 
Metaphorically,"Metropolitan. 

Metal. Metallurgy. 

Metaph. Metaphysics. 

Meteor. Meteorology. 

Meth. Methodist. 

Metr., or Metrop. Metropoli¬ 
tan. 

Mex. or Mexic. Mexico or Mexi¬ 
can. 

M. ft (Mistura fiat.) Let a 
mixture be made. 

mg. Milligram (metric system). 

Mg. Magnesium, Myriagram 
(metric system). 

M G. Major General. 

M. G., or M. Goth. Mcesco- 
Gothic. 

M. H. G. Middle High German 
(Etymological). 

M. Hon. Most Honorable. 

M. H. S. Massachusetts His¬ 
torical Society, Member of the 
Historical Society. 

Mi. Mississippi. 

Mi Mill, mills. 

Mic. Micah. 

M. I. C. E Member of the In¬ 
stitution of Civil Engineers. 

Mich. Michigan. 

Mid. Midshipman. 

Mid. Middle (voice). 

Mil. Military. 

Min. Mineralogy. 

Min. Minute, Minutes. 

Minn. Minnesota. 

Min. Plen. Minister Plenipoten¬ 
tiary. 

Min. Res. Minister Resident. 

Miss. Mississippi. 

ml. Millilitre (metric system). 

Ml. Myrialitre (metric system). 


M. L. {Legum Magister.) Mas 
ter of Laws. 

M. L. 'A. Mercantile Library 
Association. 

Mile. Mademoiselle. 

mm. Millimetre (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

Mm. Myriametre (metric sys¬ 
tem). 

MM. Their Majesties. ( Mes¬ 
sieurs.) Gentlemen, or Sirs. 

Note.— The initial letter of a 
word is sometimes doubled to 
signify the plural: as in LL. B., 
LL. D. 

MM. Thousands. 

Mme. Madame. 

Mines. Mesdames (pronounced 
madam'). 

M. M. S. Moravian Missionary 
Society. 

M. M. S. S. Member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society. 

Mn. Manganese. 

M. N. A. S. Member of the 
National Academy of Sciences. 

M. N. S. Member of the Numis- 
matical Society. 

Mo. Missouri, Month, Molyb¬ 
denum. 

Mod. Modern. {Moderato.) 
Moderately. 

Mon. Monday, Monastery. 

Mond. Monday. 

Mons. Monsieur, or Sir. 

Monsig. Monsignor. 

Morn. Morning. 

Mos. Months. 

Most. Rev. Most Reverend. 

Mont. Montana. 

M. P. Member of Parliament, 
Metropolitan Police, Municipal 
Police, Methodist Protestant, or 
Protestant Methodist. 

M f P. C. Member of Parliament 
in Canada. 

M. P. P. Member of Provincial 
Parliament. 

M. P. S. Member of the Phar¬ 
maceutical (or of the Philological) 
Society. 

M. R. Master of the Rolls. 

Mr. Mister, or Master. 

M R. A. S. Member of the 
Royal Asiatic Society, Member of 
the Royal Academy of Science. 

M. R. C. C. Member of the 
Royal College of Chemistry. 

M. R. C. P. Member of the 
Royal College of Physicians. 

M. R. C. S. Member of the 
Royal College of Surgeons 

M. R. G. S Member of the 
Royal Geographical Society. 

M. R. I. Member of the Royal 
Institution. 

M. R I. A. Member of the 
Roval Irish Academy. 

Mrs. Mistress {pronounced 
mls'sis when written as an ab¬ 
breviation). 

M. R S. L. Member of the 
Royal Society of Literature. 

M/S. Month’s sight. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


M. S ( Memoriae, Sacrum.) 

Sacred to the memory. 

M. S. ( Magister Scientice.) 

Master of Science. 

MS. ( Manuscriptum .) Manu¬ 
script. 

MSS. {Manuscript a.) Manu¬ 
scripts. 

Mt. Mount, or Mountain. 

M. T. C. Marcus Tullius Cicero. 

Mt. Rev. Most Reverend. 

Mts. Mountains. 

Mus. Museum, Music. 

Mus. B. Bachelor of Music. 

Mus. D., Mus. Doc., or Mus. 
Doct. Doctor of Music. 

M. W. Most Wortny, Most 
Worshipful. 

M. W. G. C P. Most Worthy 
Grand Chief Patriarch. 

M. W. G M. Most Worthy (or 
Worshipful) Grand Master. 

M. W. P. Most Worthy Patri- 
arC ll 

M. W. S. Member of the Wer¬ 
nerian Society. 

M. W. V. Mexican War Vet¬ 
erans. 

Myth. Mythology. 

N, or v. Nu. (Nu.) Greek N, n. 

N. North, Number, Note, Name, 

New, Nitrogen, Northern. 

N. Noun, Neuter. 

N. A. North America, North 
American, National Academician. 

N. A. S. National Academy of 
Sciences. 

Na. (Natrium.) Sodium. 

Nah. Nahum. 

Nap. Napoleon. 

Nat. Natural, National. 

Nat. Hist. Natural History. 

Nath. Nathanael, or Nathaniel. 

Nat. ord. Natural order. 

Naut. Nautical. 

Nav. Navigator, Navy. 

Nav. Con. Navy Constructor. 

N. B. New Brunswick, North 
Bristol, North Britain. ( Nota 
bene.) Note well, or take notice. 

N. C. North Carolina. 

N. D. NoDate. North Dakota. 

N. E. New England, Northeast, 
Northern Eastern. 

Neb. Nebraska. 

Neg. Negative. 

Neh. Nehemiah. 

n. e. i. (Non est inventus.) He 
rs not found. 

Nem. Con. ( Nemine Contra- 
dicente). No one contradicting, 
unanimously. 

Nem. Diss. ( Nemine dissen- 
tiente.) No one dissenting, unan¬ 
imously. 

Neut. Neuter (gender). 

Nev. Nevada. 

New Am. Cyc. New American 
Cyclopaedia. 

New M. New Mexico. 

New Test. New Testament. 

N. F. Newfoundland. 

N. G. New Granada, Noble 
Grand. 


N. H. New Hampshire. 

N. H. H. S. New Hampshire 
Historical Society, 

Ni. Nickel. 

Ni. pri. Nisi Prius (law). 

N. J. New Jersey. 

N. L. ( Non liquet.) It does not 
appear, the case is not clear. 

N. L., or N. Lat. North Lati¬ 
tude. 

N. M.. or N. Mex. Ter. New 
Mexico Territory. 

N. N. E. North-Northeast. 

N. N W. North-Northwest. 

N. O. New Orleans. 

No. ( Numero .) Number. 

Nol. pros. (Nolle prosequi.) 
Unwilling to prosecute, or pro¬ 
ceed. 

Nom. Nominative. 

Non Con. Not content, dis¬ 
senting, dissentient (House of 
Lords). 

Non cul. (Non culpabilis.) Not 
guilty. 

Non obst. (Non obstante.) Not¬ 
withstanding. 

Non pros. (Non prosequitur.) 
He does not prosecute,—a judg¬ 
ment entered against the plain¬ 
tiff when he does not appear to 
prosecute. 

Non seq. (Non sequitur.) It 
does not follow. 

Nor. Fr., or Norm. Fr. Norman 
French. 

Norw. Norway, Norwegian. 

Nos. Numbers. 

Nov. November. 

N. P. Notary Public. 

N. P. D North Polar Distance. 

N. R. North River. 

N. S. New Style (since 1752), 
Nova Scotia, (Notre Seigneur) 
Our Lord, Numismatic Society. 

N. S. J. C. (Notre Seigneur Je 
sus-Christ.) Our Lord JesUP 
Christ. 

N. T. New Testament, Nev* 
Translation. 

N. u. Name, or names, un¬ 
known. 

Num. Numeral. 

Num., or Numb. Numbers. 

Numis. Numismatics. 

Nux vom. Nux vomica. 

N. V. M. Nativity of the Virgin 
Mary. 

N. W. Northwestern. 

N. W. T. Northwest Territory. 

N. Y. New York. 

N. Y. H. S. New York Histori¬ 
cal Society. 

N. Z , or N. Zeal. New Zeal¬ 
and. 

O. or to. Clfxeya. (Omega.) The 
great or long O, o, of the Greek 
alphabet. 

O, or o. O/xucpor. (Omicron.) 
Greek O. o. 

O. Ohio. Old, Oxygen. ( Octa - 
rius.) A pint. 

Ob. (obiit.) He or she died. 

Obad, Obadiah. 








ABBREVIATIONS. 


Obj. Objective, Objection, Ob¬ 
ject. 

Obs. Obsolete. Observation. . 

Obs. Observatory. 

Obt., or Obdt. Obedient. 

O. C. C. (Ordinis Carmelita- 
rum Calceatorum.) Carmelites 
Calced. 

O. C. D. (Ordinis Carmelita- 
rum Discalceatorum.) Carmel¬ 
ites Discalced. 

O. Cist. (Ordinis Cisterciensis.) 
Cistercian. 

Oct. October. 

O. F. Odd Fellow or Odd Fel¬ 
lows, Old French (etymological) 

O. G. Outside Guardian. 

O. H. G. Old High German 
(etymological). 

O. H. M. S. On His (or Her) 
Majesty’s Service. 

O. K. (Oil Korect.) 411 right, 
or correct. 

Ol. (Oleum.) Oil. 

01.,or01ymp. Olympiad. 

Old Test., or O. T. Old Testa¬ 
ment. 

Olym. Olympiad. 

O M. Old Measurement. 

O. M. Conv. (Ordinis Minorum 
Conventualiuvi.) Minor Convent¬ 
uals. 

O. M. I. Oblates of Mary Im¬ 
maculate. 

O. Min. Cap. (Ordinis Minorum 
Capucinor um ) Cap uchins. 

Ont. Ontario. 

O. P., or O. S. D. (Ordinis Prce- 
dicatorum , or Ordinis Sancti Do- 
minici.) Dominicans. 

Opt. Optics. 

Or. Oregon. 

O. R. C. Order of the Red 
Cross. 

Ord. Ordnance, Ordinance, 
Ordinary. 

Ord. Dept. Ordnance Depart¬ 
ment. 

Orig. Original, Originally. 

Ornith. Ornithology. 

O. S. Old Style (before 1752), 
Outside Sentinel. 

Os Osmium. 

O. S. A. (Ordinis Sancti Au¬ 
gust ini.) Augustinians. 

O. S. B. (Ordinis Sancti Bene- 
dicti.) Benedictines. 

O. S. F. (Ordinis Sancti Fran- 
cisci.) Franciscans. 

O. T. Old Testament. 

O. U. A. Order of United 
Americans. 

Oxf. Oxford. 

Oxf. Gloss. Oxford Glossary 
of Architecture. 

Oxon. (Oxonian.) Of Oxford, 
at Oxford. 

Oz. Ounce. 

n, or IT. nr. (Pi.) Greek P, p. 

P. (Pondere.) By weight. (Pu- 
gillus .)' A pugil, the quantity of 
any substance which may be ta¬ 
ken with the ends of the thumb 
and two fingers. 


P. Page, Part, Participle, Pole, 
Phosphorus, Pint, Pope. 

P. (Pere.) Father. 

Pa. Pennsylvania. 

p. a. Participial adjective. 

P. A. Post Adjutant. 

P. A. E. Passed Assistant En¬ 
gineer. 

Paint. Painting. 

Pal., or Paleon. Paleontology. 

P. A. P. M. Passed Assistant 
Paymaster. 

Par , or IT. Paragraph. 

Par., or ||. Parallel. 

Pari Parliament, Parliament¬ 
ary. 

Paroch. Lib. Parochial Li¬ 
brary. 

Par. Pas. Parallel Passage. 

Part. Participle. 

Pass. Passive. 

Pass. Passionist. 

Past. Pastor. 

P. A Surg. Passed Assistant 
Surgeon. 

Pathol, Pathology. 

Pay Dir. Pay Director. 

Pay Ins. Pay Inspector. 

Pay M. Paymaster. - 

Payt. Payment. 

Pb. (Plumbum.) Lead. 

P B. ( Philosophic b Baccalat *- 
reus ) Bachelor of Philosophy. 

B- K. (<t>i. Brjra, Kanna.) Phi 
Beta Kappa (College Society). 

P. C. (Patres Conscripti.) Con¬ 
script Fathers, Senators, Privy 
Council, or Councilor, Police Con¬ 
stable, Principal Conductor, Post 
Commander. 

P. C. P. Past Chief Patriarch. 

P Cyc. Penny Cyclopedia. 

P. D. (Philosophies Doctor.) 
Doctor of Philosophy. 

Pd. Paid, Palladium. 

*. E. ('ki Ei/uAor.) Psi Epsilon 
(College Society). 

P. E. Protestant Episcopal, 
Presiding Elder. 

Pe. Pelopium. 

P. E. I Prince Edward Island. 

Penn. Pennsylvania. 

Pent. Pentecost. 

Per., or Pers. Persia, Persian. 

Per, pr., or $. By the, or per 
lb., oz., etc. 

Per an. (Per annum.) By the 
year. 

Per cent, or per ct. (Per cen¬ 
tum.) By the hundred. 

Perf. Perfect. 

Perh. Perhaps. 

Peri. Perigee. 

Pers. Person 

Persp. Perspective. 

Peruv. Peruvian. 

Pet. Peter. 

P. G. Past Grand. 

Pg. Portuguese. 

Phar. Pharmacy. 

Phar. D. Doctor in Pharmacy. 

Phar. G. Graduate in Phar¬ 
macy. 

Phar. M. Master in Pharmacy 



ABBREVIATIONS. 


Ph. B (Philosophies Baccalau- 
reus.) Bachelor of Philosophy. 

Ph. D. (Philosophice Doctor.) 
Doctor of Philosophy. 

Phil Philip, Philippians, Phil¬ 
osophy, Philosopher, Philosophi¬ 
cal, Philemon. 

Phil., or Phila. Philadelphia. 

Philem. Philemon. 

Philomath. ( Pliilomathemati- 
cus.) A lover of mathematics. 

Philos. Philosophy. 

Phil. Trans. Philosophical 
Transactions. 

Phonog. Phonography. 

Photog. Photography. 

Phren. Phrenology. 

P. H. S. Pennsylvania Histori¬ 
cal Society. 

Phys. Physics, Physiology, 
Physician. 

Physiol. Physiology. 

Pinx., or pxt. ( Pinxit .) He (or 
she) painted it. 

P. J. President Judge, Police 
Justice. 

Pk. Peck. 

Pks. Pecks. 

P. L. Poet Laureate. 

PI. Place, Plate. 

PI., or plur. Plural. 

P. L. C. Poor Law Commis¬ 
sioners 

Plff. Plaintiff. 

Plin. Pliny. 

Plup., or plupf. Pluperfect. 

Plur. Plural. 

Pm. Premium. 

P. M. ( Postmeridian.) After¬ 
noon, Evening. 

P. M. Post Master, Passed 
Midshipman, Pay Master, Past 
Master. 

P. M. G. Post Master General, 
Paj r Master General. 

P/N. Promissory Note. 

P. O. Post-Office. 

P. O. D. Post-Office Depart¬ 
ment. 

Poet. Poetry, Poetical. 

P. O. H. Patrons of Husbandry. 

P. of H. Patrons of Husbandry. 

Po. Pole. 

Pol. Polish. 

Poiit. Econ. Political Economy. 

P. O. O. Post-Office Order. 

Pop. Population. 

Port. Portugal. Portuguese. 

Pos., or Poss. Possessive. 

Pp. (or PP.) Patres, Fathers. 

P. P. (Pater Patrice.) The 
father of his country. 

P. P. Parish Priest. 

Pp. Pages. 

p. p. Past participle. 

P. P. C. (Pour Prendre Conge.) 
To take leave. 

Pph Pamphlet. 

P. P. I. Policy proof of interest. 

p. pr. Participle present. 

P. Q. Previous question. 

Pr. Priest, Prince. 

Pr. Preposition, Prince, Pro¬ 

noun. 


Pr., or (Per.) By the. 

P. R. (Populus Romanus.) The 
oman people, Prize ring, Porto 
ico. 

P. R. A. President of the Royal 
Academy. 

P. R. C. (Post Romam Con- 
ditam.) After the building of 
Rome. 

Preb. Prebend, Prebendary. 

Pref. Preface, Prefix. 

Prep. Preposition. 

Pres. President. 

Pres. Present. 

Presb. Presbyterian. 

Pret. Preterit. 

Prim. Primate, Primitive, 

Prin. Principles. 

prin. Principally. 

Print. Printing. 

Priv. Privative. 

Priv. Chamb. Private Cham* 
berlain. 

Prob. Problem, Probably. 

Prof. Professor. 

Pron. Pronoun, Pronounced, 
Pronunciation. 

Pron. a. Pronominal adjective. 

Prop. Proposition, Properly. 

Prot. Protestant. 

Prot. Ap. Protlionotary Apos¬ 
tolic. 

Pro. tern. (Pro tempore.) For 
the time 

Prov. Proverbs, Proverbially, 
Provost, Provincial. 

Prov. Mar. Provost Marshal. 

Prov. Sem. Provincial Semi¬ 
nary. 

Prox. (Proximo.) Next, or of 
the next month, in the next. 

Prus. Prussia, Prussian. 

P. S. (Postscriptum.) Post¬ 
script, Permanent Secretary, 
Privy Seal. 

Ps , or Psa. Psalm, or Psalms. 

Pss. Postscripts. 

Pt Part, Pint, Payment, Port, 
Point. 

Pt. Platinum. 

P. t. (Pro tempore.) For the 
time. 

P. T. O. Please turn over. 

Y. (*i*Y $i\6v.) PsiUpsilon 
(College Society). 

Pub. Publisher, Publication, 
Public, Published. 

Pub. Doc. Public Documents. 

Pulv. (Pulvis.) Powder. 

Pun. Puncheon. 

P. v. Post-village. 

P. W. P. Past Worthy Patri¬ 
arch. 

Pwt. Pennyweight, Penny¬ 
weights. 

Pxt. (Pinxit.) He (or she) 
painted it. 

Q. Question, Quintus. 

Q. (Quadrans.) One-fourth part. 

Q., or Qu Queen, Question, 
Query. Quintius, Quintus. 

Q. B. Queen’s Bench. 

Q C. Queen’s College, Queen’s 
Counsel, or Council. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Q. d. (Quasi dicat.) As if he 
should say. (Quasi dictum.) As 
if said. ( Quasi dixisset.) As if 
he had said. 

Q. e. ( Quod est.) Which is. 

Q- E. D. ( Quod Erat Demon¬ 
strandum.) Which was to be 
demonstrated, or proved. 

Q. L. (Quantum libet.) As 
much as you please. 

Qm. ( Quomodo.) By what 
means. 

Q. M. Quarter Master. 

Q Mess. Queen’s Messenger. 

Q. M. G. Quarter Master Gen¬ 
eral. 


Q. P., or q. pi. ( Quantum 
placet.) As much as you please. 

Qr. Quarter (28 lb.), Farthing, 
Quire. 

Qrs. Quarters,Quires,Farthings. 

Q. S. Quarter Sessions. 

Q. S. Quarter Section. ( Quan¬ 
tum sufficit.) Sufficient quantity. 

Qt. Quart, Quantity. 

Qts. Quarts. 

Qu. Queen, Question. 

Qu., or qy. (Quaere.) Inquire, 
Query. 

Quad. Quadrant, Quadrate. 

Quar. Quarterly. 

Ques. Question. 

Q. v. (Quod vide.) Which see. 
(Quantum vis.) As much as you 
please. 

Qy. Query. 

P, or p Po6. (Rho.) Greek R, r. 

1$. (Recipe.) Take. 

R. Response (in church books). 

R. (Regina.) Queen. (Rex.) 

King. Railway, Rhodium, Rises, 
River, Residence. 

R. Rood, Roods, Rod, Rods. 

R. A. Royal Academy, Royal 
Academician, Royal Arch, Royal 
Artillery, Rear Admiral, Right 
Ascension. 

R. A. C. Royal Arch Chapter. 

Rad. (Radix.) Root, Radical. 

R. Adml. Rear Admiral. 

R. A. K. T. P. Royal Arch 
Knight Templar Priest. 

R. A M. Royal Ark Mariners, 
Royal Academy of Music. 

Rb. Rubidium. 

R C. Roman Catholic. 

R. D. Royal Dragoons. 

R. D., or Rur. Dn. Rural Dean. 

R. E. Royal Engineers, Royal 
Exchange, Right Excellent, Re¬ 
formed Episcopal. 

Rec. Recorder. 

Rec , or H. Recipe. 

Reed. Received. 

Recpt. Receipt. 

Rec. Sec. Recording Secretary. 

Rect. Rector, Receipt. 

Ref. Reference, Reformed. 

Ref. Ch. Reformed Church. 

Reg., or Regr. Register, Regis¬ 
trar, Registry. 

Reg., or Regt. Regent, Regi¬ 
ment. 

Reg. Prof. Regius Professor. 


Regr. Registrar. 

Regt. Regiment. 

Rel. Religion. 

Rel. Pron. Relative Pronoun. 

Rem. Remark, or Remarks. 

Rep. Representative, Report, 
Reporter, Republican, Republic. 

Repub. Republic. 

Rev. Reverend, Revelation 
(Book of), Review, Revenue, Ro 
vise. 

Revd. Reverend. 

Revs. Plural of Reverend. 

Rev. Yer. Revised Version 
(Scriptures). 

R. G. G. Royal Grenadiei 
Guards. 

R. H. A. Royal Horse Artil¬ 
lery, Royal Hibernian Academy. 

Rhet. Rhetoric. 

R. H. G. Royal Horae Guards 

R. I. Rhode Island. 

R. I. B. A. Royal Institution of 
British Architects. 

Richd. Richard. 

R. I. II. S. Rhode Island His> 
torical Society. 

Riv. River. 

R. M. Royal Marines, Royal 
Mail, Resident Magistrate. 

R. M. A. Royal Military Asy 
lum. 

R. M. S. Royal Mail Steamer. 

R. N. Royal Navy. 

R. N. O (Riddare af Nord- 
stjerne Orden ) Knight of the 
Order of the Polar Star. 

Ro. (Recto.) Right-hand page- 

Ro., or Robt. Robert. 

Rom. Roman, Romans (Book 
of). 

Rom. Cath. Roman Catholic. 

R. P. Regius Professor, The 
King’s Professor. 

R. R. Railroad, Right Rever¬ 
end. 

R. Rs. Railroads. 

R. S. Recording Secretary, 
Right side. 

Rs. (Respovsum.) Answer. 
(Respondere ) To answer. 

Rs. Rupees. 

R. S.‘ A. Royal Society of An¬ 
tiquaries, Royal Scottish Acad¬ 
emy. 

R. S. C. C. Republican State 
Central Committee. 

R. S. D. Royal Society of Dub¬ 
lin. 

R. S. E. Royal Society of Ed- 


Royal Society of Lon- 


( Repondez , S'il 
Answer, if you 


inburgh. 

R. S. L. 
don. 

R. S. V. P. 

Vous Plait.) 
please. 

Rt. Hon. Right Honorable. 

Rt. Rev. Right Reverend. 

Rt. Wpful. Right Worshipful. 

Russ. Russia, Russian. 

R. V. Revised Version (Scrip* 
turcs) 

R. W. Right Worthy, or Right 
Worshipful, Railway. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


R. W. D. G. M. Right Worship¬ 
ful Deputy Grand Master. 

R. W. G. S. Right Worthy 
Grand Secretary. 

R. W. G. R. Right Worthy 
Grand Representative. 

R. W. G. T. Right Worthy 
Grand Treasurer, Right Worship¬ 
ful Grand Templar. 

R. W. G. W. Right Worthy 
Grand Warden. 

R. W. J. G. W. Right Wor¬ 
shipful Junior Grand Warden. 

R. W. O. (Riddare af Wasa Or- 
den.) Knight of the Order of 
Wasa. 

R. W. S. G. W. Right Wor- 
ghipful Senior Grand Warden. 

R’y. Railway. 

R’ys. Railways. 

2, or a S. 2tyMa. (Sigma.) 
Greek S. s. 

S. South, Saint, Scribe, Sul¬ 
phur, Sign, Sextus. (Semis.) Half. 

S. Second, Sun, SeeT Sets, Solo, 
Section, Series, Singular, Son. 
(Solidus.) A shilling. 

S. A. South America, South 
Africa, South Australia. 

Sam. Samuel. 

Sans. Sanskrit. 

S. A. S. (Societatis Antiquari- 
orum Socius.) Fellow of the 
Society of Antiquaries. 

Sat Saturday. 

Sax. Saxon. 

Sax. Chron. Saxon Chronicles. 

Sb. (Stibium.) Antimony. 

S. C. (Senatus Consultum ) A 
decree of the Senate, South Caro¬ 
lina, Small Caps. 

Sc., or Sculp. (Sculpsit.) He 
(or she) engraved it. 

Sc., or scil. (Scilicet.) To wit, 
namely, being understood. 

Scan. Mag. (Scanditlum mag- 
natum.) Defamatory expressions 
tending to the injury of persons 
of importance. 

S. caps. Small capitals. 

S. C. Hist. Soc. South Carolina 
Historical Society. 

Sch., or Schol. (Scholium.) A 
note. 

Sch., orschr. Schooner. 

Sci. Science. 

Sci. fa. (Scire facias.) Make 
known (law). 

Scil., or sc- (Scilicet.) To wit, 
namely, being understood. 

S. C. L. Student of the Civil 
Law. 

Sclav. Sclavonic. 

Scot. Scotland, Scottish, 
Scotch. 

Scr. Scruple. 

Script. Scripture. Scriptural. 

Sculp. (Scutysit.) He (or she) 
engraved it. 

Sculp., or sculpt. Sculpture. 

S. D. (Salutem dicit.) Sends 
health. South Dakota. 

S. D. (Scientioe Doctor.) Doc¬ 
tor of Science, Senior Deacon. 


S. D. U. K. Society for the Dil 
fusion of Useful Knowledge. 

S. E. Southeast, Southeastern 

Se. Selenium. 

Sec. Secretary. 

Sec. Second, Section. 

Sec. Leg. Secretary of Lega¬ 
tion. 

Sec. leg. (Secundum legem.) 
According to law. 

Sec. reg. (Secundum regulam.) 
According to rule. 

Sect. Section. 

Sen. Senate, Senator, Senior. 

Sep., or Sept. September, Sep. 
tuagint. 

Seq., or Sqq. (Sequentia, or 
sequentes.) The following, the 
next. (Sequitur .) It follows. 

Ser. Series. 

Serb. Serbian. 

Serg., or Serj. Sergeant, or 
Serjeant. 

Serg. Maj. Sergeant Major. 

Serv., or Servt. Servant. 

S. G. (Salutis Gratia.) For 
the sake of safety (i.e., insured.) 

S. G. Solicitor General. 

Sh., or s. Shilling. 

Shak. Shakespeare. 

S. Hist Soc. Southern Histori¬ 
cal Society. 

S H. S. (Societatis Historicce 
Socius ) Fellow of the Historical 
Society. 

Si. Silicium. 

Sing., or Sin. Sine, Singular. 

S. Isl. Sandwich Islands. 

Sist. Sister. 

S. J. Society of Jesus. 

S. J. C. Supreme Judicial 
Court. 

Skr. Sanskrit. 

S. L. Solicitor at Law. 

S. L., or L. S. (Sigilli Locus.) 
Place for the Sea;. 

S. L., or S. Lat. South Lati¬ 
tude. 

Slav. Slavonic, Slavonian. 

Sid. Sailed. 

S. M. Short Metre, Sergeant 
Major, Sons of Malta, Sewing ma¬ 
chine. 

S M. (Sa Majeste.) His (or 
Her) Majesty. 

Sm C. Small capitals. 

S. M. I (Sa Majeste Imperiale.) 
His (or Her) Imperial Majesty. 

Smith. Inst. Smithsonian In¬ 
stitution. 

S. M. Lond. Soc. (Societatis 
Medicce Londiniensis Socius.) 
Member of the London Medical 
Society. 

S. M. Lond. Soc. Cor. (Socie¬ 
tatis Medicce Londiniensis Socius 
Cor.) Corresponding Member of 
the London Medical Society, 

Sn. (Stannum.) Tin. 

Soc. Society. 

Soc Isl. Society Islands. 

S of Sol. Song (or Songs) of 
Solomon. 

S. of T. Sons of Temperance. 


I 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Sol. Solomon, Solution, Solici¬ 
tor. 

Sol. Gen. Solicitor General. 

S. P. (Sine Prole.) Without 
issue, supra protest. 

S. P. (Salutem precatur.) He 
prays for his prosperity. 

Sp. Spain, Spanish. 

S. P. A. S. Societatis Philo- 
sophicoe Americana} Socius.) 
Member of the American Philo¬ 
sophical Society. 

S. P. C. A. Society for the Pre¬ 
vention of Cruelty to Animals. 

S. P. C. K. Society for the Pro¬ 
motion of Christian Knowledge. 

S. P. D ( Salutem plurimam 
dicit.) He wishes much health, 
or sends his best respects. 

S. P. G. Society for the Propa¬ 
gation of the Gospel. 

Sp. gr. Specific gravity. 

S. P. Q. R. (Senatus Popu- 
lusque Romanus.) The Senate 
and the People of Rome. 

Sq.,orsqq. Square. 

Sq. (Sequens.) The following. 

Sq. ft. Square foot or Square 
feet 

Sq. in. Square inch or inches. 

Sq. m. Square mile or miles. 

Sq. r. Square rod or rods. 

Sq. yd. Square yards. 

Sq. yds. Square yards. 

Sr. ” Sir or Senior, Sister. 

S. R. I. ( Sacrum Romanian 
Imperium.) Holy Roman Em¬ 
pire. 

S. R. S. ( Societatis Regice So¬ 
cius.) Fellow of the Royal Soci¬ 
ety. 

S. S. Sabbath School, or Sun¬ 
day School, Saint Simplicius (the 
mark on the collar of the Lord 
Chief Justice of England). 

SS. Saints. 

SS. ( Scitote.) Know ye. (Se¬ 
mis.) Half. 

S. S. C. Solicitor before the 
Supreme Court 

S. S. E. South-Southeast. 

S. S. W. South-Southwest. 

2- T- (2iY,u.a. Tau.) Sigma Tau 
(College Society). 

St. Stanza. 

St. Saint, Street, Strait. 

Stat. Statute, Statutes. 

S. T. D. (Sacrce Tlieologioe Doc¬ 
tor.) Doctor of Sacred Theology, 
Doctor of Divinity. 

Ster., or Stg. Sterling. 

S. T. P. (Sacrce Theolog 'ce Pro¬ 
fessor.) Professor of Theology. 

Sts. Streets. 

Su. Sunday. 

Subj. Subjunctive. 

Subst. Substantive, Substitute. 

Suff. Suffix. 

Sun., or Sund. Sunday. 

Sup. Supplement, Superfine, 
Superior, Superlative. 

Sup.,orSupr. (Supra.) Above. 

Sup. C. Superior Court. 

Super. Superior, Superfine. 


Superl. Superlative. 

Supp. Supplement. 

Supt. Superintendent. 

Surg. Surgeon, Surgery. 

Surg. Gen. Surgeon General. 
Surv. Surveyor, Surveying. 
Surv. Gen. Surveyor General. 
Sus. Susannah 
S. V. (Sub verbo , or Sub voce. J 
Under the word or title. 

S. W. Southwest, Southwest¬ 
ern, Senior Warden. 

Sw. Swedish, Sweden. 

Switz. Switzerland. 

Syn. Synonym, Synonymous. 
Synop. Synopsis. 

Syr. Syria, Syrian, Syriac, Sy¬ 
rup. 

T, or r. Tau (Tau). Greek T, t. 
T. Territory, Town, Township, 

Ton, or Tun. 

T. (Tutti.) All together, Tenor, 
Titus, Tullius, Tuesday. 

T., or Tom. Tome, Volume. 
Ta. Tantalum (Columbium). 
Tal. qual. (Talis qualis.) Just 
as they come, average quality. 
Tan. Tangent. 

Tart. Tartaric. 

Tb. Terbium. 

T. C. D. Trinity College, Dub¬ 
lin. 

Te. Tellurium. 

T. E. Topographical Engineers. 
Tel. Telegraph, Telegram. 
Ten., or Tenn. Tennessee. 

Ter. Territory. 

Term. Termination. 

Teut. Teutonic. 

Tex. Texas. 

Text. Rec. (Textus Receptus.) 
The Received Text. 

©, orJ0. ©rjra. (Theta.) Greek 
Th, th. 

Th. Thomas, Thorium. 

Th., or Thurs. Thursday. 
Theo. Theodore, Theodosia. 
Theoi. Theology. Theological. 
Theoph. Theophilus. 

Theor. Theorem. 

Thess. Thessalonians. 

Thos. Thomas. 

Thu., Thur., or Thurs. Thurs¬ 
day. 

T. H. W. M. Trinity High Wa¬ 
ter Mark. 

Ti. Titanium. 

Tier. Tierce. 

Tim. Timothy. 

Tit. Titus, Title. 

Tl. Thallium. 

Tob. Tobit. 

Tom. Tome, or Volume. 

Tonn. Tonnage. 

Topog. Topography, or Topo¬ 
graphical 

Tr. Transpose, Translator, 
Translation, Treasurer, Trustee, 
tr. (Trillo.) A shake. 

Trans. Translator, Translation, 
Translated, Transaction, Trans¬ 
portation. 

Trav. Travels. 

Trav. Agt. Travelling Agent. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


Treas Treasurer. 

Trin. Trinity. 

Trin. Coll. Trinity College. 

Trs., orTrus. Trustees. 

Ts. Texas. 

T. T. L. To take leave. 

Tu., or Tues. Tuesday. 

Turk. Turkey, or Turkish. 

Typ.,orTypo. Typographer. 

Typog. Typography, Typo¬ 
graphical. 

Y, or v. Y\jjl\ov. (Upsilon.) 

Greek U, u, or y. 

U. Uranium. 

U. A. O. I). United Ancient 
Order of Druids. 

XJ. C. (Urbis Conditce.) From 
the building of the city (Rome), 
Upper Canada. 

U. E. I. C. United East India 
Company. 

U. G. R. R. Underground Rail¬ 
road. 

U. J. D. ( Utriusque Juris Doc¬ 
tor.) Doctor of both laws (i.e., 
the Canon and the Civil Law). 
See J. U. D. 

U. K. United Kingdom. 

U. K. A. Ulster King at Arms. 

U. L. A. Union League of 
America. 

Ult. (Ultimo.) Last, or of the 
last month. 

Unit. Unitarian. 

Univ. University, Universally. 

Up. Upper. 

U. P. United Presbyterian. 

U. P. C. United Presbyterian 
Church. 

U. S. United States, United 
Service. 

U. S. (ut supra.) As above. 

U. S. A. United States Army, 
United States of America. 

U. S. Ex. United States Ex¬ 
press. 

U. S. L. United States Lega¬ 
tion. 

U..S. M. United States Mail. 
United States Marine, United 
States Mint (Philadelphia). 

U. S. M. A. United States Mili¬ 
tary Academy. 

U. S. M. C. C. United States 
Mint (Carson City). 

U. S. M. S United States Mint 
(San Francisco). 

U. S. N. United States Navy. 

U. S. N. A. United States Na¬ 
val Academy. 

U. S. P. United States Phar¬ 
macopoeia. 

U. S. R. Usher of the Scarlet 
Rod. 

U. S. S. United States Senate, 
United States Ship (or Steamer). 

Usu. Usual, or usually. 

U. S. V. United States Volun- 
teers 

U. T. Utah Territory. 

V. Vanadium, Victoria, Vis¬ 
count. 

V. Five or fifth. 

V. Violin. VV. Violins. 


V. Verse, Verb, Village, Voca^ 
tive, volume. (Versus.) Against. 
( Vide.) See. 

V. a. Verb active, 

V. A. Vicar, or Vicariate, 
Apostolic, Vice Admiral. 

Va. Virginia. 

Vat. Vatican. 

V. aux. Verb auxiliary. 

Vb. n. Verbal noun. 

V. C. Vice Chancellor, Vice 
Chairman, Victoria Cross. 

V. C. G. Vice Consul General. 

V. def. Verb defective. 

V. dep. Verb deponent. 

V. D. L. Van Daman’s Land. 

V. D. M. (Verbi Dei Minister.) 
Minister of the Word of God. 

Ven. Venerable. 

Ven., or ven. fa. (Venire fa¬ 
cias.) A writ to a sheriff to sum¬ 
mon a jury. 

Ven. Ex. (Venditioni exponas.) 
A writ of execution to a sheriff to 
sell goods, etc. 

Ver. Verse, Verses. 

Ver. Vermont. 

Vet. Surg. Veterinary Surgeon. 

V. F. Vicar Forane. 

V. G. Vicar* General, Vice 
Grand. 

V. g. (Verbi gratia.) Forex 
ample. 

Vi. (Vide.) See. 

V. i. Verb intransitive. 

VI. Six or sixth. 

VII. Seven or seventh. 

VIII. Eight or eighth. 

Vic. Ap. Vicar Apostolic. 

Vice Pres. Vice President. 

Vic. Gen. Vicar General. 

Vid. (Vide.) See. 

Vil. Village. 

V. imp. Verb impersonal. 

V. irr. Verb irregular. 

Vis., or Vise. Viscount. 

Viz. (Videlicet.) Namely, to wit. 

V. n. Verb neuter. 

Vo. (Verso.) Left-hand page. 

Voc. Vocative. 

Vol. Volume. 

Vols. Volumes, Volunteers. 

V. P. Vice-President. 

V. R. (Victoria Regina.) 
Queen Victoria, Very Reverend. 

V. r. Verb reflective, or reflex¬ 
ive. 

V. Rev. Very Reverend. 

Vs. (Versus.) Against, or in 
opposition. 

V. S. Veterinary Surgeon. 

Vt. Vermont. 

V. t. Verb transitive. 

Vul., orVulg. Vulgate, Vulgar, 
or Vulgarly. 

Vv. 11. (varice lectiones.) Dif¬ 
ferent readings. 

V. Y. Various years. 

W. Wednesday, Welsh. 

W. West, Western, Warden. 
(Wolframium.) Tungsten. 

W. Week. 

W. A. West Australia, West 
Africa. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


W. & M. Coll. William and 
Mary’s College. 

Wall. Wallachian. 

Wash. Washington. 

W. C. Watei’-closet, West Cen¬ 
tral. 

W. C. T. U. Women’s Chris¬ 
tian Temperance Union. 

Wed. Wednesday. 

West Res. Coll. Western Re¬ 
serve College. 

Wes. Univ. Wesleyan Univer¬ 
sity. 

w. f. Wrong font (in printing). 
W. G. C. Worthy Grand Chap¬ 
lain, Worthy Grand Conductor. 

W. G. G. Worthy Grand Guide, 
Worthy Grand Guardians. 

W.G H. Worthy Grand Herald. 
W. G. M. Worthy Grand Mar¬ 
shal. 

W. G. S. Worthy Grand Sen¬ 
tinel. 

Whf. Wharf. 

W. I. West Indies. West India. 
Wis , or Wise. Wisconsin. 
Wisd. Wisdom (Book of). 

Wk. Week, Work. 

W. Lon. West longitude. 

Wm. William. 

W. M. Worshipful Master. 

W. M. S. Wesleyan Missionary 
Society. 

W. N. W. West-Northwest. 

W. P. Worthy Patriarch. 
Wpful. Worshipful. 

W. R William {Rex) King, 
West Riding. 

W. S. Writer to the Signet. 

W. S. W. West-Southwest. 

W. T. Washington Territory. 
Wt. Weight. 

W. Va. West Virginia. 

Wyo. Wyoming. 

3, or £. 3t. ( Xi .) Greek. X. x. 

X. Christ. (Xpurros, Christos). 

X. Ten or tenth. 

X. St. Andrew’s Cross, Ex¬ 
change, His (or her) mark. 

XI. Eleven. 

XII. Twelve. 

XIII. Thirteen. 

XIV. Fourteen. 

XV. Fifteen. 

XVI. Sixteen. 

XVII. Seventeen. 


XVIII. Eighteen. 

XIX. Nineteen. 

XX. Twenty. 

XXX. Thirty. 

XL. Forty. 

XC. Ninety. 

Xdr.,or+dr. Crusader. 

Xmas., or Xm. Christmas. 
Xn.orXtian. Christian. 
Xnty.,orXty. Christianity. 

Xt. Christ. 

Xtian. Christian. 

Xty. Christianity. 

Y. Yttrium. 

Y., or yr. Year. 

Y. B. Year-Book. 

Y. C. Yale College. 

Yd. Yard. 

Yds. Yards. 

Y*. The or Thee. Note. —The 
Y in this, and similar instances, 
is a substitute for th. 

Y ra . Them. 

Y. M. C. A. Young Men’s 
Christian Association. 

Y. M. Cath. A. Young Men’s 
Catholic Association. 

Y n . Then. 

Y r . Their. 

Yr. Your. 

Yr. B. Year-Book. 

Yrs. Yours, Years. 

Yv This. 

Y‘. That. 

Y. W. C. A. Young Women’s 
Christian Association. 

Y. W. C. T. U. Young Wo¬ 
men’s Christian Temperance Un¬ 
ion. 

Y. W. C. U. Young Women’*! 
Christian Union. 

Z, or Ztjtoi. ( Zeta .) Greet* 
Z, z. 

Z. Zero. 

Z. Zinc. 

Z. Zone. 

Z. or Zr. Zirconium. 

Zach. Zachary. 

Zeb. Zebulon. Zebedee. 

Zech. Zechariah. 

Zeph. Zephaniah. 

Z. G. Zoological Gardens. 

Zn. Zinc. 

Zod. Zodiac. 

Zool. Zoology or zoological. 
Zr. Zirconium. 


II. Classical Abbreviations.— The following list con¬ 
tains a selection from the abbreviations that occur in the 
writings and inscriptions of the Romans 


A. Absolvo, iEdilis, iEs, Ager, 
Ago, Aio, Amicus, Annus, Anti- 
quo, Auctor, Auditor, Augustus, 
Aulus, Atirum, Aut. 

A. A. iEsalienum, Ante audita, 
Apud agrum, Aurum argentum. 

A.A. Augusti. AAA. Augusti 
tres. 

A.A.A.F.F. Auro argento aere 
fl-ando feriundo. 

A.A.V. Alter ambove. 

A.C. Acta causa, Alius civis. 


A.D. Ante diem; eg, A.D.V. 
Ante diem quintum. 

A.D. A. Ad dandos agros. 

MT>. iEdes, iEdilis, iEdilitas. 

iEM. and AIM. iEmilius, jEmi- 
lia. 

iER iErarium. iER.P. ^Ere 
publico. 

A.F. Actum fide, Auli filius. 

AG. Ager, Ago, Agrippa. 

A.G. Animo grato, Aulus Gel- 
lius. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


A.L.^E. and A.L.E. Arbitrium 
litis aestimandae. 

A M. and A. MILL. Ad millia- 
rium. 

AN. Aniensis, Annus, Ante. 

ANN. Annales, Anni, Annona. 

ANT. Ante, Antonius. 

A.O. Alii omnes, Amico opti- 
mo. 

AP. Appius. Apud. 

A.P. Ad pedes, iEdilitia potes- 
tate. 

A.P.F. Auro (or argento) pub¬ 
lico feriundo. 

A.P.M. Amico posuit monu- 
mentum, Annorum plus minus. 

A.P.R.C. Anno post Romani 
conditam. 

aRG. Argentum. 

AR.V.V.D.D. Aram votam vo- 
lens dedicavit, Arma votiva dono 
dedit. 

AT. A tergo. Also A TE. and 
A TER. 

A.T.M.D.O. Aio te mihi dare 
oportere. 

AV. Augur, Augustus, Aure¬ 
lius. 

A.V. Annos vixit. 

A. V.C. Ab urbe condita. 

AVG. Augur, Augustus. 

AVGG. Augusti (generally of 

two). AVGGG. Augusti tres. 

AVT.PR.R. Auctoritas provin- 
ciae Romanorum. 

B. Baloius, Balbus, Beatus, 
Bene, Beneficiarius, Beneficium, 
Bonus, Brutus, Bustum. 

B. for V. Berna, Bivus, Bixit. 

B.A. Bixit annos, Bonis augu- 
riis, Bonus amabilis. 

BB. or B.B. Bene, bene, i.e., 
optime, Optimus. 

B.D. Bonae deae, Bonum da¬ 
tum. 

B.DD. Bonis deabus. 

B.D.S.M. Bene de se merenti. 

B.F. Bona femina. Bona tides, 
Bona fortuna, Bonum factum. 

g.j[. Bona femina. Bona filia. 

B.H. Bona hereditaria, Bono- 
rum here*. 

B.I. Bonum judicium. B.I.I. 
Boni judicis judicium. 

B.M. Beatae memoriae, Bene 
merenti. 

B.N. Bona nostra, Bonum no¬ 
men. 

BN.H.I. Bona hie invenies. 

B.P. Bona paterna, Bonorum 
potestas, Bonum publicum. 

B.Q. Bene quiescat, Bona quae- 
sita. 

B.RP.N. Bono reipublicae na- 
tus. 

BRT. Britannicus. 

B T. Bonorum tutor, Brevi 
tempore. 

B.V. Bene vale, Bene vixit, 
Bonus vir. 

B. V.V. Balnea vina Venus. 

BX. Bixit, for vixit. 

C. Caesar, Caius, Caput, Causa, 
Censor, Civis, Cohors, Colonia. 


Comitialis(dies), Condemno, Con 
sul, Cum, Curo, Custos. 

q. Caia, Centuria, Cum, the 
prefix Con. 

C.B. Civis bonus, Commune 
bonum, Conjugi benemerenti, Cui 
bono. 

C.C. Calumniae causa, Causa 
cognita, Conjugi carissimae, Con¬ 
silium cepit. Curiae consulto. 

C.C.C. Calumniae cavendae 
causa. 

C.C.F. Caesar (or Caius) cura- 
vit faciendum, Caius Caii filius. 

CC.VV. Clarissimi viri. 

C D Caesaris decreto, Caius 
Decius, Comitialibus diebus. 

CES. Censor, Censores. CESS. 
Censores. 

C.F. Causa fiduciae, Conjugi 
fecit. Curavit faciendum. 

C.H. Custos heredum, Custos 
liortorum. 

C.I. Caius Julius, Consul jus- 
sit, Curavit judex. 

CL Clarissimus, Claudius, Clo- 
dius, Colonia. 

CL V. Clarissimus vir, Clype- 
um vovit. 

C M. Caius Marius, Causa mor¬ 
tis. 

CN. Cnaeus. 

COH. Coheres, Cohors. 

COL. Collega, Collegium, Co 
Ionia, Columna. 

COLL. Collega, Coloni, Colo- 
niae. 

COM. Comes, Comitium, Com- 
paratum. 

CON. Conjux. Consensus, Con- 
siliarius. Consul, Consularis. 

COR. Cornelia (tribus), Cor¬ 
nelius, Corona. Corpus. 

COS. Consiliarius, Consul, Con- 
sulares. COSS. Consules 

C.P. Carissimus or Clarissimus 
puer, Civis publicus, Curavit pon- 
endum, 

C.R. Caius Rufus, Civis Ro- 
manus, Curavit reficiendum 

CS. Caesar. Communis, Consul. 

C. V. Claeissimus or Consularis 
vir. 

CVR. Cura, Curator, Curavit, 
Curia. 

D. Dat, Dedit, etc., De, Deci- 
mus. Decius, Decretum. Decurio, 
Deus, Dieit, etc.. Dies, Divus, Do- 
minus, Domus, Donum. 

D.C Decurio coloniae, Diebus 
comitialibus. Divus Caesar. 

D.D. Dea Dia, Decurionum de¬ 
creto, Dedicavit, Deo dedit. Dono 
dedit. 

D.D.D. Datum decreto decuri¬ 
onum, Dono dedit dedicavit. 

D.E.R. De ea re. 

DES. Designatus. 

D.I Dedit imperator, Diis irn- 
mortalibus, Diis iuferis. 

D.I M. Deo invicto Mithrae, Diis 
inferis Manibus. 

D.M. Deo Magno, Dignus Me- 
moria, Diis Manibus, Dolo Malo. 





ABBREVIATIONS. 


D.O.M. Deo Optimo Maximo. 

D. P.S. Dedit proprio sumptu, 
Deo perpetuo sacrum, De pecunia 
sua. 

E. Ejus. Eques, Erexit, Ergo, 
Est, Et, Etiam. Ex. 

EG. iEger, Egit, Egregius. 

E.M. Egregiae memoriae, Ejus- 
modi, Erexit monumentum. 

EQ.M. Equitum magister. 

E. R.A. Ea res agitur. 

F. Fabius, Facere, Fecit, etc., 
Familia. Fastus (dies).Felix,Fem- 
ina, Fides, Filius, Flamen, For- 
tuna, Frater, Fuit, Functus. 

F.C. Faciendum curavit, Fidei 
commissum, Fiduciae causa. 

F.D. Fidem dedit, Flamen 
Dialis, Fraude donavit. 

F.F.F. Ferro flamma fame, 
Fortior fortuna fato. 

FL. Filius, Flamen, Flaminius, 
Flavius. 

F.L. Favete, linguis, Fecit li- 
bens, Felix liber. 

FR Forum Fronte, Frumen- 
tarius. 

F. R. Forum Romanum. 

G. Gaius (=Caius), Gallia, 
Gaudium, Gellius, Gemina, Gens, 
Gesta, Gratia. 

G.F. Gemina fidelis (applied 
to a legion). So G.P.F. Gemina 
pia fidelis. 

GL. Gloria. 

GN. Genius, Gens, Genus, 
Gnaeus (=Cnaeus). 

G. P.R. Genio populi Romani. 

H. Habet, Heres, Hie, Homo, 
Honor, Hora. 

HER. Heres. Herennius. HER. 
and HERC. Hercules. 

H.L. Hac lege, Hoc loco, Ho- 
nesto loco. 

H.M. Hoc monumentum, Ho- 
nesta mulier, Hora mala. 

H.S.E. Hie sepultus est, Hie 
situs est. 

H. V. Haec urbs, Hie vivit, 

Honeste vixit, Honestus vir. 

I. Immortalis, Imperator, In, 
Infra, Inter. Invictus, Ipse, Isis, 
Judex, Julius, Junius, Jupiter, 
Justus. 

IA. Jam, Intra. 

I.C. Julius Caesar, Juris Con- 
sultum, Jus civile. 

ID. Idem, Idus, Interdum. > 

I D. Inferis diis, Jovi dedica- 
tum, Jus dicendum, Jussu Dei. 

I.D.M. Jovi deo magno. 

I.F. In foro, In fronte. 

I.H. Jacet hie, In honestatem, 
Justus homo. 

IM. Imago, Immortalis, Im- 
munis, Impensa. 

IMP. Imperator, Imperium. 

I.O.M. Jovi optimo inaximo. 

I.P. In publico, Intra provin- 
ciam, Justa persona. 

I.S.V.P. Impensa sua vivus 
posuit. 

K. Kaeso, Cai, Calumnia, 
Caput, Carus, Castra. 


K. , KAL , and KL. Kalendae. 

L. Laelius, Legio, Lex, Libens 
Liber, Libra, Locus, Lollius, 
Lucius, Ludus. 

LB. Libens, Liberi, Libertus. 

L.D.D.D. Locus datus decreto 
decurionum. 

LEG. Legatus. Legio. 

LIB. Liber, Liberalitas, Liber- 
tas, Libertus, Librarius. 

LL. Leges, Libentissime, 
Liberti. 

L.M. Libens merito, Locus 
monumenti. 

L. S. Laribus sacrum, Libens 
solvit. Locus sacer. 

LVD. Ludus. 

LV.P.F. Ludos publicos fecit. 

M. Magister, Magistratus, 
Magnus. Manes. Marcus, Marius, 
Marti, Mater, Memoria, Mensis, 
Miles, Monumentum, Mortuus, 
Mucius, Mulier. 

M’. Manius. 

M.D. Magno Deo, Manibus 
diis, Matri deum, Merenti dedit. 

MES, Mensis. MESS, Menses. 

M.F. Mala fides, Marci filius, 
Monumentum fecit. 

M I. Matri Idaeae, Matri Isidi, 
Maximo Jovi. 

MNT. and MON. Moneta. 

M.P. Male positus, Monumen¬ 
tum posuit. 

M.S. Manibus sacrum, Memo¬ 
riae sacrum, Manuscriptum. 

MVN. Municeps, or munici- 
pium; so also MN., MV., and 
MVNTC. 

M. V.S. Marti ultori sacrum, 
Merito votum solvit. 

N. Natio, Natus, Nefastus 
(dies), Nepos, Neptunus, Nero, 
Ncmen, Non, Nonae, Noster, 
Novus, Numen, Numerius, Num- 
erus, Nummus. 

NKP. Nepos, Neptunus. 

N.F.C. Nostrae fidei commis¬ 
sum. 

N.L. Non licet. Non liquet, 
Non longe. 

N.M.V. Nobilis memoriae vir. 

NN. Nostri. NN., NNO., and 
NNR. Nostrorum. 

NOB. Nobilis. NOB., NOBR., 
and NOV. Novembris. 

N. P. Nefastus primo (i.e., 
priore parte diei). Non potest. 

O. Ob, Officium, Omnis, Opor 
tet, Optimus, Opus, Ossa. 

OB. Obiit, Obiter, Orbis. 

O.C.S. Ob cives servatos. 

O.H.F. Omnibus honoribus 
functus. 

O.H.S.S. Ossa hie sita sunt. 

OR. Hora, Ordo, Ornamentum. 

O. T.B.Q. Ossa tua bene quies- 
cant. 

P. Pars, Passus, Pater. Pa- 
tronus, Pax, Perpetuus, Pes, Pius, 
Plebs, Pondo, Populus, Post, 
Posuit, Praeses, Praetor, Primus, 
Pro, Provincia, Publicus, Publius, 
Puer. 




ABBREVIATIONS. 


P.C. Pactum conventum, 
Patres conscripti, Pecunia con- 
stituta, Ponendum curavit, Post 
consulatum, Potestate censoria. 

P.F. Pia fidelis, Pius felix, 
Promissa tides, Publii filius. 

P.M. Pise memoriae, Plus 
minus, Pontifex maximus. 

P.P. Pater patratus, Pater 
patriae, Pecunia publica, Praspo- 
situs, Primipilus, Propraetor. 

PR. Praeses, Praetor, Pridie, 
Princeps. 

P.R. Permissu reipublicae, 

Populus Romanus. 

'P.R.C. Post Romam conditam. 

PR. PR. Praefectus praetorii, 
Propraetor. 

P.S. Pecunia sua. Plebiscitum, 
Proprio sumptu, Publicae saluti. 

P. V. Ida victrix, Praefectus 

urbi, Praestantissimus vir. 

Q. Quaestor. Quando, Quantus, 
Que, Qui, Quinquennalis, Quin¬ 
tus, Qui rites. 

Q.D.R. Qua de re. 

Q.I S.S. Quae infra scripta sunt; 
so Q.S.S.S. Quae supra, etc. 

QQ. Quaecumque, Quinquen¬ 
nalis, Quoque. 

Q. R. Quaestor reipublicae. 

R. Recte, Res, Respublica, 
Retro, Rex. Ripa, Roma, Roman¬ 
us. Rufus, Rursus. 

R. C. Romana civitas, Romanus 
civis. 

RESP. and RP. Respublica. 

RET. P. and RP. Retro pede’s. 

S. Sacrum, Scriptus, Semis, 
Senatus, Sepultus, Servius, Ser- 
vus, Sextus, Sibi, Sine, Situs, 
Solus, Solvit, Sub, Suus. 

SAC. Sacerdos, Sacriflcium, 
Sacrum. 

S C. Senatus consultum. 


S D. Sacrum diis, Salutem 
dicit, Senatus decreto, Senten- 
tiam dedit. 

S.D.M. Sacrum diis Manibus, 
Sine dolo malo. 

SER Servius, Servus. 

S.E.T.L. Sit ei terra levis. 

SN. Senatus, Sententia, Sine. 

S.P. Sacerdos perpetua, Sine 
pecunia, Sua pecunia. 

S.P.QR Senatus populusque 
Romanus. , 

S.S. Sanctissimus senatus, 
Supra scriptum. 

S. V.B E.EQ.V. Si vales bene 
est, ego quidem valeo. 

T. Terminus, Testamentum, 
Titus, Tribunus, Tu, Turma, 
Tutor. 

TB , TI., and TIB. Tiberius. 

TB., r iR., and TRB. Tribunus. 

T F. Testamentum fecit. Titi 
filius, Titulum fecit, Titus, 
Flavius. 

TM. Terminus, Testamentum, 
Thermae. 

T.P. Terminum posuit, Tri- 
bunicia potestate, Tribunus 
plebis. 

TVL. Tullius, Tullus. 

V. Urbs, Usus, Uxor, Yale, 
Verba, Vestalis, Vester, Vir, 
Vivus, Vixit, Volo, Votum. 

V.A. Veterano assignatus,Vixit 
annos. 

V.C Vale conjux, Vir clarissi- 
mus, Vir consularis. 

V.E Verum etiam, Vir egre- 
gius. Visum est. 

V.F. Usus fructus,Verba fecit, 
Vivus fecit. 

V.P. Urbis praefectus. Vir per- 
fectissirnus, Vivus posuit. 

V.R. Urbs Roma, Uti rogas, 
Votum reddidit. 


III. Mediaeval Abbreviations.— Of the different kinds 
of abbreviations in use in the middle ages, the following are 
examples;— 


A. M. Ave Maria. 

B. P. Beatus Paulus, Beatus 
Petrus. 

C. C. Carissimus (also plur. 
Carissimi), Clarissimus, Circum. 

D. Deus. Dominicus, Dux. 
D.N.PP. Dominus noster Papa. 
FF. Felicissimus, Fratres, Pan- 

dectae ( prob. for Gr. II.). 

I.C., or I.X Jesus Christus. 
I.D.N. In Dei nomine. 

KK. Karissimus (or -mi) 

MM. Magistri, Martyres, Matri- 
monium, Merritissimus 
O.S.B. Ordinis Sancti Benedicti. 


PP. Papa, Patres. Piissimus. 

R. F. Rex Francorum. 

R P.D. Reverendissimus Pater 
Dominus. 

S. C.M. Sacra Caesarea Maies- 
tas. 

S.M.E. Sancta Mater Ecclesia. 

S.M.M. Sancta Mater Maria. 

S.R.I, Sanctum Romanum Im- 
perium. 

S.V. Sanctitas Vestra, Sancto 
Virgo. 

V. Venerabilis, Venerandus. 

V.R.P. Vestra Reverendissima 
Paternitas. 


Besides the generally current abbreviations given above, 
other short methods of statement are frequently employed in 
particular circumstances. In the present work, for instance, 
in which the saving of space is of great moment, when the 
title or heading of a subject recurs in the body of the article. 




ABBREV1ATI0 PLACITORUM—ABD-EL-KADfiR. 

it is generally—especially if a proper name—represented 
by its initial letter: e.g., A. for Abd-el-Kader. Two dates 
following a name, and separated by a dash, are the dates 
of birth and death. The meaning of these and similar 
contractions is in general obvious. See Contractions. 

ABBREVIATIO PLACITORUM, db-bre-vi-d'-shi-0 pld- 
si-tor am [mid. L. ]: brief notes of decisions of law-cases 
in King John’s reign; the beginnings of the common law. 

A, B, C, d, be, se. [first three letters of the English alpha¬ 
bet j, an alphabet; an elementary reading-book. 

ABD, dbd, signifies in Arabic ‘slave’ or ‘servant,’ and 
enters, with the name of God, into the composition of many 
proper names; as, Abd Allah, ‘ servant of God;’ Abd-el- 


Kader, ‘servant of the mighty God;’ Abd-ul-Latif, ‘ servant 
of the gracious God,’ etc. So Ebed in Hebrew and Syriac. 

ABD-EL-KADER, dbd'el-ka der, properly El-Hadji-Abd- 
el Kader-Ulid-Mahiddin: 1807-83; b. Ghetna, d. Damas¬ 
cus : third son of a Marabout chief of the race of Haschem, 
who trace their pedigree to the caliphs of the lineage of Fa¬ 
tima. He was born at an institution of the Marabouts, 
near Mascara, which belonged to his family. His father, 
esteemed a very holy man, d. 1834. In 1827, A. visited 
Egypt, where, in Cairo and Alexandria, he first came in 
contact with western civilization. Religious enthusiasm and 
melancholy were prominent in his character. He early 
showed an uncommonly gifted mind. A. was free from the 
savage cruelty and sensuality of the Arabs; he maintained 
purity of manners, and did not permit himself to be misled 
by anger or passion. Although he firmly adhered to the 
faith of his nation, and even used their fanaticism, he had 
no sympathy with their fanatical intolerance. When Algiers 
was conquered by the French, the Arabian tribes of the 
province of Oran seized the opportunity to make themselves 
independent of the Turks, and elected A. as their emir, who 
soon established his authority over some neighboring tribes. 
He then attacked the French; and by bloody battles, Dec. 
3, 1833, and^ Jan. 6, 1834, he forced from them a treaty. 
In the interior his power was spread by victories over neigh¬ 
boring chiefs, and he became master of Miliana and Medeah. 
All the cities and tribes of the provinces of Oran and Titeri 
acknowledged A. as their sultan; the distant tribes sent him 
ambassadors with presents. Soon hostilities broke out be¬ 
tween him and the French. The first operations of the 
French General Tretzel led to that fatal retreat, in which the 
French army was attacked at Makta, 1835, June 28, by A.’s 
whole force, nearly 20,COO cavalry, and suffered a disgrace¬ 
ful defeat. 

After a struggle of six years, A. took refuge in Morocco, 
thus drawing upon Morocco the arms of France. After the 
decisive battle of Isly, 1844, the sultan gave up A.’s cause, 
but soon found A. at least his equal in power, and that he 
could not even prevent him from attacking the French again, 
1845, Oct., and 1847, March. But he was defeated in a bold 
night-attack on the Moorish camp, Dec. 11, and was com¬ 
pelled to flee. He might easily have seemed his own safety, 


ABD-EL-WAHAB—ABDICATE. 

but he would not abandon his attached followers, men, 
women, and children, to the plunder and massacre of the 
Maroccans. After a heroic combat on Dec. 21, he effected 
their retreat across the Muluia into the territory of Algeri a, 
where they mostly surrendered to the French. A., with a 
few horsemen, resolved to tight his way through to the 
south; but failed; and surrendered, 1847, Dec. 22, to General 
Lamoriciere and the Due d’Aumale, on condition that he 
should be permitted to withdraw either to Egypt or to St. 
Jean d’Acre. The French government refused to ratify this 
agreement. A. was sent with his family to Toulon, whence 
he was removed in 1848 to Pau, and finally to the Chateau 
d’Amboise. Liberated iq 1852 by Louis Napoleon, he lived 
at Broussa, in Asia Minor, till its destruction by an earth 
quake in 1855. He then, for a time, lived in Constantinople, 
but finally made his home in Damascus. He was of great 
service to humanity during the Syrian massacres of 1860. 
In 1865, he visited Paris and England, and was at the Paris 
Exhibition in 1867. In 1870, he offered to tight against the 
Germans. He wrote a religious work, translated, 1858, un¬ 
der the title Rappel d l’Intelligent: Avis d VIndifferent. 

ABD-EL-WAHAB: see Wahabis. 

ABDERA, n. ab-de'ra [Gr. Abderltes; L. Abderitl , an 
inhabitant of Abdera ], a town of ancient Thrace whose in¬ 
habitants were noted for their stupidity: Abderite, n. 
db'der-it , an inhabitant of Abdera; a stupid person: Ab 
deritan. a. -l-tdn, stupid; very foolish: n. a stupid person. 

ABDICATE, v. ab'di-kdt [L. abdicates, rejected, re¬ 
nounced—from ab, dico, I proclaim or make known], to pro¬ 
claim one’s own surrender of a thing or office; to give up a 
right; to formally renounce an office of dignity: Ab'dica'- 
ting, imp.: Ab dica ted, pp.: Abdication, n. ab'di-kd’shim, 
the act of giving up; a surrendering; a demission: Ab'dicant, 
n. hint, also Abdica'tor, n. -hi'ter, one who: Abdicative, 
a. ab'di-kd'tiv , causing or implying abdication.—S yn. of 
‘ abdicate’: to abandon; renounce; resign; forsake; give up; 
vacate; quit; desert; demit. 


ABDICATION. 

ABDICATION : the net of giving up an office, generally 
the office of ruler or sovereign. Usually the result of vexa 
tion and disappointment. It was perhaps voluntarily, and 
from being wearied with dominion, that Diocletian, and with 
him Maximian, abdicated, 305. Christina of Sweden retired 
from the throne, 1654, out of preference for the freedom of 
private life, but wished still to exercise the rights of a sover- 
eign. Charles V. laid down the crown, 1556, because liia 
great schemes had failed. Philip V. of Spain did so, 1724, 
in a fit of melancholy, but resumed it on the death of his 
son. Amadeus of Savoy abdicated, 1494, to become a priest. 
Victor Amadeus of Sardinia, who abdicated, 1730, wished 
to recall the step, but was not allowed.. Louis Bonaparte 
resigned the crown of Holland, because he would not con¬ 
sent to treat that country as a province of France Charles 
Emanuel of Sardinia retired from the throne, 1802, not 
finding himself equal to the crisis; and the same was the 
case with Victor Emanuel, 1819. William I. of the Nether 
lands resigned, 1840, as his policy had become impossible 
from the turn of affairs in Belgium. Foreign force com¬ 
pelled the abdication of Augustus of Poland, 1707, and, 
later, that of Stanislaus Leszczynski, 1735, and of Ponia- 
towski, 1795; as well as that of Charles IV. of Spaia 
1808, and of Napoleon, 1814 and 1815. Insurrections hare 
been the most frequent cause of A. The early history cif 
the Scandinavian kingdoms abounds in instances. In Eng- 
land, the compulsory abdication of Richard II., 1399, is an 
early example. In the case of James II., it was disputed 
whether the king had ‘abdicated’ or ‘deserted.’ More 
recent times saw Charles X., 1830, and Louis-Philippe, 

1848, retire before the storm of revolution, without the con¬ 
ditions they made being regarded. The A. of Ferdinand of 
Austria, 1848, was an indirect consequence of the events of 
the year of revolutions; that of Charles Albert of Sardinia, 

1849, of the battle of Novara. Of several cases among 
German princes, the chief is that of Ludwig of Bavaria, 
1848. Late instances are those of Amadeus, king of Spain, 
who gave up his crown, 1873, Feb. 11, and Milan, king of 
Servia, who did the same, 1889, March 6 

In some countries, the king can abdicate whenever he 
pleases; but in England, since the constitutional relation 
between the crown and the nation is of the nature of a con¬ 
tract, the king or queen, it is considered, cannot abdicate 
without the consent of parliament. It is, however, said 
that the king does abdicate, or, to speak perhaps more cor¬ 
rectly, an A. may be presumed, and acted on by the people, 
if his conduct politically and overtly is inconsistent with, 
and subversive of, the system of constitutional government, 
of which the qualified monarchy of his office forms part. 

At the conference between the two houses of parliament 
previous to the passing of the statute which settled the 
crown on William III., the word * abdicated ’ with reference 
to King James II. seems to have been used advisedly instead 
of ‘ deserted ’—the meaning, it is presumed, being that King 
James had not only deserted his office, but that by his acts, 
of which the said desertion formed part, he had, in view of 


ABDIEL—ABDOMEN. 

the constitution, ceased to have right to the throne. From 
this it may be inferred that A. was considered to have a 
twofold political signification, involving maladministration 
as well as desertion. The Scotch Convention, hovrever, 
more vigorously and distinctly resolved that King James 
‘ had forefaulted [forfeited] the crown, and the throne was 
become vacant.’ 

ABDIEL, n. ah'di-el [Heb. servant of God]: a good and 
faithful angel; one of the seraphim, who alone boldly with¬ 
stood Satan when he attempted to stir up the subordinate 
angels to revolt. See Milton. 

ABDOMEN, n. ab-dd'men [L. abdomen , the lower belly; 
abdominis, of the lower belly—from ubdo, I conceal]; the 
lower part of the belly, containing the stomach and other 
viscera; the hinder part of the body in arthropoda. Abdom¬ 
inal, a. ab-dbm'i-nal, belonging to the lower belly. Abdom¬ 
inous, a. db-dbm’i-nus, having a large belly. Abdominales, 
n. plu. db-ddm'i-nd'lez, in zool., the soft-finned fishes which 
have their ventral fins placed on the abdomen, behind the 
pectorals.— Syn. of ‘abdomen’: belly; paunch; stomach. 

ABDOMEN, ab-dd'men: A part of the human body. 
The trunk of the human body is divided by the diaphragm 
into two cavities—the upper being the thorax or chest, and 
the under, the abdomen or belly. Both the cavity and the 

viscera it contains are 
|\ included in the term A. 

*- Ijr 


It contains the liver, 
pancreas, spleen, and 
kidneys, also the stom¬ 
ach, small intestine, and 
the colon. The lower 
bowel, the bladder, and 
internal organs of gene¬ 
ration lie in the lowest 
part of the cavity, called 
the pelvis. The A. is 
lined by a serous mem 
brane, the peritoneum, 
which is folded over the 
viscera, allowing them a 
certain freedom of mo¬ 
tion, but keeping them 
in their proper relations 
to each other. The A. 
is divided externally by 
two horizontal lines into 
three principal regions — 
the upper or epigastric, 
the middle or umbilical, 
and the lower or hypogastric. These are again subdivided 
by two vertical lines—the side-divisions being called the 
hypochondriac, lumbar, and iliac regions respectively; the 
names epigastric and umbilical are then applied in a re¬ 
stricted sense to the middle divisions of the two upper prin¬ 
cipal regions; whiie the middle division of the lower is 



Organs of the Abdomen. 

1. Diaphragm. 2. Gall-Bladder. 3. Py- 
jbrn, «nd of Stomach. 4. Right Lobe 
,S t’rer. 5. Duodenum. 6. Great end 
of stomach. 7. Spleen 8. Piece of 
Oau'„ or Omentum. 9. Pancreas (Sweet¬ 
bread). 10. Small Intestine (Jejunum) 
11. Great Intestine (Colon). 12. Small 
Intestine (Ilium). 
















PLATE 


1 


Aback 

Abdomei 



Brig laid aback. 



Ionic Capital. A, The Abacus. 




Oraans of the Chest and Abdomen. A. B, Lungs; C, Heart; 00, Dia 
phragm; P, Liver; Q, Gall-bladder; R, Spleen; S, Stomach; TUY, Colon, W 
W, Small intestines. y 0 i j 


















ABDOMINALES—ABDUCENT. 

called the region of the pubis. Diseases of the abdominal 
viscera are frequent, and chiefly consist either of chronic 
disorders of the digestive organs, or of derangements of the 
nerve-plexuses and ganglia there situated. These disorders 
announce themselves partly in bodily pain, and partly in 
mental affections, such as hypochondria and hysterics. 

Abdomen, in Entomology, the last of the three parts into 
which the body of an insect is divided. It is composed of 
a number of rings or segments, frequently nine, more or 
lass distinct from each other. It contains a portion of the 
intestines and the sexual organs. In the perfect insect, its 
segments bear no legs nor wings ; but the liind-legs of larvae 
or caterpillars, which afterwards disappear, are attached to 
them. In many insects, its last segments bear appendages 
of various uses and forms, as pincers, stings, borers or 
ovipositors, etc. 

ABDOMINALES, db-dbm'i-na'lez, or Abdominal 
Fishes: in the Linnaean arrangement, an order of Fishes 
including all the Osseous Fishes of which the ventral fins 
are placed upon and beneath the abdomen, and so behind 
the pectoral fins Subsequent naturalists have thought it 
right in classifying Fishes to give a higher place to other 
characters; and in the system of Cuvier, the name A. is 
given to an order of much more limited extent, a subdivi¬ 
sion of the Malacopterygii or Soft-rayed Osseous Fishes, 
distinguished by having the ventral fins placed beneath the 
abdomen and not attached to the bones of the shoulder. It 
includes the Vyprinidm (Carp, Minnow, etc.), Esocidm (Pike, 
etc.), Siiuridce, Salmonidce (Trout, Salmon, etc.), and Clu- 
peidee (Herring, etc.). 

ABDUCE, v. db-dus', also Abduct, v. ab-dukt [mid. L. 
abdiicere, to eject from possession by forms of law or by 
force; abductus, ejected from possession—from L. ab, duco, 
I lead]: to lead or draw from; to separate; to take away se¬ 
cretly and forcibly. Abdu'cing, imp. Abduced, pp. db- 
dust. Abducting, imp. Abduc'ted, pp. Aeduc'tor, n. 
-ter, one who takes away secretly and forcibly; in anat., a 
muscle that draws a limb or a part outwards. " Abduction, 
n. db-duk'shun, a carrying away by fraud or open violence 
—generally applied to persons, as females or children; in 
med., a drawing away from. 

ABDUCENT, a. db-du'sent [L. abducens or abducen'tem f 
leading or drawing away—from ab, duco, I lead]: separat¬ 
ing; drawing back. Abducentes, n. plu. db'du-sen'tez, in 
anat., the 6th pair of cranial nerves which supply those 
muscles by which the eyes are rotated outwards. 


ABDUCTION. t 

ABDUCTION: the carrying away of any person by fraud 
or violence, a misdemeanor punishable by indictment—the 
civil remedies being by recaption, by writ of habeas corpus, 
and by an action for trespass. The statutes of the different 
states, while varying in regard to the manner of punish¬ 
ment, agree in the definition of this crime in its numerous 
forms. Thus it includes secret confinement, or imprison¬ 
ment, without due process of law; also the forcible carrying 
or sending of persons out of the state; or the inveigling or 
kidnapping, with intent to confine, or imprison, such "per¬ 
sons. Such offense may be tried either in the county in 
which it has been committed, or in that in or to which the 
person thus inveigled, kidnapped or imprisoned shall have 
been taken or confined. Consent on the part of the person 
thus treated shall not be a defense, unless it shall be made 
satisfactorily to appear to the jury that such consent was 
not obtained by fraud nor extorted by duress or threats. 

Any person who shall fraudulently and deceitfully entice, 
or take away any unmarried woman ‘ of a chaste life and 
conversation’ from her father’s house, for improper pur¬ 
poses, and every person who aids and assists in such an ab¬ 
duction, is deemed by the statutes of most of the states to 
be guilty of a misdemeanor, for which the punishment is 
imprisonment at hard labor for from one to three years, or 
fine, either or both, at the discretion of the court. The 
taking any woman unlawfully, against her will, and, by 
force, menace, or duress, compelling her to marry any per¬ 
son, is punishable b}^ imprisonment not less than ten years, 
and the same in case of the act only with intent to commit 
the crime. The taking away from her father, mother, or 
guardian, of a female child under the age of fourteen years, 
without their consent, either for the purpose of prostitution, 
concubinage, or marriage, is also defined as A., and is pun¬ 
ishable by imprisonment for from one to three years, or by 
fine, or both. Still another form of A. is the malicious, 
forcible, or fraudulent leading, taking, or carrying away, or 
decoying or enticing away of any child under the age of 
twelve years with the intent to conceal and detain the said 
child from its parent, guardian, or other person having the 
lawful charge of said child; and this crime is punishable by 
imprisonment not exceeding ten years, or by fine, or by 
both. If the father or mother of any child under six years 
of age, or any other person to whom such a child is confided, 
abandons the child in the highway, or elsewhere, the act is 
covered by the same statutes that take cognizance of the 
crime of A., and the punishment therefor is prescribed by 
such statutes. In the instance of an unmarried female 
above the age of consent going with a man of her own voli¬ 
tion and with her full consent, an indictment for A. will not 
lie. In case of the A. of a woman against her will, and of 
her after-marriage to the defendant with her full consent, it 
is held that her evidence against her abductor should be 
allowed, and that if she were a competent witness at any 
time after the commission of the crime, no subsequent assent 
to its commission can incapacitate her. If a woman be 
forcibly taken in one country, and afterwards goes voluntar- 


ABD-UL-HAMID—ABD-UL-LATIF. 

ily into another country and is there married or defiled with 
her own consent, the fact is not indictable in either country, 
the offense not being complete in either. Kidnapping is an 
offense at common law. It is considered to be the most 
aggravated kind of A., and is punishable by fine and im¬ 
prisonment. In order to constitute the offense of kidnap¬ 
ping a child under ten years of age, it is not necessary that 
actual force and violence should be used, nor is a transpor¬ 
tation to a foreign country necessary to the completion of the 
offense. At common law, the offense of kidnapping is 
treated as an aggravated form of false imprisonment, and 
all the ingredients in the definition of the latter are of course 
comprehended in the former. The requisites in an indict¬ 
ment seem to be, an averment of an assault, and the carry¬ 
ing away, or transporting the party injured, from his own 
country into another, unlawfully and against his will. It is 
not sufficient to charge the defendant with kidnapping, 
generally; the indictment should state specifically the facts 
and circumstances which constitute the offense. In A. and 
kidnapping, not only the misdoers themselves, but the pro¬ 
curers and those who wittingly receive the person so kid¬ 
napped or abducted for the purpose of concealment or im¬ 
prisonment, are frequently made principals by statute. 

ABD-UL-HAMID, ab'dool-lm mid, II., Sultan of Turkey: 
b. 1842, Sep. 22; . was proclaimed sultan in succession to 
his brother, Murad V., who was deposed in consequence of 
mental incapacity 1876, Aug. 81. He succeeded, also, to a 
war with Servia and Montenegro then in progress; and 
when this was concluded by the proclamation of peace, 1877, 
March, Russia joined with Roumania in declaring war 
against Turkey, and invaded Roumelia. Then occurred 
the fine defense of Plevna and the repulse of the Russians, 
who were forced to retire to the Shipka pass. Here the 
Turks were held at bay until reinforcements arrived, when 
Plevna was captured, Dec. 9. The Turks retreated to 
Adrianople, and being also defeated at Kars, and driven into 
Erzeroum, were forced to submit to terms, and the treaty of 
San Stefano was signed, 1878, March 17. The situation, 
however, threatened a general war, until the Congress of 
Berlin, 1878, Jujy 13, concluded peace. The reluctance of 
Abd-ul-Hamid to carry out the stipulations of the Congress 
of Berlin in good faith, has kept Europe more or less on 
the brink of general disorder ever since. In 1879 pressure 
had to be put upon him by the British government to reduce 
him to submission. He has been held chargeable with the 
horrors perpetrated on the Armenians. His triumph over 
Greece in 1897 gr< atly increased his prestige. 

ABD-UL-LATIF, db‘dool-ld-tef : 1161-1231; b. and d. 
Bagdad : celebrated Arabian writer of multifarious acquire¬ 
ments. During his youth he underwent an amazing amount 
of mental drudgery, in accordance with the eastern fashion 
of his time, to fit himself for becoming a scholar. The or¬ 
deal consisted in his committing to memory a large number 
of standard works, such as the Koran, the novels of Hariri, 
and not a few grammatical treatises. To complete his eult- 


ABD-UL-MEDJ ID-KHAN. 

ure in the various branches of Mohammedan lore, he betook 
himself to Damascus, where the famous Saladin had 
gathered round him the most learned men of the time. 
Through the liberality of the sultan, and the kindness of 
the Vizir Fadhel, he was enabled to proceed to Egypt, 
where he delivered lectures while Saladin was fighting the 
Lion-heart at St. Jean d’Acre. Here he became intimate 
with Moses Maimonides, the great Jewish writer, and de 
voted himself chiefly to the study of medicine, although 
while at Cairo, he also wrote his excellent and accurate 
work on Egypt, translated into Latin by Professor White of 
Oxford, 1800, and into French by Baron de Sacy, 1810 
He died at Bagdad on his way to Mecca. 

ABD UL-MEDJID-KHAN, abd'ool-me-jcd'kawn or -kdn, 
the Grand Sultan, 31st sovereign of the race of Osman: 
1823-01: succeeded his father, Mahmud II., 1839, July 1. The 
Turkish empire was then in great danger. The army had 
been defeated and dispersed by the Egyptians in the battle 
of Nisib, 1839, June 29, and there was nothing to hinder 
the victorious Ibrahim Pacha from advancing on Constanti¬ 
nople, where a large party were favorable to the Egyptian 
power. This party wished to make the viceroy of Egypt, 
Mehemet Ali, Chakan (the ancient title of the Grand Sultan) 
of both seas. Had it not been for the intervention of the 
Christian powers, the House of Osman was lost. The 
treaty of July, 1840, from which France kept aloof, rescued 
the young Padishah from sure destruction. Mehemet All 
submitted, 1840, Nov. 27; and the treaty of July, 1841, to 
which France subsequently adhered, settled the future de¬ 
pendent relation of Egypt to Turkey. The sultan, though 
not very energetic in body or mind, proceeded in the path 
of reform begun by Selim III. and Mahmud II. In this he 
had for his chief adviser Reshid Pacha, an intelligent and 
humane Mussulman, educated in France. The aim of all 
his measures was to place the Osman population on a foot¬ 
ing with the civilized inhabitants of the west. A. wished 
the happiness of all his subjects, without respect of creed. 
A sort of proclamation of their rights was issued in the 
hatti-sherif of Nov., 1839. This was followed by numerous 
reforms in all departments; and in 1850, the professors of 
all religions were decreed equal in the eye of the law. That 
these decrees remained, in a great measure, a dead letter, is 
not attributable to the will of the sultan. The chivalrous 
part acted by A., 1850, in refusing, at the risk of losing his 
throne, to give up Kossuth and the other political refugees 
to the menaces of Russia and Austria, will make his name 
remembered in the annals of humanity. 


ABD-UR-RAIIMAN—A’BECKETT. 

ABD-UR-RAHMAN, ubd-er-rah'man, Sultan of Fez and 
Morocco: 1778-1859; was the rightful heir to the throne 
when his father died, 1794; but was superseded by an uncle, 
after whose death he ascended tlie throne, 1823. His first 
four years of rule were occupied in quelling insurrections. 
Next, some danger to the state of Morocco was threatened 
by the refusal of Austria to pay the tribute for safety against 
pirates; but the sultan wisely adjusted the dispute by re¬ 
linquishing this sort of ‘black-mail,’ formerly levied by 
Morocco on European ships in the Mediterranean. The 
religious war under Abd-el-Kader against the French in 
Algeria involved A.; but was concluded by the battle of 
Isly, 1844, and the subsequent mediation of England. The 
piratical habits of his subjects brought A, to the brink of 
war with more than one European state, fie was a zeal¬ 
ous Mussulman, without the wild fanaticism common 
among his countrymen; as a ruler, he was strict, often 
cruel. He was succeeded, 1859, by his eldest sou, Sidi- 
Moliammed (b. 1803, d. 1873). 

ABDURRAHMAN KHAN, abd-er-rah'man Jean , or 
Abd-ul-Rah man, dbd-ul -, Ameer of Cabul: b. about 1830 
(became ameer 1880); nephew of the ameer Shere Ali. 
During the civil war of 1804, he took the side of his father, 
Afzul Khan, against his uncle, Shere Ali. He was defeated 
and lied to Russian territory 18G9. In 1879 he went to Ca¬ 
bul, and the following year was elected ameer and recog¬ 
nized by the Brit, govt., which gave him a subsidy of 
$800,000 per annum. In 1888 while defending himself 
against a revolt he was shot at by a sepoy, but though re¬ 
ported dead was uninjured. He died 1901, Oct. 3. 

ABEAR, v. d-bdr’ [AS. aberan —from a, on; beran, to 
bear (see Bear 1)]: in OE., to bear; to comport one’s self. 
Abear ing, imp. Abeared, pp. d-bdrd '. 

ABECEDARIANS, d-be-se-dd'rl-anz: small sect among 
the Anabaptists (q.v.) of Germany in the 16th c., followers 
of Nicholas Storch. They opposed learning to read, as¬ 
serting that knowledge of the Holy Scriptures was the only 
essential to man, and that the true believer received this 
knowledge by direct communication from the Holy Spirit. 

ABECEDARY, d-be-seda-rl, CIRCLES: rings or circles 
formed of letters and‘described about a magnetic needle, 
by means of which it was believed possible for persons at a 
distance from one another to communicate. 

A’BECKETT, a-bek'et, Arthur William: author: b. 
Hammersmith, England, 1844, Oct 25; youngest surviving 
sou of Gilbert Abbot A. (1811-56), well-known humorous 
writer and London magistrate. He was appointed to a 
position in the war office 1862, was afterward private sec. 

tbe J)uke of Norfolk, was editor of comic periodicals, 
and 1870 was a special newspaper correspondent during the 
Franco-German war. He was called to the bar 1882. He 
is author of several plays and novels; among the latter, 
About Town, Long Ago, and Faded Flowers. He has long 
been on the staff of Punch. 

1—5 


A BECKET—ABEL. 

A BECKET, Thomas: sec Becket. 

ABED, ad. d-bed' [AS.]: on or in bed. 

ABEL, d'bel: appears in the book of Genesis as the sec¬ 
ond son of Adam, and a shepherd. He was slain by his 
elder brother Cain, under the influence of jealousy, because 
the offering of the latter had been rejected by Jehovah, and 
that of the former accepted. It is not said in Genesis why 
Jehovah accepted the sacrifice of Abel; but the Saviour, 
in the New Testament, speaks of ‘ righteous Abel/ from 
which it is concluded that there dwelt in him a spirit of 
faith or trust in the unseen God, of which his brother was 
destitute. The writer of the Epistle, to the Hebrews opens 
his enumeration of the 1 faithful/ Heb. xi., with these 
words: ‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent 
sacrifice than Cain/ Such, also, has been in all ages the 
universal opinion of the Christian Church, which has re¬ 
garded Abel as a type of innocence and faith. 

ABEL, d'bel, Charles Frederick: 1719-87; b. 
Koethen, Germany; distinguished musician. He was a 
pupil of Sebastian Bach, and for some years a member of 
the famous Dresden band of the Elector of Saxony, king of 
Poland. In 1758, when nearly forty years of age, he came 
to England in great destitution; but his talents were quickly 
recognized. He was appointed chamber-musician to the 
queen of George III. His peculiar instrument, the viola da 
garnba, a small violoncello, with six strings, was never 
played by any other in equal perfection. He also obtained 
reputation as a composer, though his pieces are not now 
held in very great estimation. His life was shortened by 
his intemperate habits. 


ABELARD. 

ABELARD, Peter, db'e-lard, (Ft. Abelard or Abailard: 
Lat. Abcelardus): 1079-1142; scholastic philosopher and 
theologian, the boldest thinker of the 12th c., born nea? 
Nantes, at Palet, a village which belonged to his parents. 
An irrepressible thirst for knowledge, and a special pleasure 
in scholastic logic, moved him to resign his rights of primo¬ 
geniture in favor of his younger brothers. He left Bre¬ 
tagne for Paris, in order to hear the prelections of W illiam 
of Champeaux, but soon incurred the hatred of his master, 
whom he puzzled by his wonderful subtlety. He tied to 
Melun, and afterwards to Corbeil, persecuted and admired 
wherever he went. He then returned home for the restora¬ 
tion of his health. With renewed strength he returned to 
Paris, reconciled himself with his opponents, and molded, 
by his influence as a lecturer, some of the most distinguished 
men of his age, among whom were the future Pope Celes- 
tine II., Peter Lombard; Berengar, his future apologist, and 
Arnold of Brescia. At this time, there lived in Paris 
Heloise, the niece of the Canon Fulbert, then seventeen 
years of age, and already remarkable for her beauty, 
talents, and knowledge. She soon kindled in the breast^ of 
A., then thirty-eight years old, a violent and overwhelming 
passion, which was returned by Heloise with no less fervor. 
By means of Fulbert, A. became teacher and companion of 
Heloise, and the lovers were happy together until A.’s 
ardent poetical effusions reached the ears of the canon. He 
sought to separate the lovers, but it was too late. They 
fled together to the country, where Heloise bore a son, and 
was privately married to A., with the consent of her uncle. 
Not long after, Heloise returned to Fulbert’s house, and 
denied the marriage, that her love might be no hinderance 
to A.’s advancement in the church. Enraged at this, and 
at a second flight which she took with her lover, Fulbert, in 
order to make him canonically incapable of ecclesiastical 
preferment, caused A. to be emasculated. In deep humil¬ 
iation A. entered as a monk the abbey of St. Denis, and in¬ 
duced Heloise to take the veil at Argenteuil. But the lect¬ 
ures which he began to give soon exposed him to new 
persecutions. The synod of Soissons, 1121, declared his 
opinions on the Trinity heretical. He left St. Denis, and 
built at Nogent-on the-Seine a chapel and hermitage called 
Paraclete, which, after its enlargement by his scholars to a 
monastic foundation, he, on his appointment as abbot of 
St.-Gildas-de-Ruys, in Bretagne, gave over to Heloise and 
her sisterhood for a dwelling. His residence in St.-Gildas 
was imbittered by a continued struggle against his love, and 
by the hatred of the monks, till at last, in 1140, his doctrine 
was condemned by Pope Innocent III., and he was ordered 
to be imprisoned. But Peter the Venerable, abbot of 
Clugny, after A. had retracted his opinions on the Trinity 
and Redemption, reconciled him to his enemies. A. died 
with the reputation of a model of monastic propriety, in the 
abbey of St. Marcel, not far from Chalons-on-the-Saone. 
Heloise had him interred at the Paraclete, hoping one day to 
lie by his side. She survived A. twenty years. The ashes 
of both were taken to Paris in 1808, and in 1828 were buried 


ABELE—ABENCERRAGES. 

in one sepulcher in Pere la Chaise.—The doctrines advanced 
by A. in his controversy with St. Bernhard have a decidedly 
rationalist tendency; and he, and his predecessor Erigena, 
may be looked upon as the first avowed representatives of 
that school. A. laid down the principle that nothing is to 
be believed but what has been first understood; while the 
church held that we must believe in order to understand ; 
and Bernhard was for banishing inquiry altogether from the 
province of religion. In judging of A.’s merits we are not 
to look so much to his writings as to the influence which his 
wonderful power of public disputation enabled him to ex¬ 
ercise on his age. His character, no less than his doctrine, 
gave great offense. Until recently, it is chiefly the romantic 
history of his love that has occupied attention. The chief 
biographies are by Remusat (Par. 1845), Wilkens (Gott. 
1855), Deutsch (Leip. 1888), and Sauerland (Frankf. 1879). 
The Latin writings and letters of A. and Heloise were col¬ 
lected by Amboise, and published by Duchesne (Par. 1616). 
Some works of A. have been recently discovered; among 
others, Sic et Non , a collection of doctrinal contradictions 
from the Fathers. Cousin, who published the hitherto un¬ 
edited works in 1886, has given us a complete edition of A.’s 
works (2 vols., Par. 1849-59). 

ABELE, n. d-be'le [Pol. bialo , white]: the white poplar- 
tree; the Populus alba, Ord. Salicdcece. See Poplar. 

ABELITES, d'bel-its, a Christian sect of the 4th c., found 
chiefly in the neighborhood of Hippo, North Africa. Their 
chief distinction consisted in marrying, but abstaining from 
matrimonial intercourse, in order not to propagate original 
sin. They held that Abel so lived, because the Bible 
mentions no children of his. 

ABELMOSCHUS: see Hibiscus. 

ABENCERRAGES, d-ben'se-rdj-es, a noble Moorish 
race whose struggles with the family of the Zegris, and 
tragical destruction in the royal palace of the Alhambra, in 
Granada, in the time of Abu-Hassan (1466-84), the last but 
one of the kings of Granada, furnish the materials for a 
charming Spanish work of fiction, Historia de las Guerras 
Ginles de Granada (Madrid, 1694). From this Chateau 
briand composed Les Aventures du Bernier Abencerrage, 
and furnished the text of an opera of Cherubini s. d he 
work, however, seems to be destitute of historical founda¬ 
tion, at least Conde is silent on the subject in his Historia de 
la Bominacion de los Arabes en Hspana (3 vols., Madrid, 
1829). 


ABEN-ESRA—ABERCROMBIE. 

ABEN-ESRA, d'ben-es-ra, properly Abraham - Ben 
Meir-Ben-Esra: 1093-1168.- b. Spain, d. Rome: one of 
the most learned Jews of his time. He understood the 
Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic languages; had considerable 
knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and medicine; was 
a scientific observer; and generally distinguished himself as 
a sagacious thinker. Having left his native land, he visited 
Lombardy, Provence, France, Egypt, and England, and 
passed the later years of his life in Rome ; everywhere giv¬ 
ing lectures on grammar, theology, astronomy, etc., besides 
writing and translating several works in Hebrew and Arabic. 
His Commentaries on the Old Testament are the most im¬ 
portant of his works, which include some treatises on astrol¬ 
ogy, since published in Latin. The scholastic writers men¬ 
tion Aben-Esra as Abenare or Avenard. 

ABEOKUTA, db-be-o-kotd: city, or rather collection of 
small towns or villages, cap. of the territory of Egba, in the 
Yoruba country, on the w. coast of Africa: about 80 m., 
by the river Ogun, n. of Lagos (on the Bight of Benin), and 
240 m. w. of the Lower Niger. It is 567 ft. above the sea- 
level, on an undulating plain, fantastically broken by masses 
of gray granite, and covered with bush. A , whose area is 
4 m. by 2 m., is surrounded by a wall of hardened mud, 18 
to 20 m. in circumference, between 5 and 6 ft. high, without 
embrasure, with apertures here and there. The houses are 
square, and built of mud, with tall roofs of thatch ; the 
streets are narrow and irregular, and the only scavengers 
are the sun, the vulture, and the pig. There are a few 
European traders and missionaries. There is a trade in 
palm-oil and grain. Pop. estimated at 150,000. See R. F. 
Burton’s Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains (1863). 

ABER, db'er, is a Celtic word which enters into the com¬ 
position of several names of places, chiefly in Wales and 
Scotland. It indicates the mouth or embouchure of a stream, 
either into the sea, or into another river—as Aberbrothock, 
at the mouth of the Brothock, in Forfarshire; Abergavenny, 
at the junction of the Usk and Gavenny, in Wales. 

ABERAYON, ab-'er-d'vbn , or Port Talbot : parliament¬ 
ary and municipal borough on the s. coast of Wales, in Gla¬ 
morganshire, near the mouth of the Avon, about 30 m. w. 
of Cardiff. It is beautifully situated near the valley of Cwm 
Avon, in which are extensive mining-works belonging to the 
Bank of England. The town has a good harbor and docks, 
is a station on the South Wales Railway, and communicates 
regularly with Bristol by steamers. The valley of the Avon 
is shut in by lofty hills, while every available space is occu¬ 
pied by copper and iron works. There is a stone bridge of 
one arch over the river. A. imports ore from Cornwall; 
and exports copper, tin, and coal. Pop. of municipal 
borough about 5,000. 

ABERBROTHWICK : see Arbroath. 

ABERCROMBIE, db'er-krum bi, John, m.d. : 1780- 
1844; b. Aberdeen : in his own day the most eminent of 
Scottish physicians; son of a parish minister. He studied 


ABERCROMBIE—ABEIl DARE. 

medicine in Edinburgh, where also he practiced his profes¬ 
sion. After the death, 1821, of the celebrated Dr. Gregory, 
he became recognized as the first consulting physician in 
Scotland. His professional writings contributed to his ce¬ 
lebrity. His works on The Intellectual Powers and r Jhe 
Moral Feelings (1830, 1833) though without originality or 
depth of thought, gained repute from the high personal 
character of the author, and from their genuine religious 
feeling. Dr. A. received a degree of m.d. from Oxford, the 
rectorship of Marischal College, the vice-presidency of the 
Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the office of physician in 
ordinary for Scotland to the queen of England. 

ABERCROMBIE, ah'er-krum-ht, John Joseph: 1802— 
1877, Jan. 3; b. Tenn. general U. S. A. He graduated at 
West Point 1822, and 1825-33 served as adjutant in the 
1st infantry, being promoted capt. 1836. After service in 
the Florida war, in which he was made brevet maj., he 
was engaged on the frontier, and 1845-48 served in the 
Mexican war, and afterward till 1860 at different stations. 
He served through the civil war, was wounded at Fair Oaks, 
brevetted brig.gen., and retired 1865, June 12. 

ABERCROMBY. ab er-krum-bi, Sir Ralph: soldier: 1134, 
Oct.7—1801, Mar. 28; b.Menstry, Clackmannanshire, Scot¬ 
land. He studied for the bar at the universities of Edinburgh 
and Leipzic, but turned to a military life; and 1758 went to 
Germany as a cornet in the 3d dragoon guards. His conduct 
in the unfortunate campaign, especially during the disas¬ 
trous retreat in the winter of 1794,5, won him the love 
and admiration of the army. In command of the expedi¬ 
tion to the W. Indies, he took Grenada, Demerara, Essequi- 
bo, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad. As commander 
of the forces in Ireland, his manly remonstrances against 
the policy of government toward that country occasiontd 
his removal to a similar command in Scotland. On 
his return from an expedition to Holland, he was ap¬ 
pointed to command the expedition to the Mediter¬ 
ranean 1799 His fleet anchored in Aboukir bay 1801, Mar. 
2. On Mar. 13th, he drove the enemy within the lines of 
Alexandria. On the 21st, in the glorious repulse of the 
enemy’s attempt to surprise the British camp, A was struck 
by a musket-ball in the thigh; but not till he saw the 
enemy retreating did he show any sign of pain: then he 
was borne from the field. Seven days afteward he died 
of the wound. A. was at once gentle and brave, clear¬ 
sighted and cool, prompt and daring; he was also a man 
of liberal accomplishments. A peerage was conferred on 
his widow. 

ABERDARE, ab'er-ddr': town in the county of Glamor¬ 
gan, about 4 m. s.w. of Merthyr-Tydvil. Coal and iron are 
abundant in the vicinity, coal being largely exported. A., 
which is connected with the coast both by rail and canal, 
is a flourishing centre of iron and tin works. . The town has 
kept pace with the development of its industries, it. has many 
substantial buildings, is well supplied with water, and pos- 


ABERDEEN. 

pesses a public park. Pop. (1841), 6,471; (1871), 37,744; 
(1881) 33,796; (1891) 35,533. 

ABERDEEN, tib'er-den': the chief city and seaport in the 
n. of Scotland, is in the s.e. angle of the county, at the 
mouth of the river Dee, which forms its harbor, and 111 m. 
n. of Edinburgh. Its mean annual temperature is 45°. 8 F., 
and rainfall, 30.57 inches. William the Lion made A. a 
royal burgh in 1179. The English burned A. in 1336, but 
it was soon rebuilt, and called New Aberdeen. Old A., 
within the same parliamentary boundary, is a small town a 
mile to the n., near the mouth of the Don. King’s College 
and University, founded in Old A., 1494, and Marischal 
College and University, founded in New A., 1593, were, in 
1860, united into one institution, the University of Aber- 
deen. It had about 800 students in 1884, 5; and its general 
council, with that of Glasgow Uuiversity, sends one mem¬ 
ber to parliament. In the 17tli c. A. had become an im¬ 
portant place, but it suffered much from both parties in the 
civil wars. It has now a flourishing trade and large manu¬ 
factures, and its handsome light-gray granite architecture is 
much admired. The harbor has been much enlarged and 
deepened, and a new breakwater has been lately built. The 
total registered shipping of the port in 1885 amounted to 
105,341 tons. The chief exports are linens, woolens, cotton- 
yarns, paper, combs, granite (hewn and polished), cattle, 
grain, preserved provisions, and fish. A. has the largest 
comb and granite-polishing works in the kingdom. It has 
considerable iron-works and much shipbuilding. The A. 
clipper-bow ships are celebrated as fast sailers. A. has above 
60 places of worship, and 10,000 children at school. Pop., 
1871, municipal burgh 76,348; parliamentary 88,125; 1881, 
parliamentary 105.003; (1901)143,722. 

ABERDEEN, db-er-den': city, cap. of Brown co., S. D.; 
on the Chicago and Northwestern, the Northern Pacific, 
the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul, the St. Paul Minne¬ 
apolis and Manitoba, and the Minneapolis St. Paul and 
Sault Ste. Marie railroads: popularly called ‘ the railroad 
hub of the Dakotas.’ It contains 3 national banks (cap. 
$225,000); 1 private bank (cap. $100,000); 3 grain eleva¬ 
tors ; 3 large hotels; 3 railroad depots ; railroad round¬ 
house and freight-houses; U. S. land office; 5 churches; 
3 graded public schools; Acad, of the Sacred Heart (Rom. 
Cath.); 7 daily and weekly newspapers; 2 electric-light 
plants; water supply from several artesian wells driven 
in the James River valley; and substantial business and 
residence buildings. A. is the entrepot for a large agri¬ 
cultural, lumber, and commercial trade. Pop. (1880) 
2,500; (1890) 3,182; (1900) 4,087. 

ABERDEEN, George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of: 
1784-1860; b. Edinburgh; educated at Harrow and at St. 
John’s College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of 
m.a. in 1804. He succeeded to the earldom 1801, and 
travelled in Greece, as noted in Byron’s line—■ The 
travelled thane, Athenian Aberdeen.’ He entered public 
life as a tory 1806, was intrusted with a delicate mission 
to Austria 1813, and after the war was elevated to the 


ABERDEENSHIRE. 

British peerage as Viscount Gordon. In 1828, he took office 
in the new ministry under the Duke of Wellington. The 
general principle of his policy, as Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs, was that of non-interference in the internal 
affairs of foreign states, which, joined to his well known 
sympathy with such statesmen as Metternich, has exposed 
him—not always justly—to the suspicion of being inimical 
to the cause of popular liberty. His gradual abandonment 
of high Tory principles was evinced by his support of 
the bill for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 
and of the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act. From 
the fall of the Wellington ministry till the Peel administra¬ 
tion in 1841, A. was out of office, with the exception of his 
brief administration of the Colonial Office in the Tory min¬ 
istry of 1834, 5. In 1841, he again received the seals of the 
Foreign Office. M. Guizot was at that time foreign minis¬ 
ter in France, and the two statesmen acted in cordial alliance. 
The conclusion of the Chinese War, the Ashburton Treaty, 
and the Oregon Treaty, were the principal services rendered 
to the country during his administration of foreign affairs. 
From the time that the repeal of the Corn Laws became the 
Tallying-point of the Peel party he was in accord with their 
policy. In 1846, he resigned with Sir Robert Peel. In 
1853, on the resignation of Lord Derby, the extraordinary 
state of parties necessitated a coalition, and A. was selected 
as the fittest man to head the new ministry, which for some 
time was extremely popular. The feeble and vacillating 
policy in the conduct of the war with Russia gradually un¬ 
dermined its stability, and the disastrous mismanagement 
brought to light in the winter of 1854, in all departments of 
the public business connected with the war, filled up the 
measure of the popular discontent. In 1855, Feb. 1, A. 
resigned office. He was author of an essay on Grecian 
Architecture, 1822. 

ABERDEENSHIRE, -slier: a large maritime- county in 
the e. of Scotland, between,56° 52' and 57° 42' n. lat., and 
1° 49' and 3 3 48’ w. long.; bounded n. by Banffshire and 
the North Sea; e. by the North Sea; s. by Kincardine, For- 
•far, and Perth shires; w. by Inverness and Banff shires. 
It is the fifth in size of the Scottish counties; greatest length, 
102 m.; greatest breadth, 50 m.; with 60 m. of sea-coast, 
and an area of 1,966 sq. m. It has long been popularly di 
vided into five districts (proceeding from s.w. to n.e.)—Mar, 
Strathbogie, Garioch, Formartine, and Buchan. A. is gen¬ 
erally hilly, and in the s.w. (Braemar) entirely mountainous, 
the Grampians running along the s. side, and branching off 
to the n.e. andn. Braemar contains the highest mountains; 
Ben-Muich-Dhui (next to Ben Nevis, the highest hill in the 
British Isles), 4,296 ft.; Cairntoul, 4,241; Cairngorm, 4,084; 
Ben-na-Buird, 3,924; Loclmagar, 3,786. The predominant 
rocks are granite and gneiss. The granite is very durable, 
and is much used for building and polishing. The chief 
rivers are the Dee (87 m. long), Don (83 m.), and Ythan (35 
m.), which run eastward into the North Sea; and the Dov- 
eran (62 m.), which runs n.e. into the North Sea (see Dee, 
Don, Doveran). On the upper part of the Dee is Bal- 


ABERDEVINE-ABERNETHY. 

moral (q.v.) The Yt ban yields the pearl-mussel, but rarely 
pearls of any value. The mean annual rainfall of A. varies 
from 30 to 37 inches. Clay soils predominate near the coast, 
loamy soils near the centre, and poor, gravelly, sandy, and 
peaty soils elsewhere. The most fertile parts lie between 
the Don and the Ythan, and in the me. angle of the county. 
Nowhere in the kingdom have tlie natural disadvantages of 
soil and climate been more successfully overcome. A. has 
188 m. of railway, and 2,359 m. of public roads, the latter 
supported by. rates, and not by tolls. The chief towns and 
villages are Aberdeen (New and Old), Peterhead, Fraser¬ 
burgh, Huntly, Kintore, Inverurie, and Turriff.. The 
county returns two members to parliament; the city of 
Aberdeen, two; and the burghs of Peterhead, Kintore, and 
Inverurie, with Elgin, Cullen, and Banff, one. About 37 
per cent, of the area of A. is cultivated. In 1880, if had 
195,316 acres in oats, 16,564 in barley and here; 92,972 in 
turnips; and 152,106 cattle. A. produces one-fifth of the 
turnips, and one-seventh of the cattle reared in Scotland, 
and is unsurpassed in breeding and feeding stock. The fish¬ 
eries on the coast are very productive. Above 80 per cent, 
of the children (5-13 years ) are at school. The Dick 
and Milne bequests for parochial schoolmasters have given 
A. a high place in the statistics of education. A. has about 
290 places of worship, 105 being Established, and 100 Free. 
Value of real property (exclusive of railways), over 
£831,333. Pop. (1891) 281,331; (1901) 304,439. 

ABERDEVINE, a-ber'de-vin , or Siskin ( Fringilla 
Spinus ): a song-bird, nearly allied to the goldfinch, with 
which it is placed by Cuvier and others in the new genus 
Garduelis. It is rather smaller than the goldfinch, and less 
elongated in form. The crown of the head and the throat 
are black, the nape dusky green, and there is a broad 
yellow r streak above and behind each eye. It is only a 
winter visitant of Britain, and breeds in the n. of Europe, 
building its nest in high trees. It is frequently kept as a 
cage-bird, being easily tamed, and breeds freely with the 
canary. It feeds on the seeds of the thistle, alder, birch, 
and elm, and occasionally does great damage to the hop* 
plantations in Germany. In France it injures the blossoms 
of the apple trees. 

ABERGAVENNY, ab'er-gd'ne (the Roman Gobanium ); 
market-town of England, in Monmouthshire, 13 m. w r . of 
Monmouth, beautifully situated in the valley of the Usk 
(the garden of Wales'), at the junction of the Usk and 
Gavenny, and is surrounded by high mountains and thick 
w r oods. The town is regularly and compactly built. St. 
Mary’s Church, formerly a fine cruciform structure, con¬ 
taining many interesting monuments, has been seriously 
marred by alterations. The castle, which is very ancient, 
is now a ruin. The principal modern building is the luna¬ 
tic asylum. There are collieries and iron-works in the 
neighborhood. The Hereford and Tredegar Railway 
passes near the town. Pop. about 8,000. 

ABERNETHY, db'-er-ne-thi, John: 1764-1831; b. Lon- 




ABERRATION. 

don; d. Enfield: eminent English surgeon. His grand¬ 
father was the Bev. John Abernethy, an Irish Presbyterian 
clergyman, who acquired distinction by his writings, and 
his bold adoption of Bishop Hoadly’s views on the right of 
private judgment and the subscription of Confessions. A.’s 
early tastes disposed him to the bar; but in 1780 he was ap¬ 
prenticed to Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Blick, surgeon of 
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. He attended at the same time 
the lectures of John Hunter and Sir W.. Blizard. In 1787, 
A. was elected assistant-surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s, an 
office which he filled for twenty-eight years, at the end of 
which time he was appointed surgeon, with a salary. Scon 
after his election he began to lecture in the hospital’on anat¬ 
omy and surgery, and may be said to have laid the founda¬ 
tion of its character as a school of surgery. At first he 
manifested extraordinary diffidence, but his power soon de¬ 
veloped itself; and his lectures attracted such crowds that, 
in 1790, it was found necessary to build a lecture-theatre in 
the hospital for his use. His clear, simple, and positive 
style, illustrated by an inexhaustible variety of apt anec¬ 
dotes, made him the most popular medical teacher of his 
day. In 1813, he was appointed surgeon to Christ’s Hos¬ 
pital, and in 1814, Professor of Anatomy and Surgery to 
the College of Surgeons. His practice increased with his 
celebrity, which the singular eccentricity and occasional 
rudeness of his manners contributed to heighten. Notwith¬ 
standing, however, the irritability and harshness "which he 
so often exhibited, those "who knew him best bear unani¬ 
mous testimony to the generosity and kindliness of his 
character. He married in 1800, and had several children. 
Of his works, the most original and important is his Observa¬ 
tions on the Constitutional Origin and Treatment of Local 
Diseases , first published, 1806, in which a simple principle, 
till then little attended to, was made the foundation of much 
important'and ingenious observation. His Lectures on tin. 
Theory and Practice of Surgery were published, 1830. 

ABERRATION, n. ab'er-raslmn [F. aberration —from 
L. aberratwnem, a transient escape from: L. aberrans or ah- 
erran'tem, wandering from or away—from ah, erro, I wan¬ 
der]: a wandering from the right way, as from truth; moral 
perversity; mental weakness; an apparent motion of the 
fixed stars. Aberrant, a. dh-er'rdnt, differing widely; dif¬ 
fering from the customary structure or type. Aber'ring, a. 
wrandering. Aberrance, n. db-er'rdns, also Aberrancy, 
ab-er'rdn-si, a wandering from the right way. Aberration 
of light, the deviation of rays of light from a true focus, 
resulting in an indistinct or colored image. Mental aber¬ 
ration, a wandering or unsettled state of the mind result¬ 
ing in incapacity for ordinary mental efforts. Spherical 
aberration, in optics, the dispersion of the rays of light 
in passing through a lens.— Syn, of ‘ aberration’: madness; 
insanity; mania; idiocy; alienation; derangement; lunacy; 
dementia. 

ABERRATION OF LIGHT, ah'er-ra'shun-: an apparent 
alteration in the place of a star arising from the motion of 

Vol. 1 — 3 


ABERT. 

fche earth in its orbit combined with the progressive passage 
of light. When rain is falling perpendicularly, a drop en- 
tering at the top of an upright tube at rest will go through; 
but if the tube be carrried forward horizontally, a drop 
entering the top will strike against the side before it goes 
far; and to make the drop go through the tube in motion, we 
must incline the top of it forward in the direction of the mo¬ 
tion. The amount of this inclination will be the greater the 
more rapid the motion of the tube is compared with that of 
the falling drops. If in the time that a , # 

drop takes to fall through the height AB 1 

of the parallelogram in the annexed cut, 
the inclined tube BC is moved horizon¬ 
tally over a space equal to its breadth, AC, 
a drop entering the top of the tube will 
descend without touching the sides. For 
in half the time the tube will be in the 
position B'C', and the drop in the posi¬ 
tion d; and so for any other portion of 
the time. This exactly illustrates the 
astronomical phenomenon in question. 

The tube is a telescope directed to receive 
the light of a star; this tube, and the per¬ 
son looking through it, are moving with 
the earth in its orbit, and the light may be conceived as 
particles coming from the star like drops of rain, moving 
much faster, no doubt, still requiring time. That a 
particle or ray of light from the star may pass through the 
tube, it must be directed, not straight to the star, but at a 
slight angle in the direction of the earth’s motion. Thus 
the place w T here we see the star is not its true place. As the 
earth’s motion, however, is slow compared w T ith the velocity 
of light, the angle of inclination is small—never exceeding 
about 20". The result is, that, if we conceive the true place 
of a star as a fixed point, the apparent place of the star de¬ 
scribes about this true place, in the course of a year, an 
ellipse whose greater axis is about 40". The aberration of 
light w’as discovered by the English astronomer Bradley, in 
1727, w^hile seeking to determine the parallax of certain 
fixed stars. 

ABERT, d'bert, John James: soldier: 1788, Sep. 17— 
1863, Sep. 27; b. Sheplierdstown, Ya. His father, John 
A., came to America 1780 with Count de Rochambeau. A. 
studied at West Point, where he graduated 1811, and ob¬ 
tained a position in the war dept, at Washington. He 
studied law, and w>as admitted to practice in the Dist. of 
Columbia two years later. He had resigned from the army 
on leaving West Point, but on the outbreak of the war of 
1812, enlisted as a private, and 1814 was appointed a topo¬ 
graphical engineer with the rank of major. He was placed 
in charge of the topographical bureau 1829, and promoted 
to col., and rendered highly efficient service in supervising 
important national engineering works until 1861, when he 
was retired. 








A'BERT—ABGAR. 

A'BERT, Silyanus Thayer: civil engiueer: b. Phila. 
delpbia, Penn.: 1828, July 22; son of John J. A. He 
graduated at Princeton, adopted the profession of engineer- 
ing, and was employed by the govt, in constructing the 
James River and Kanawha canal, and continued in the 
govt, service, being appointed 1859 construction engineer at 
the Pensacola navy-yard. He served during the civil war, 
and 1865-6 was in the employ of the Colombian govt., and 
later in the U. S. engineering corps. He wrote Notes, His- 
torical and Statistical , on the Projected Route for an Inter- 
oceanic Ship Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans (1872.) 

ABERL STWITH, ah'er-ist'with: a seaport of Wales, 
»nd one of the Cardigan district of parliamentary boroughs. 
In 1880, 420 vesssels, of a total tonnage of 80,937 tons, 
entered the port. A. is much resorted to for sea-bathing, 
and is well provided with good hotels and lodging-houses. 
Pop. about 7,000. 

ABET, v. a-bet' [AS. a, on or in; betan, to improve, to 
kindle: OF. abetter, to deceive, to incite: Norw. abet, a bait 
for fish: abcter , to bait the hook (see Bait), — lit. , to allure 
to one s own destruction]: to aid; to incite; to encourage, 
chiefly in a bad sense. Abet ting, imp. Abet ted, pp. 
Abet tor, n. -ter, one who abets or encourages, usually in 
a bad sense. Abet ment. ^, the act of abetting.— Syn. of 
‘abet’: to encourage; incite; connive at; aid; assist; sus- 
tain; backup;—of ‘ abettor’: an accessory: an accomplice; 
a backer-up. 

ABEYANCE, n. a-b-l'dns [OF. abayer, to gape at, to 
pant after: F. aboyer, to bark, to bay—from mid. L. abbau - 
bare: Norm. F. abbauance, expectation: Scot, abeigh, to 
stand gaping at a thing (see Bay), lit. , state of expectancy]: 
state of being held back for a time; temporary suppression, 
as of an inheritance, or titles of honor and dignities. As a 
legal term it imports that a freehold inheritance, dignity, or 
office is not vested in any one, but is in expectation, or 
suspended, until the true owner appears, or the right 
thereto is determined. Titles of honor are said to be in A. 
when it is uncertain who shall enjoy them. A parsonage 
remaining void is also said to be in A. This A. or suspense, 
being repugnant to the general principles of the tenure of 
land, is never allowed except when it is unavoidable. 

ABGAR: name of a line of 28 princes of Edessa, the ancient 
capital of Mesopotamia. A. derives its sole title to the 
perpetuation of its name from a legend of Abgar Uchorao, 
14th of tbe line, in which it w T as alleged that a portrait of 
Christ, said to have been painted by St. Luke, was sent to A. 
by the Savior himself, accompanied by a letter. Another 
relation is that this letter, written in Syriac, and translated 
by Eusebius of Caesarea, was in reply to a request from the 
prince to be healed of a certain disease. Both letters, writ¬ 
ten in Syriac and translated into Greek by Eusebius of 
Caesafrea, were declared spurious by Pope Gelasius 494, 
and are utterly without credit. 


ABHOR—ABIGAIL. 

ABHOR, v. db-hor' [L. abhorreo, I shrink back from with 
horror—from ab, horreo, I shake or look terrible: F. abhor- 
rer, to abhor]: to shrink back from with shuddering; to 
hate very much; to disdain; to detest. Abhorring, imp. 
Abhorred, pp. db-hbrd 1 . Abhorrence, n. db-hdr'rens, 
very great hatred. Abhor'rer, n. the person who abhors. 
Abhorrent, a. db-hor'rent, hating; detesting; odious; re¬ 
pugnant to. Abhorrently, ad. di .— Syn. of ‘abhor ’: to 
detest; abominate; loathe; hate; disdain; despise; shrink 
from. Abhorrers, ab-hor'rerz: a faction, members of the 
court party in tbe reign of Charles II., so named from their 
opposition to another faction, known as ‘ Addressers,’ 
whose principles they professed to abhor. The A. were 
afterward (1679) called tories. Under botli titles they op¬ 
posed all who sought to restrict the royal prerogative; and 
the signification of the terms was therefore opprobrious. 

ABIB, d'bib [Heb. abib, a green ear of corn; ab, swelling, 
protuberant]: the month that barley was in the ear; the 
first month of the Jewish year; also called Nisan. 

ABIDE, v. a-bld' [AS. abidan; Goth, beidan, to expect: 
[cel. bida, to endure: OE. abie, to remain or endure, to suf¬ 
fer: AS. abycgan, to pay for]: to wait for with expectation; 
to attend or wait upon; to bear; to support; to tolerate; to 
pay the penalty. Note .—To buy [for abie ] it dear, in 
OE., to suffer loss. 

ABIDE, v. d-bid' [AS. abidan, to await]: to dwell or stay 
in a place; to remain with; to continue; to be firm in. 
Abi ding, imp. Abode, pt., pp. d-bod': n. a house. Abider, 
n. d-bl'der, one who. Abidingly, ad. -li. Note. — The two 
preceding titles are confusedly connected, though given 
separately.— Syn. of ‘abide’: to sojourn; dwell; live; re¬ 
side; inhabit. 

ABIES: see Fir. 

ABIETITES, n. plu. a-bl'edi'tez, or -tits [L. dines, the 
fir-tree]: a genus of fossil conifers. Abietic, a. db-i-et’ik, 
pertaining to the fir-tree. 

ABIGAIL, n. db’i-gdl [after Abigail of Carmel, who 
called herself the handmaid of David; received an additional 
significance from Abigail Hill, afterwards Mrs. Masham, 
a waiting-woman of Queen Anne]: a waiting-maid; a maid 
in attendance; a lady’s-maid. 


. ABILENE—ABJURE. 

ABILENE, db'l-len: city, cap. of Dickinson co., Kan.; 
outlie Kansas river, and the Union Pacific, the Atchison 
Topeka and Santa Fe, and the Chicago Kansas and Ne¬ 
braska railroads; 162 m. w. of Kansas City. A. is the cen¬ 
tre of the principal corn and wheat country of Kan. It 
contains one national bank (cap. $150,000); two private 
banks; and has Holly water-works, sewerage, and electric- 
light plant. Its public schools are excellent; here also is St. 
Joseph’s College (Rom. Cath.) for young women. There are 
daily and weekly newspapers. Pop. (1885) 8,516; (1890) 
8,540; (1900) 8,507. 

ABILITY, n. d-bil'i-ti [formed from Able, which see; 
L. hdbilltas, fitness or aptitude—from hdbeo, I have: F. 
habilete, ability]: power to do a thing; power to do, whether 
with the body or mind—as contrasted with capacity, power 
to receive; aptitude; skill; legal right to do—in this sense 
the opposite is disability. Abilities, plu. d-bil'l-tiz, mental 
endowments.—S yn. of‘ability’: faculty; talent; capacity; 
capability; aptitude; dexterity; skill; address; cleverness; 
genius. 

ABINGTON, db'ing-ton: town in Plymouth co., Mass.; 
on the Plymouth branch of the Old Colony R. R. Its 
chief business interests are manufactures of boots and shoes 
and machinery. The township includes the villages of 
North A. and A. The latter has a national bank and a 
weekly newspaper. Pop. (1890) 4,260; (1900) 4,489. 

ABIOGENESIS, n. db'i-d-jen' e-sis [Gr. a , without; bids, 
life, genesis, origin, source]: spontaneous generation; the 
opposite of sexual generation; the production of life or 
living beings under certain physical conditions without the 
intervention of antecedent living forms: see Generation, 
Spontaneous: Life: Protoplasm. 

ABJECT, a. db'jeJct [L. abjectu, cast from, downcast— 
from ab,jactus, thrown or cast—from jaceo, I throw]: cast 
down; mean and servile; worthless and despicable. Ab'- 
jectly, ad. -li, in an abject manner; meanly and servilely. 
Abjection, n. db-jek'shun, also Ab'jectness, n., and Ab- 
ject’edness, n. a mean or low state; meanness of spirit; 
servility. 

ABJURE, v. db-jdr' [F. abjurer —from L. abjurdre, to 
deny on oath—from ab, juro, I swear: It. abjurdre ]: to deny 
or renounce upon oath; to renounce with solemnity. Ab¬ 
jured, pp. db-jdrd'. Abju'ring, imp. Abjuration, n. 
ab'ju-ra shun, renouncing upon oath. Abju'ror, n. -rer, 
one who denies upon oath. Abju'ratory, a. -ra-ter-i, con¬ 
taining abjuration. Oath of abjuration, oath imposed 
1701 on all public officials in the United Kingdom, asserting 
the sole right of the present royal family to the crown, 
excluding any rights) of the pope or of the Pretender (q.v.); 
discarded by statutes 1868-71, the oath of Allegiance (q.v.) 
being substituted for it, with an official oath for all officers 
other than judges, and a judicial oath for judges. The 
new forms are so framed as to relieve the consciences of 
Quakers, Rom. Catholics, and Jews; and one having no re¬ 
ligious belief, if he take it ‘so help me God ’ is bound by 
it. See Oath, in Law.— Syn. of ‘abjure’; to renounce; re- 
—j. —*"T,ct; revoke; recall; repudiate.' 


ABKHASIA—ABNORMAL. 

ABKHASIA, db-kdsh'ea , or Abasia, d-bdshe-a: district 
in Caucasia, n.e. of the Black Sea, belonging to Russia, 
having been finally subdued during the insurrection oi 
1864. It is mountainous, with fertile and well-watered 
valleys. The inhabitants are a tribe occupying the coast e. 
from Pitzunta to the confines of Mingrelia, and though 
an inferior race are doubtless kindred to the Circassians. 
In 1878 they numbered about 80,000, but so many have 
migrated that there are not now more than half as many 
Abkhasians in the country; thousands have settled in the 
districts under Turkish rule. 

ABLACTATION, n. db'ldk-td'shun [L. ablactdtidnem, the 
act of withdrawing from milk, weaning—from ab , lacto, I 
suckle—from lac, milk]: the weaning of a child from the 
breast; a method of ingrafting, now called inarching. 

ABLATIVE, n. db'ld-tiv [L. abldtlms, the ablative case— 
from ab, Idlus, carried: It. and Sp. abldtivo : F . dblatif]: 
name of a case in Latin nouns, in which the ideas of carry¬ 
ing away or taking from are signified. See Declension. 
Ablation, n. db-ld'sMn, a taking away. Ablative abso¬ 
lute, a Latin construction in which a noun and a participle 
are each put in the ablative case. 

ABLAZE, ad. d-bldi [AS. a, on; Eng. blaze]: on fire; in 
a blaze. 

ABLE, a. d'bl [OF. able: Norm. F. liable, able—from L. 
hdbilis, able, fit, adapted—from hdbeo, I have, I hold: F. 
habile; It. abile, able (see Ability)] : fit by the possession of 
sufficient power; having sufficient power to do; qualified; 
skilful; fitted for. Ably, ad. d'bli, with ability. Ableness, 
n. d'bl-nes , ability, capability. A'ble-bod'ied, -id, having a 
sound, strong bodjq able to work; being a competent and 
skilled seaman.— Syn. of ‘able’: capable; capacious; qual¬ 
ified; skilful; fit. 

ABLEGATE, n. ab r le-gdt [L. ablegatus, from ab, away; 
and legare , to send]: an envoy specially representing the 
pope, commissioned to foreign lands on important duties, 
one of which is to bear to a newly appointed cardinal his 
insignia of office. Ablegates are of two classes, pontifical 
and papal—the latter being the highest. 

ABLUTION, n. db-lo shun, [L. ablutiunem, a cleansing; 
ab'luens, cleansing—from ab, luo, I wash]: a washing, 
cleansing, or purification by water; the water used in wash 
ing. Abluent, a. db'16-ent, cleansing by liquids: N. an at- 
tenuant or purifier. See Purification. 

ABNEGATE, v. ab'ne-gdt [L. abnegdtus, refused, denied 
—from ab, nego , I deny]: to deny; to renounce. Ab'nega't- 
ing, imp. Ab nega ted, pp. Abnega tion, n. -shun, a 
denial; self-denial. Ab'nega'tor, n. -ter, one who denies or 
opposes anything. 

ABNORMAL, a. db-nbr'mdl, also Abnor'mous, a. -mils 
[mid. L. abnormis, irregular—from L. ab, from, away from; 
norma, a rule]: not according to rule; irregular; anything 


ABO—ABOLITIONISTS. 

nut of the usual or natural course; without rule or prece 
dent. Abnormality, n. dbndr-mdl'i-ti, or Abnormity, n. 
db-nor'mi-ti, irregularity; deformity.— Syn. of ‘abnormal’: 
aberrant; eccentric; exceptional; erratic. 

ABO, (7bo: chief town of the government of Abo, in 
Finland, now belonging to the Russian Empire; on the 
river Aurajokki, near its embouchure in the Gulf of Both¬ 
nia; pop. (1880), 22,967. The town was founded by the 
Swedes, 1157, and remained the capital of Finland until 
1819. In the year 1827, a great part of the town, including 
the university buildings, was destroyed by fire, and conse¬ 
quently the university was removed to Helsingfors, now the 
capital.—The Peace of Abo, 1743, between Sweden and 
Russia, put an end to the war commenced by Sweden, 
under French instigation, in 1741. In this war, Russia had 
gained possession of the whole of Finland through the mis¬ 
conduct of the Swedish generals. In this treaty the river 
Kyinene was made the boundary between the territories of 
Sweden and Russia; but by another peace, concluded 1809, 
the whole of Finland, as far as the Tornea, was ceded to 
Russia.—The government of Abo Bjorneborg has 9,450 sq. 
in.; pop. (1880), 840,602; (1897) 430,194. 

ABOARD, prep, and ad. d-bdrd! [AS. a, on; Icel. bord, 
the side of a ship]: on or in a ship or boat. 

ABODE, n. a-bod! [see Abide 2]: a habitation; a place of 
residence; stay or continuance; pt. and pp. of abide: in 
OE., stop, delay. 

ABODE, v. a-bdd! [AS. a, intensive; gebod, a command, 
a precept: AS. bodian; Icel. botha, to proclaim: Scot, to 
bode, to portend]: in OE., to foretoken; to be an omen. 
Abod'ing, n. presentiment. Abodement. n. d-bdd'merit, a 
secret anticipation of a future thing, good or bad; an omen. 

ABOLISH, v. d-bbl'ish [L. abblescere, to decay or wear 
away: F. abolissant, abolishing—from abolir, to abolish— 
from L. abolere, to take away, to annul]: to hinder a thing 
from growing or increasing; to put an end to; to make void; 
to annul; to destroy. Abolishing, imp. Abol'ished, pp. 
■isht. AbolTsher, n. the person that puts an end to. 
Abolishable, a. d-bbl'ish-d-bl, that may be put an end to 
or destroyed. Abolishment, n. d-bol'ish-merit, also Aboli¬ 
tion, n. db'd-lish'un, the act of putting an end to or destroy¬ 
ing; emancipation. Abolitionist, n. db'd-lish'un-ist, a per¬ 
son who favors the putting an end to anything, as slavery. 
Abolitionism, n. db' d-lish! un-izm, the tenets of the aboli¬ 
tionists.— Syn. of ‘abolish’: to abrogate; repeal; revoke; 
annul; cancel; set aside; nullify; annihilate. 

ABOLITIONISTS, ab'd-lish! un-ists, a term used to des¬ 
ignate a party in the U. S., who sought the immediate and 
total abolition of slavery. See Slavery. Abolitionist 
views had long been held by many, especially by members 
of the Society of Friends; but the term was not commonly 
used until an aggressive party spread from New England 
throughout the North and West, demanding immediate and 
unconditional emancipation. After about 30 years of agi- 


ABOMASUS—ABORIGINES. 

Nation, Abolitionism in a greatly modified form—dcmandma 
only the restriction of slavery from entering on new terri¬ 
tory, yet almost unconsciously looking towards its entire 
extinction—gained a political advocacy in the republican 
party. The ends of the A. were gained when, under Lin- 
coin’s administration, slavery was abolished, 1863, Jan. 1. 

ABOMASUS, n. db'b-mazus, also Abomasum, n. -zum 
[new L. abbmdsus— from ab, omasum , tripe]: the fourth 
stomach of ruminating animals; the part of the paunch 
nearest the intestines. See Ruminantia. 

ABOMEY: ab-o-md' the cap. of Dahomey, Africa, is 
situated in n. lat. 7°, e. long. 2° 4', about 60 m. n. of 
Why dab, the port of the kingdom. The town is built of 
clay, surrounded by a moat and mud walls, and occupies a 
large area, part of which is cultivated. The houses stand 
apart; there are no regular streets, and the place is very 
dirty. It has four large market places, and trade is carried 
on in palm-oil, ivory, and gold, Mohammedan traders from 
the interior resorting to its markets. The town contains the 
principal palace of the King of Dahomey. It is the scene 
of frequent human sacrifices, a ‘ custom ’ being held annu¬ 
ally, at which many criminals and captives are slain, while, 
on the death of a king, a ‘grand custom ’ is held, at which 
sometimes as many as 2,000 victims have perished. The slave- 
trade is also prosecuted, and the efforts of the British Gov 
eminent to induce the king to abolish it and the ‘ customs ’ 
have proved unsuccessful. Population about 30,000. See 
Dahomey. 

ABOMINATE, v. d-bbm'i-ndt [L. abbmindtus, wished 
away, detested—from ab, omen, a portent: F. abominer, to 
loathe]: to Joathe as an ill-omened thing; to hate excessively; 
to detest. Abominating, imp. ^Abomina'ted, pp. 
Abominable, a. a-bom'i-nd-bl, very hateful; detestable. 
Abom xnably, ad. -bli, in an abominable manner. Abom- 
inableness, n. -bl-nes, state of being very hateful. Abom¬ 
ination, d-bbm'i-nd'shun, an object of extreme hatred or 
detestation; evil doctrines or practices; that which causes 
pollution; shameful vice. The abomination of desola¬ 
tion, probably some notable profanation of the holy Tem¬ 
ple at Jerusalem by the zealots before the final siege by the 
Romans (Matt. xxiv. 15).— Syn. of ‘abominate’: to abhor; 
detest; loathe; hate;—of ‘abominable’: detestable; execra¬ 
ble ;—of ‘abomination’: loathing; detestation; aversion; odi¬ 
ousness; disgust. 

ABORIGINES, n. db' d-rij'i-nez [L. Aborigines, ancestors 
of the anc. Latins, original inhabitants—from ab, origo, a 
beginning, or origin, orig inis, of a beginning]: the first or 
primitive inhabitants of a country; the original stock, flora 
or fauna, of a geographical area. Abobiginal, a. db o-rij'i- 
ndl, first; primitive: N. an original inhabitant of a country. 
Ab orig inally, ad. -li, after the manner of aborigines; in 
primeval times. 

ABORIGINES (Lat.): properly the earliest inhabitants 
of a country. The corresponding term used by the Greeks 
was Autochthones. The Roman and Greek historians, how* 


ABORT. 

ever, apply the name to a special people, who, according to 
tradition, had their original seats in the mountains about 
Reate, now Rieti; but, being driven out by the Sabines, 
descended into Latium, and in conjunction with a tribe of 
Pelasgi, subdued or expelled thence the Siculi, and occupied 
the country. Who they were, or whence they came, is un¬ 
certain. The stories about the landing of iEneas in Italy, 
after the siege of Troy, represent the A. as at first opposing 
and then coalescing with the Trojans. The A. then disappear 
as a distinct people, they and their allies the Pelasgi having 
taken the name of Latini. The traditions' clearly point to 
the fact that the Latins were a mixed race, a circumstance 
which is proved by the structure of their language, in which 
we find numerous words closely connected with the Greek, 
and also numerous words that are of an entirely different 
origin. These non-Greek words are mostly related to the 
dialects of the Oscan tribes. The non-Pelasgic element of 
the Roman population is supposed to represent these A., 
w ho would thus belong to the Oscans or Ausonians. In 
modern times the term A. has been extended in signification, 
and is used to indicate the inhabitants found in a country 
at its first discovery, in contradistinction to colonies or new 
races, the time of w 7 hose introduction into the country is 
known, e.g., the N. Amer. Indians. 

ABORT, v. d-bdrt' [L. abdrtus, miscarried; dbdrtio, a 
miscarriage—from ab, orior, I arise!: in OE ., to bring 
forth before the time. Abort'ing, imp. Aborted, pp. 
d-bdrt'ed, brought forth before its time; imperfect from 
birth. Abortifacient, n. d-bdrt'i-fash'i-ent [L. abdrtus, 
miscarried; facio, I make]: drug or agent that tends to in¬ 
duce the premature expulsion of the fetus. Abort- 
ment, n. d-bdrt’merit, an untimely birth. Abortion, n. 
d-bor' shun, anything that has not come to maturity; an un¬ 
timely birth; failure; a coming to naught. Abor tive, a. 
-tiv, that has not come to maturity; immature; prema¬ 
ture; empty. Abor'tively, ad. -II, as a thing born be¬ 
fore its time: prematurely. Abor'tiveness, n. the con¬ 
dition or state of being abortive. 


ABORTION. 

ABORTION, d-bbr'shun: term in Medicine to denote the 
expulsion of the product of conception (the impregnated 
ovum) from the womb before the sixth month of pregnancy. 
If the expulsion takes place after that date, and before 
the proper time, it is termed a premature labor or miscar¬ 
riage. In law, no such distinction is made. The frequency 
of A. as compared with normal pregnancy is very differently 
estimated by different writers; but the best evidence leads 
us to the belief that A. is of far more common occurrence 
than is generally supposed, and that it takes place on an 
average in one out of every three or four cases of preg¬ 
nancy. The following are among the causes predisposing 
to this accident: (1) A diseased condition of either parent, 
and especially a syphilitic taint. (2) A peculiar tempera 
ment on the part of the mother. Those women who present 
a strongly-marked nervous or sanguine temperament seem 
to abort with singular facility; and the same tendency is ob¬ 
served in those in whom the catamenial or monthly dis¬ 
charge is abundant or excessive. Again, very fat women, 
though they have a tendency to sterility, are liable to abort 
when pregnancy does occur. Any cause interfering with 
the normal oxidation of the blood—as, for instance, the 
constant breathing of impure air, may provoke A —a fact 
excellently illustrated by the experiments of Brown-Sequard 
on pregnant animals (rabbits), when he showed that the 
application of a ligature to the windpipe excited uterine 
contractions, ending, if the experiment were continued long 
enough, in A., but ceasing if air was freely readmitted into 
the lungs. Change of climate, as from India to England, 
certainly predisposes to this accident; and it has been ob¬ 
served by various writers that great political events, the 
horrors of war, and famine, exert a similar action. The 
marvellous events in Paris in 1848 were speedily followed 
by an extraordinary number of abortions and of still-born 
children; and a similar fact had been previously noticed 
by the elder Nagele and Hoffmann during the famire of 1816 
and during the siege of Leyden. Among the causes pre¬ 
disposing to A., must be included the employment of such 
corsets and other garments as by their tightness interfere 
with the circulation of the blood, and alter the natural posi¬ 
tion of the womb and of the abdominal viscera. Many 
diseases supervening during the course of pregnancy, espe¬ 
cially the eruptive fevers (as small-pox, scarlatina, etc.), 
almost invariably lead to A. of a very dangerous character; 
and it has been known from the time of Hippocrates that 
intermittent fevers have this effect. Among the direct 
causes of A. may be placed blows on the abdomen, falls, any 
violent muscular efforts, too long a walk or ride on horse¬ 
back (indeed, women with a tendency to abort should avoid 
horseback during pregnancy), a severe mental shock, etc. 
Moreover, the death of the foetus from any cause is sure to 
occasion abortion. 

The symptoms of A. vary according to the stage of preg¬ 
nancy at which it is threatened, and according to the ex 
citing cause. Many of these resemble those of conger tion 
of the womb, such as a sensation of weight or painful pres- 


ABORTION. 

sure in the region of the loins or sacrum, extending to the 
bladder and rectum (with or without Tenesmus, q.v.); these 
symptoms being aggravated by standing or walking, and 
being accompanied by chills, accelerated pulse, loss of 
appetite, and a general feeling of discomfort. A discharge of 
serous fluid, sometimes slightly tinged with blood, is then 
observed. The feeling of weight is replaced by pains, leading 
to the expulsion of the ovum, which, during the first two 
months, is so small as commonly to escape detection. In 
more advanced stages of pregnancy, the pains are more 
severe, the discharge is more abundant, and consists chiefly 
of blood; and after more or less time, the product of con¬ 
ception escapes either in whole or in part. In the former 
case, the patient has little further trouble; in the latter, 
hemorrhage will probably continue, and the parts retained 
may putrefy, and give rise to serious symptoms. After 
about the commencement of the fourth month, the symp¬ 
toms gradually approximate to those presented in ordinary 
parturition. 

In the treatment of A., prophylactics (or the guarding 
against causes likely to lead to it) hold the first place. 
Women liable to this affection should, on the slightest 
threatening, assume as much as possible the horizontal posi¬ 
tion, avoiding all bodily exertion or mental excitement. 
They should use non-stimulating foods and drinks, and 
keep the bowels open by gentle aperients—such as manna 
and castor-oil, and carefully avoid aloes and other medicines 
irritating the lower bowel. Moreover, a separate bedroom 
must be insisted on by the physician. If it is deemed neces¬ 
sary to check hemorrhage before professional aid can be 
called in, cloths soaked in cold water may be applied locally 
(care being taken to change them before they grow warm), 
and iced water containing an astringent, such as a little 
alum, may be given internally. Further proceedings must 
be left to the medical attendant. 

There are occasional cases (as where the outlet of the pel¬ 
vis is very contracted) in which it is necessary to induce A. 
by professional means. All attempts at procuring criminal 
A., either by the administration of powerful drugs, or the 
application of instruments, are accompanied with extreme 
danger to the pregnant woman. 

ABORTION, in Criminal Law: the procuring, or using, 
or advising means for procuring the expulsion of the foetus 
of a pregnant woman before the seventh month of utero- 
gestation—unless necessary to preserve the woman’s life. 
When A. is produced with a malicious design, it becomes a 
misdemeanor at common law, and the party causing it may 
be indicted and punished. The criminal means resorted to 
for the purpose of A. include the use of drugs and the ap¬ 
plication of mechanical or forcible measures. When, in 
consequence of the means used to produce A., the death of 
the woman ensues, the crime is murder, or manslaughter in 
one or the other degree, according to local statute. By the 
law of N. Y. the soliciting on the part of a woman pregnant 
with a quick child of any drug or application for the pur¬ 
pose of producing A. is made a misdemeanor, punishable 


ABOUKIR—ABOUSAMBUL. 

by fine and imprisonment, either, or both. In Mass, the 
act, where the death of the woman results, is made a felony, 
punishable by from five to twenty years imprisonment; 
where death does not ensue it is a misdemeanor. The laws 
of the States of Conn, and Missouri are similar to these. 

ABOUKIR, d'bd-ker': the ancient Canopus , now an in¬ 
significant village on the coast of Egypt, about 13 m. n.e. 
of Alexandria. The castle of Aboukir stands on the w. 
side of the bay of the same name. This bay is celebrated 
on account of Nelson’s victory here gained over the French 
fleet, 1798, Aug. 1. The French fleet was stationed in a 
curved line near a small island guarded by a battery; but 
Nelson, with his usual intrepidity, forced a passage with 
half of his fleet of fifteen vessels between the island and the 
French line of battle, while the other half attacked the 
enemy in front. The French admiral, De Brueys, was 
killed by a cannon-ball, and his flag ship, V Orient, was de¬ 
stroyed by fire. Only 60 or 70 men were saved out of a 
crew of 1,000. The French fleet was completely defeated, 
and only two vessels escaped. 

ABOUND, v. d-bownd' [F. abonder, to abound: L. abun 
do, I overflow—from ab, unda, a wave: It. abbondare: Sp. 
abundar—lit. , to flow, as wave after wave]: to have or 
possess in great quantity ; to be present in great quan¬ 
tity. Abound tng, imp. Abound ed, pp. Abundance, n. 
d-bun'ddns, great store; overflowing quantity. Abun dant, a. 
plentiful; fully sufficient. Abun'dantly, ad. -li, in great 
quantity; liberally in supply.— Syn. of ‘abundant’: copi¬ 
ous; teeming; ample; plentiful; plenteous; exuberant; over¬ 
flowing; rich;—of ‘ abundance ’: plenty or plenteousness; 
copiousness; exuberance; overflow; riches; wealth; afflu¬ 
ence. 

ABOUSAMBUL, d'bo-sdm-bol', or Ipsambul: a place on 
the left bank of the Nile, in Nubia, lat. 22° 22', the site of 
two very remarkable rock-cut temples, perhaps the oldest 
existing specimens of architecture in the world. The larger 
temple contains 14 apartments, hewn out of the solid rock. 
The first and largest of these is 57 ft. long and 52 broad, 
and is supported by two rows of massy square pillars (four 
in each row), 30 ft. high. To each of the pillars is attached 
a standing colossus, reaching to the roof, overlaid with a 
kind of stucco, and painted with gaudy colors. In front of 
the temple are four colossal seated figures—the largest pieces 
of Egyptian sculpture yet discovered. Reproductions of 
two of these, on the scale of the original (65 ft. in height), 
form very striking objects in the Crystal Palace at Syden¬ 
ham, where also may be seen a fac-simile, on a small scale, 
of the temple itself. These figures are supposed to repre¬ 
sent Rameses the Great (or Sesostris), whose achievements 
are described on the painted walls of the temple. 


ABOUT. 

ABOUT, prep, d-bowt' [AS. abutan —from a, on; be, by; 
utan, outward; on-beu-tan, on by outside]: around by the 
outside; encircling; near to; concerning: Ad. nearly; 
here and there; round, as the longest way; engaged or 
employed in. About, or About to, upon the point; 
within a very small distance. To bring about, to bring 
to the state desired. To come about, to happen or take 
place as expected. To go about, to prepare to do a thing; 
to endeavor. To put about, to turn a ship at sea by 
bringing her head to the wind; to tack ship. To go about, 
and to come about are nautical terms for the action of the 
ship when put about. 

ABOUT, d-bo , Edmund Francois Valentin: 1828, 
Feb. 14—1885, Jan. 17; b. Dieuze, Lorraine: French lit¬ 
terateur. He studied at the Lycee Charlemagne and at the 
ficole Normale in Paris, where his course was brilliant; 
and was appointed to study archaeology for two years in 
the French school at Athens. On his return about the 
end of 1853, he published La Grece Contemporaine, a 
clever satire which at once attained great popularity. His 
first novel, Tolla Feraldi, in the Revue des Deux Mondes (re¬ 
published 1855), brought on him a charge of plagiarism 
which hurt his reputation, until he regained public favor by 
his series of stories, Les Manages de Paris in the Moniteur. 
His career then became a series of successes. Les Mar- 
iages de Paris was followed by Le Roi des Montagues (1856), 
Germaine (1857), Les Ltchasses de Maitre Pierre (1867), Le 
Turco { 1866), L’lnfdme (1867), and Les Manages de Pro¬ 
vince (1868). Notable also were his three short fantastic 
tales, L'Homme a V Oreille Cassee, Le Nez d’un Notaire, and 
Le Cas de M. Guerin (all 1862); also his Trente et Qua- 
rante (1865). In 1859 A. published a political pamphlet— 
La Question Romame— which being regarded as approved 
bj the emperor of the French, made a sensation through¬ 
out Europe; and numerous answers were made by friends 
of the papacy. A. was decorated with the cross of the 
Legion of Honor 1868. 

To the last he produced novels with unabated popular¬ 
ity; he wrote also several plays, but with no great, suc¬ 
cess. A. was a constant newspaper contributor and 
correspondent, and 1872 he became editor of Le XIX me 
Siecle. In 1884 he was elected to the Acad., but died be¬ 
fore a formal reception. 

ABOVE, ad. d-buv [AS. ahufan— from a, on; be, by; 
Ufa, high: Dut. boven] : on the high side; overhead; in a 
higher position: Prep, higher in place, rank, power, or 
excellence; in excess. Above-board, openly. Above 
all, in preference to all other things. Above cited, or 
abovementioned, taken notice of in the preceding part 
of a book. Above ground, alive; not buried. 

ABRACADABRA, n. ah'rd kd-ddb'rd: a word said to be 
of Persian origin, and to designate in that language Mithra, 
the sun-god. It was in former times the most venerated of 
those magical formulas that were constructed out of the let- 


ABRADE—ABRAIIAM A SANCTA CLARA. 


ters of the alphabet, and was supposed to be highly effica 
cious for the cure of fevers, and es¬ 
pecially quartan and semi-tertian abracadabra 
agues. Serenus Sammonicus 
gives the following directions for 
its use: Write the letters of the 
word so as to form a triangle, ca¬ 
pable of being read many ways, 
on a square piece of paper. Fold 
the paper so as to conceal the 
writing, and stitch it into the form 
of a cross with white thread. This 
amulet wear in the bosom, sus¬ 
pended by a linen ribbon for nine 

days. Then go in dead silence, before sunrise, to the bank* 
of a stream that flows eastward, take the amulet from off 
the neck, and fling it backwards into the water. If you 
open or read it, the charm is destroyed. The adjoining is 
one of the principal forms of arranging this mystic word. 


ABRACADABR 
ABRACADAB 
ABRACADA 
A B R A C A D 
A B R A C A 
A B R A C 
A B R A 
A B R 
A B 
A 


ABRADE, v. d-brdd! [L, abrddo, I rub or scrape ofl— 
from ab, rddo , I scrape]: to rub or scrape off; to waste or 
wear off by friction. Abrading, imp. Abra'ded, pp. 
Abrasion, n. db-rd'zhun [L> rtisi/s, scraped]: the operation 
of wearing aw T ay by rubbing or friction; a superficial injury 
from friction; the matter worn off. 

ABRAHAM, a bra-ham: the progenitor of the Israelitish 
nation (see Gen. xi.-xxv): b. in Chaldea. Called of God, 
he migrated, with his wife Sarah and his nephew 
Lot, to Canaan, where he lived a nomadic life, and wor¬ 
shipped the one God, Jehovah, in the midst of the poly¬ 
theistic Canaanites. A. died at the age of 175. Of his 
sons, Isaac was ancestor of the Israelites; and the Arabs 
claim to be descended from Islimael, whose mother w r as 
Hagar, a bond-woman. Later traditions ascribe to A. a 
mastery of astronomy and philosophy, the invention of 
alphabetic writing, etc. Even among Mohammedans, A. 
is reckoned a prophet and the friend of God; and they 
attribute to him the building of the sacred Kaaba at 
Mecca.—His chronology is unknown; though recent As¬ 
syrian discoveries tend to support Hales’s conjecture of 
A.’s arrival in Canaan about b.c. 2153. 


ABRAHAM A SANCTA CLARA, -a stink’td kld'rd: 1642 
-1709; d. Vienna: a very eccentric but popular and useful 
German preacher. His real name was Ulrich Megerle, 
but he is generally known by the name given to him in his 
monastery. Uncouth puns, coarse expressions, and strange 
freaks of humor marked his sermons; but beneath their 
fantastic shells they had good kernels. A. was an honest, 
faithful, and devoted priest, as was proved by his self-sacri¬ 
ficing conduct during the plague in 1679. Though very 
severe in his reproof of vice, he was highly esteemed. The 
singular style of his writings is indicated by their very titles, 
e.g., Oack Qack, i.e., Wallfarth Maria Stern in Texa; Beil- 
sames Gemisch-Gemasch (Wholesome Hodge podge). His 
collected works amount to twenty vols. (1835). 


ABRAHAMIC—ABRAXAS STONES. 

ABRAHAMIC, a. a'brd-hdm'ik : of Abraham or his age. 
Abraham’s bosom, the condition of repose of the blessed 
at death,—named in reference to the ancient custom at 
meals of the dearest friend leaning his head on one’s bosom, 
as St. John on the bosom of Christ. 

ABRAHAMITES, Its , or Bohemian deists: a number of 
residents in Bohemia who, trusting in the edict of toleration 
issued by Joseph II., avowed themselves, 1782, as believers 
of the doctrine alleged to have been held by Abraham be¬ 
fore his circumcision. As early as the 9th c., a sect of the 
same name had arisen in Syria, and had denied the divinity 
of Christ. But the Bohemian deists professed to be follow¬ 
ers of John Huss, though they held no Christian doctrine 
beyond that of the unity of God, and accepted nothing of 
the Bible save the Lord’s Prayer. As they would join 
neither Jewish nor Christian sects, the emperor refused to 
tolerate them; and in 1783 expelled them from their native 
land, and scattered them in various parts of Hungary, 
Transylvania, and Slavonia, where many were made con¬ 
verts to the Roman Catholic Church, while others died as 
martyrs to their simple creed. 

ABRAHAM-MEN: a class of sturdy beggars in England 
who simulated lunacy, and wandered about the country in a 
disorderly manner; at one time working on the sympathy, and 
at another on the fears, of women, children, and domestics. 
They were common in Shakespeare’s time, and seem to have 
existed even as late as the period of the civil wars. The 
term is a cant one. ‘ An Abram cove,’ as Decker, in his 
English Villanies , calls one of these mendicants, meant one 
who personated a ‘Tom o’ Bedlam.’ He would ‘disguise 
himself in grotesque rags, with knotted hair, long staff, and 
with many more disgusting contrivances to excite pity,’ but 
he did not hesitate to live by thieving too, and when de¬ 
tected pilfering or in any species of depredation, he pleaded 
the immunities of the real Bedlamite, who was formally 
permitted to roam about the country when discharged from 
‘ Bethlem Hospital. ’ A verbal relic of this class is still pre¬ 
served in the slang phrase, ‘ to sham Abraham.’ 

ABRANCHIATA, n. plu. a-brang'ki-a'td [Gr. a , with¬ 
out; brangchia, the gills of a fish]: applied to animals which 
are destitute of gills, or organs adapted for breathing air dis¬ 
solved in water, as the leech, earthworm, etc. Abran'chi- 
ate, a. -ki-dt, destitute of gills or branchiae. 

ABRANTES, Doke of: see Junot. 

ABRAXAS STONES, a-brdx'as-: so called from having 
the word abraxas or abrasax engraved on them. They are 
cut in various forms, and bear a variety of capricious sym¬ 
bols, mostly composed of human limbs, a fowl’s head, and 
serpent’s body. These gems, whose value and significance 
have been greatly exaggerated, are common in collections, 
and are represented as coming from Syria, Egypt, and 
Spain. It is certain that the use of the name abraxas was 
at first peculiar to the Gnostic sect of the Basilidians 
(q.v.); and probably the word, by taking the numerical 
value of its Greek letters, may signify the number 365, so 


ABREAST—ABROGATION. 

that there is no need to have recourse to old Persian oi 
Egyptian, as is sometimes done. The Basilidians, however, 
did not designate by this name the highest deity, but the 
spirits of the world collectively. At a later period the doc¬ 
trines and practices of the sect were carried by the Priscel- 
lianists to Spain, whence many of these stones are got. 
Gnostic symbols were afterwards adopted by all sects given 
to magic and alchemy; and thus there is little doubt that 
the greater part of the abraxas-stones were made in the 
middle ages as talismans. 

ABREAST, ad. d-brest' [AS. a, on; Eng. breast] : side by 
side; keeping equally forward; opposite to; over against. 

ABRENOUNCE, v. db' re-now ns' [mid. L. abrenuntio, I 
renounce absolutely: L. ab, from; Eng. renounce ]: in OE ., 
to renounce wholly; to reject absolutely. Abrenuncia- 
tion, n. db're-nim-shi-d'shun, the act of renouncing abso¬ 
lutely. 

ABREPTION, n. db-rep'shun [L. abreptus, seized and 
carried off—from ab, rapid, I seize]: a carrying away. 

ABRIDGE, v. d-brij' [F. abreger; Prov. abbreujar, to 
abridge—from mid. L. abbremdre —from L. ab, brevid, I 
shorten]: to shorten by using fewer words; to make any¬ 
thing shorter or less; to epitomize. Abridging, imp. Ab¬ 
ridged, pp. dbrljd'. Abridg'er, n. one who abridges or 
makes less. Abridgment, n. d-brij'ment, a thing made 
less in size or extent; the substance of a larger work in a 
shorter form; an epitome. In OE., to abridge from or 
of, to cut off from; to deprive of.— Syn. of ‘abridge’: to 
abbreviate; curtail; contract;—of ‘abridgment’: compen¬ 
dium; epitome; digest; summary; abstract; draught; syn¬ 
opsis; precis. 

ABROACH, v. d-broch' [AS. a, on; Eng. broach: mid. L. 
brocca; F. broche, a spit, a needle: F. brocher, to pierce]: to 
pierce a barrel of liquor with a sharp instrument; to let out 
liquor, as from a cask. Ad. in a position to run out, or yield 
the contained liquor; in a state to be spread or diffused; afloat. 

ABROAD, ad. d-brawd' [AS. a, on; Eng. broad]: spread 
far and wide; at large; in the open air; beyond the limits of 
a place, as a house; to a foreign country; widely. 

ABROGATE, v. db'ro-gdt [L. abrdgdtus, annulled, re¬ 
pealed—from ab, rogo, I ask— lit. , to ask permission to do 
away with]: to repeal; to abolish; to make void. Ab roga'- 
ting, imp. Ab rogated, pp. Abrogation, n. db'ro-gd'- 
shun, the repeal of a law by authority. Abrogable, a. 
db'rd-gdi-bl, that may or can be repealed.—S yn. of ‘ abrogate ’: 
to annul; repeal; abolish; make void; set aside; revoke* 
cancel; recall. 

ABROGATION of Laws : the destruction, or annulling 
of a former law, by an act of the legislative power, or by 
usage. A. is express when it is literally pronounced by the 
new law, either in general, or particular terms. It is im¬ 
plied when the new law contains provisions positively con 
trary to the former laws, without expressly abrogating such 
^aws. It is implied, also, when the order of things for which 


n.BROOD—ABRUZZO. 

the law had been made no longer exists, and hence the mo- 
tives which had caused its enactment have necessarily 
ceased to operate. J 

ABROOD, ad. a-brod' [AS. a, on; Eng. brood'] : in OE ., 
in the act of brooding. 

ABROOK, v. d-brook' [AS. a, on; Eng. brook (see Brook 
3)]: in OE., to bear; to brook; to put up with. 

ABRUPT, a. ab-rupt’ [L. abruptus, broken off— from ah, 
ruptus, broken—from rumpo, I break]: broken off; broken; 
Steep; unconnected; sudden; unceremonious in words or 
acts; in bot., looking as if a part were cut off. N. in OE, 
broken steep ground. Abrupt'ly, ad. 41, with undue 
haste; hastily; ruggedly. _ Abruption, n. ab-rup'shun, a 
sudden and violent breaking off. Abruptness, n. steep¬ 
ness; suddenness; unceremonious haste or vehemence.— 
Syn. of ‘abrupt’: rugged; rough; broken; hasty; sudden; 
unexpected; disconnected; blunt; unceremonious. 

ABRUS, ab'rus: a genus of plants of the natural order 
Leguminvsw^ sub-order Papilionaceoi, of which the only 
known species, A. precatorius, is a shrub, originally be¬ 
longing to India, where it is chiefly found in clayey soils, 
but now not uncommon in the West Indies and other tropi¬ 
cal regions. The roots possess properties exactly similar 
to those of the common licorice. The seeds are nearly 
spherical, as large as small pease, of a scarlet color, with a 
black scar, and are familiar to most people in Britain, be¬ 
ing used as beads. They are narcotic. 

ABRUZZO, d-brot'so: a district of Italy; formerly the 
n.e. corner of the kingdom of Naples, and divided into 
three parts—Abruzzo Ulteriore I. and II., and Abruzzo 
Citeriore. These three divisions correspond to the present 
Italian provinces, Chieti, Teramo, and Aquila respectively. 
The whole district contains about 5,000 sq. m , and 1,951,- 
781 inhabitants. Its chief towns are Chieti, Teramo, 
Aquila, Sulmona. It forms the wildest and loftiest portion 
of the Apennines. The streams are numerous, but the only 
river of any consequence is the Pescara, which flows into 
the Adriatic. The rent and jagged mountain-groups ar¬ 
range themselves in picturesque shapes, reaching in 11 Gran 
Sasso d’Italia, or ‘ the great rock of Italy,’ which is the 
highest of the chain, the elevation of 9,800 ft. The high¬ 
lands slope precipitously on all sides, but especially towards 
the n.e. shore. The climate of A. is raw in the higher 
regions; snow rests on the hills from October to April, and 
on some of the peaks all the year round; but the valleys are 
extremely fertile, though husbandry is in a wretched con¬ 
dition, and the low, open plains are left without the slight, 
est protection from inundations of the rivers in spring, or 
means for irrigation in the arid summer. Dense forests of 
oak and fir clothe the sides of the mountains; at the base, 
almond, walnut, and other fruit-trees grow abundantly; 
olives in the deep-lying valleys. Fine cattle pasture in these 
regions; herds of swine roam through the lofty pine-woods; 
and the remoter fastnesses are the haunt of wild animals. 


ABSALOM—ABSCESS. 

ABSALOM, db'sd-lom: third son of David, king of Is 
rael, remarkable for his beauty and for his unnatural rebel¬ 
lion against his father. By popular acts he contrived to 
win the affections of the people, and then stirred up a for¬ 
midable rebellion. The adherents of the king rallied round 
him, and a battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim, in 
which the rebels were defeated. In the flight, as A. was 
riding under a tree, his hair caught in the branches, and he 
was left suspended; in which position Joab, the commander 
of David’s army, thrust him through, contrary to the king’s 
express orders that he should be spared. The grief of David 
for his loss was excessive. See II. Sam. xviii. 

ABSALON, Archbishop of Lund: see Axel. 

ABSCESS, n. db'ses [L. absces'sus , gone away, departed 
—from abs, cedo , I go: OF. abscez ; F. abces], or Apostema: 
collection of pus in any organ or tissue of the body, one 
of the results of inflammation (see Pus: Inflammation: 
Suppuration: Ulcer: etc.). Abscesses are divided into 
two classes, acute and chronic.—The acute A. is char¬ 
acterized by the usual signs of inflammation: heat, pain, 
swelling, redness, in addition to a distinct elevation and 
a sense of fluctuation obtained by palpitation; there are 
also some constitutional disturbances, as fever, loss of ap¬ 
petite, varying in degree according to the severity of the 
inflammatory process. An A., acute or chronic, is invari¬ 
ably due to the action of Bacteria (q.v.); and though an A. 
may follow a blow or injury, the pus from such an A. 
will be found always to contain pus-forming bacteria. 
The pus formed in any A. will always follow the line of 
least resistance, which in a superficially seated A. will be 
toward the surface, whereas in a deep-seated A. the course 
of the pus will be determined by the opposition that it 
meets from the tissue which it encounters, particularly 
from the fascia of muscles. Thus in a psoas A. 
though the real focus of disease is in the body of one or 
more of the lumbar vertebrae, the line of least resistance 
is along the course of the psoas magnus muscle, and the 
pus will be discharged in the groin at the insertion of the 
psoas magnus muscle. A chronic or cold A. lacks some 
of the signs of an acute A., there being no heat or red¬ 
ness, and until in an advanced stage, but little pain. It is 
due, as is now fairly well proved, in every instance to the 
bacillus of tuberculosis. The chief characteristic of a cold 
A. is its lining membrane, erroneously called the pyo¬ 
genic (pus-forming) membrane, but which is in reality a 
barrier erected by nature against the further encroach¬ 
ment of pus. A cold A. is sometimes of months’ duration, 
and may reach an enormous size, containing quarts of pus. 
•—•The treatment of any A. is for riddance of the pus 
which it contains, and in most cases the surgeon’s knife 
will bring a more speedy cure than nature unassisted. It 
is necessary in the case of a chronic A. that the pyogenic 
membrane be removed or destroyed, as it is on this that 
tubercule is deposited. An A. is regarded not as an origi¬ 
nal disease, in itself, but as the result of another disease 


ABSCIND—ABSENTEE. 

—inflammation; or as an effort of nature for the removal of 
injurious matters from the system. 

ABSCIND, v. ab-sind' [L. abscin'do, I tear apart—from 
ab, scindo, I cut]: to cut off; to sever. Abscind ing, imp. 
Abscind ed, pp. 

ABSCISS, n. ab'sis, or Abscissa, n. ab-su'sd — plu. Ab- 
scis'ses, or Abscis's^e, -sis 'e [L. abscis'sus, torn or cut 
off—from ab, scindo, I cut]: a part cut off; a part of the 
diameter, or a segment of a conic section; the segment of a 
diameter included between its extremity and its intersection 
with an ordinate (see Parabola.) Abscission, n. ab-sizh'un, 
a cutting off; sudden termination. 

# ABSCOND, v. dbskond' [L. abscondere, to put out of 
sight—from abs, condo, I hide: OF. absconder, to conceal]: 
to conceal or hide one’s self; to run away; to withdraw one’s 
self in a private manner; to hide one’s self, generally to 
elude the penalties of the law. Absconding, imp. N. con¬ 
cealment; flight. Abscond ed, pp. Abscond'er, n. one 
who runs away for concealment. 

ABSENT, v. absent' [F. absent— from L. absens or ab- 
sen'tem, being absent or distant—from abs, ens, being]: to 
go away from; to keep away; to withdraw or retire'from. 
Absent, a. ab'sent, not present; inattentive; at a distance. 
Absent ing, imp. Absented, pp. Absent'er, n. one 
who takes himself away. Absentee, n. db'sen-te' , one who 
goes away from; one absent from duty without leave. 
Absenteeism, n. -izm, the practice of residing or stopping 
away from one’s office or estate. Absence, n. ab'sens [F. 
absence ; L. absentia\. the being away, or at a distance; 
want; in law, want of appearance; inattention of mind. 
Absence of mind, the condition of one whose thoughts 
more or less habitually wander from present scenes or 
topics, often resulting in ludicrous or painful mistakes.— 
Syn. of ‘absent in mind ’: abstracted; distracted; absorbed; 
engrossed; diverted. 

ABSENTEE, ab'sen-te 1 : a term applied, sometimes by 
way of reproach, to capitalists who derive their income 
from one country, and spend it in another. It has been es¬ 
pecially used in discussions on the social condition of Ire¬ 
land. As long as Ireland had its own parliament, a great 
portion of the large landed proprietors lived chiefly in the 
country during summer, and passed their winters in Dub¬ 
lin; thus spending a large portion of their incomes among 
their dependents, or at least among their countrymen. The 
Union changed the habits of the Irish nobility and gentry, 
who were attracted to London as the political metropolis, 
or were induced, by the disturbed condition of Ireland, to 
choose residences on the continent. Bach Irish landed pro¬ 
prietors were styled 4 absentees;’ and it was argued that 
their conduct was the great source of Irish poverty, as it 
drained the resources of the land, or, in other words, sent 
money out of Ireland. One class of political economists— 
among them M’Culloch—maintain that, economically 
viewed, absenteeism has no injurious effect on the country 


ABSINTHE—ABSINTHIAL. 

from which the absentee draws his revenue An Irisl 
landlord living in France, it is argued, receives his remit¬ 
tances of rent, not in bullion, but in bills of exchange; and 
bills of exchange represent, in the end, the value of British 
commodities imported into France.. The remittance could 
not be made unless goods to the same amount were also 
drawn from Britain. Thus, although the landlord may 
consume, for the most part, French productions, he causes, 
indirectly, a demand for as much of British productions; 
and his income goes, in the end, to pay for them. His resi¬ 
dence abroad, then, does no harm to the industry and re¬ 
sources of the country at large, although it is admitted that 
it may be felt as an evil in a particular locality. The truth 
of this doctrine, however, in its full extent, is disputed. 
Among other objections to it, it is argued that whatever 
may be true of the amount actually consumed, all the 
tradesmen and others who supply the absentee’s wants have 
their profits, and have thus the means of accumulating; and 
that these accumulations, which are thus added to the 
national wealth of a foreign country, would have been 
added to tLe wealth of his native country had he been 
living at home. The result of the controversy seems to be 
that absenteeism does, to some extent, act injuriously on 
the wealth of a country, though it is not true that the whole 
revenues thus spent are so much clear loss, there being 
several indirect compensations.—On the evil of absenteeism, 
in a moral point of view, all are agreed; especially in a 
country in the condition of Ireland, where nearly the 
whole wealth is in the hands of extensive landed proprie¬ 
tors, with almost no middle class. 

ABSINTHE, ab'sinth: spirit flavored with the pounded 
leaves and flowering tops of certain species of Artemisia 
(q. v.), chiefly wormwood (A. absinthium), together with 
angelica-root, sweet-flag root, star-anise, and other aromat¬ 
ics. The aromatics are macerated for about eight days in 
alcohol, and then distilled, the result being an emerald- 
colored liquor. Adulteration is largely practiced, even 
blue vitriol being sometimes found in so-called A. The 
best A. is made in Switzerland, the chief seat of the manu¬ 
facture being in the canton of Neufchatel. It is chiefly 
used in France, but is of late largely exported to the United 
States. When to be drunk, the greenish liquor is usually 
mixed with water. The evil effects of drinking A. are 
very apparent; frequent intoxication or moderate but steady 
tippling, utterly deranges the digestive system, weakens the 
frame, induces horrible dreams and hallucinations, and may 
end in paralysis or in idiocy. 

ABSINTHIAL, a. db-sinthi-dn [L. absinthium, worm¬ 
wood]: of or like wormwood. Absin'thiat'ed, a. -thi- 
dt'ed, impregnated with wormwood. Absinthe, n. ab'sinth 
[F.]: a well-known French liqueur; an alcoholic liquor im¬ 
pregnated with the qualities of absinthium or wormwood. 
Absin thic, a -thik, pert, to absinthium, or to an acid ob¬ 
tained from it. Absin'thine, n. 4hin, the bitter prin^ J ^ 1c 
found in absinthium. 


ABSOLUTE—ABSOLUTION. 

ABSOLUTE, a. ab'sb-lot [L. absblutus, unfettered, un¬ 
conditional—from ab, solutus, loosened or set free—from 
solrn , I loose: F. absolu] : loosened or set free from control; 
without control; independent of any person or thing; des¬ 
potic; positive; peremptory. The absolute, in mental 
philosophy, opposed to the conditioned; that which, com¬ 
plete in itself, stands in need of no relation to anything else. 
Absolutely, ad. ab'sb-lot'li, without restriction or limita¬ 
tion; peremptorily. Absolutism, n. db'sb-lot-mn, state or 
principle of despotism. Ab solut ist, n. one who advocates 
absolutism. Absoluteness, n. the state of being free 
from dependence or limits.— Syn. of ‘absolute’: despotic; 
arbitrary; tyrannical; positive; peremptory; certain; un 
conditional. 

ABSOLUTE : opposed to relative, and means that the 
thing is considered in itself, and without reference to other 
things. In physics, we speak of the absolute velocity of a 
body—i.e., the rate of its motion through space; and of 
the relative velocity of two bodies—i.e., the rate at which 
they approach or recede from one another, one or both being 
in motion. In the language of modern metaphysics, the 
Absolute is the unconditioned, unalterable original—that 
which is the ultimate cause and ground of the phenomena 
of the visible world. Absolute, in politics, is applied to a 
ruler whose authority is unrestricted by constitutional 
checks. 

ABSOLUTION, n. db' 80 - 16 'shun [F. absolution —from 
L. absolutio nem, perfection, completion—from solutus, 
loosened or set free]: a sentence of acquittal; a declaration 
of innocence; a remission of sin pronounced by the priest 
over the penitent who confesses. Absolutory, a. db-sbl'u- 
teri, that absolves. See Absolve. 

ABSOLUTION: originally a term of Roman law, signi¬ 
fying acquittal; now used in an ecclesiastical sense. In 
the primitive Christian Church, its form was this: Members 
that had given scandal by gross and open sins were ex¬ 
cluded from the Lord’s Supper, or from the congregation 
altogether, and could be readmitted only if they repented 
and underwent the penance laid upon them by the church. 
When they had done so, the presbyter, with the elders, 
pronounced the A. in presence of the congregation—mean¬ 
ing that the congregation forgave the offense, on theirpart, 
and received the sinner again into their number. Until the 
3dc., the concurrence of the congregation continued to be 
necessary to A. But by the 4th c. it had become a right 
of bishops to absolve, and the public confession had gradu¬ 
ally turned into a private confession before the priest, who 
now imposed the penance of himself, modified or remitted 
it, and then absolved. A. had, as yet, been extended 
mostly to open and gross sins; but when the fourth Lateran 
Council, 1215, had made auricular confession, at least once 
a year, obligatory, confession and its attendant A. were 
extended to all sins; and the A. was held to convey for¬ 
giveness both by the church and in the sight of God. _ The 
formula, Deus or Ghristus absolvit te, w r hich was used till the 


ABSOLVE—ABSORPTION. 

12th c.,was changed into Egoabsolvo te; thus ascribing to the 
priest the power to forgive sins in the sight of God. This 
is the received theory of absolution in the Roman Catholic 
Church, sanctioned by the Council of Trent, and grounded 
on John xx., 21.—The Protestant churches differ in their 
views of A., some holding it only as declarative of the 
Divine promise of forgiveness on condition of repentance; 
others, as declarative of the Divine fact of forgiveness as 
already established; others, as in one or another sense, 
effectuative in making actual the Divine forgiveness. See 
Confession: Penance. 

ABSOLVE, v. db-zolv' [L. absol'vere, to loose from some 
thing—from ab, solvo, I loose, I set free: Prov. absolver: 
E. absoudre] : to loose or set free from control; to release 
from some burden or penalty; to acquit; in OE., to finish; 
to complete. Absolv ing, imp. Absolved, pp. db-zblvd'. 
Absolved, n. one who. Absolvatory, a. db-zolv' a-ter'i, 
that contains absolution, pardon, or release. — Syn. of 
‘absolve’: to acquit; exonerate; clear; exculpate; shrive. 

ABSONANT, a. db'so-ndnt [L. absonans or absonan'tem y 
discordant, harsh—from ab, sbnus, sound; sono, I sound]: 
pounding discordantly; deviating from the true sound, tone, 
or harmony; absurd. 

ABSORB, v. absorb' [L. absorbere, to swallow up—from 
ab, sorbed, I drink up or suck in]: to drink in, as a sponge; 
to swallow or suck up; wholly to engage; to engross; to be 
absorbed. Absorb ing, imp. Absorbed, pp. dbsorbd'. 
Absorbent, a. absorb'ent, drinking in or sucking up; 
imbibing. N. that which sucks up or imbibes, or a vessel 
which imbibes or takes up. Absorbents, n. plu. sub¬ 
stances, such as magnesia and chalk, which remove acidity 
in the stomach. Absorbable, a. absorb'd-bl, what may be 
sucked up. Absorbability, n. absorb'd-bU'i-ti, the ca¬ 
pacity for being absorbable. Absorptive, a. db-sbrp'tiv 
[L. absorptus, sucked up]: having the power to suck up. 
Absorption, n. ab-sorp'shun [F.—L.]: the act of drinking 
in or slicking up; the act or process of taking up digested 
and assimilated matter by absorbents. Absorbing ground, 
in paint. , the ground which has been prepared for a picture 
jn oil-colors, and which, at sucking in the oils, imparts a 
strength and brilliancy to the colors.— Syn. of 'absorb ’: to 
swallow up; engulf; engross; imbibe. 

ABSORBENTS: see Lacteals and Lymphatics. 

ABSORPTION, db sdrp'slmn, in Botany: it is believed 
that plants absorb carbonic acid gas, and also to some ex¬ 
tent fluids, by their leaves and other aerial organs; and it 
is supposed that this absorption takes place principally 
through the stomata of the leaves (see Leaves), and both 
by the upper and under surface of the leaf, in some plants 
by both surfaces indifferently, in others much more power¬ 
fully . by the one surface or the other. But plants depend 
principally upon their roots for nourishment, and it is at 
the extremities of their fibrils that absorption takes place 
most rapidly, according to a peculiar process to which has 
been given the name of Endosmose (q.v.). 


ABSTAIN—ABSTRACT, 

AB STAIN, v, abstdn [L. abstmere, to liold or keep 
away from—from abs, teneo, I hold: F. abstenir: Sp. (li¬ 
stener se : Norm. F. abstiegner\\ to hold or keep away from 
as from an object of desire; to keep or refrain from; to 
forbear. Abstain ing, imp. Abstained, pp. db-stand!. 
Abstain er, n. one who keeps from. Abstention, n. ab¬ 
atin'shun [F. abstention: L. abs, tentus , held]: the act of 
holding off or abstaining. Abstinence, n. db'stin-ens 
[F. abstinence : L. abstinentia \: the practice of keeping 
from, especially from certain kinds of food or drink. 
Abstinent, &-ent [F. abstinent: L. abstinens \: refraining 
from, especially in the use of food or drink; temperate. 
Abstinently, ad. -li.— Syn. of ‘abstain’: to forbear; 
refrain; give up; relinquish; withhold;—o* 'abstinent’• 
sober; abstemious; temperate; moderate. 

ABSTEMIOUS, a. db-ste'mi-us [L. abstemius, temperate 
or sober—from abs, timetum, an intoxicating liquor, as wine 

hi., not being wet or moistened with wine]: sparing in 
the use of food or strong drinks; temperate; holding back 
from excess or too much pleasure. Abste'miously, ad. -li. 
Abste miousness, n. being sparing in the use of food or 
strong drink. 

ABSTENTION, ABSTINENCE, ABSTINENT, etc.: 
see under Abstain. 

ABSTERGENT, a. db-ster’jent [F. abstergent —from L. 
abster’gens, wiping dry—from abs, terged, I rub off]: having 
a cleansing property—thus fuller’s earth is an abstergent. 
Abstersive, a. db-ster'siv [mid. L. abstersivus ; F. abstersif, 
useful to clean]: cleansing. 

ABSTINENCE [see Abstain]: see Fasting. Absti¬ 
nence societies: see Total Abstinence. 

ABSTRACT, a. db’strdkt [L. abstrdetus, drawn or 
dragged away from—from abs, tractus, drawn—from trdho, 
I draw: F. abstraire, to abstract— lit., drawn away from 
something]: apart or separate from something else; existing 
in the mind only, as opposed to concrete; difficult; abstruse: 
N. a summary or epitome; an abridgment: iu phar., a 
preporation containing the soluble principles of a drug 
evaparated and mixed with sugar of milk: its strength 
is twice that of the crude drug or fluid extract, and 
about ten timts that of the tincture: V. db-strdkt’ 
to separate ; to mentally separate only one part or quality 
of an object; to epitomize ; to purloin. Abstract ing, 
imp. Abstract ed, pp. separated ; absent in mind. Ab- 
stractedly, ad. Abstract edness, n. state of being 
separated from a real existence. Abstractor, n. one who. 
Abstraction, n. db-strdk'shun [F.—L.]: the act of the 
mind when considering some part or property of a body by 
itself, as hardness; absence of mind; deep thought; pur¬ 
loining. Ab stractness, n. being in a separate state ; not 
being connected with any object. Abstract ive, a. -tin, 
having the power to abstract. Abstract ively, ad. -tiv-li, 
taken as an abstraction. Abstractly, ad. db-strdkt'li, in 
an abstract manner. Abstract name, a name standing 
for an attribute, or a quality of a thing—as opposed to coiv 


ABSTRACTION—ABSURD. 

crete name, a name which stands for a thing. Abstract 
jdea, an idea separated from other accompanying ideas. 
Abstract numbers, numbers used without application to 
things, 2, 3, 6. Concrete numbers are such as 2 lb., 
3 oz., 6 doz.— Syn. of ‘abstract, v.’: to separate ; draw otf ; 
distinguish;—of ‘abstract, n.’: epitome; abridgment; com¬ 
pendium ; synopsis. 

ABSTRACTION, ab-strdk'shun: that intellectual process 
by which the mind withdraws (abstraho) some of the at¬ 
tributes of objects from the others, and thinks of them to 
the exclusion of the rest. The abstract is opposed to the 
concrete. John, William, my brother, form concrete im¬ 
ages in my mind, each with a multitude of attributes 
peculiar to himself. But they have also certain attributes 
common to them and to all individuals of the race; I can 
overlook the other attributes and attend to these, and thus 
form a notion or conception, which is called a man. Man 
is, therefore, an abstract notion, the word connoting, as it 
is called, a certain though not very w T ell defined number of 
attributes. With the exception of proper names, all nouns 
are thus abstract. There are degrees, however, in abstrac¬ 
tion. The abstract notion animal rises above that of man, 
embracing all men and innumerable organized beings be¬ 
sides. An organized being , again, is a still higher stage, and 
embraces both animals and plants. Being, time, space, are 
among the highest abstractions. The higher abstractions 
rise, the fewer attributes are implied or connoted in the 
name; hence the propriety of the phrase, empty abstractions. 
On the other hand, the number of objects to which the 
name is applicable increases; and thus reasoning in abstract 
terms has the advantage of being general or extensive in its 
application. But such reasoning is apt to become vague and 
fallacious, unless constant regard is had to concrete in¬ 
stances. Abstract language is best adapted for scientific ex¬ 
position; concrete, for graphic and poetical effect. 

ABSTRICTED, a. ab-strikt'ed [L. ab, strictus, drawn 
tight]: unbound. 

ABSTRINGE, v. db-strinj' [L. abstrlngere —from ab, 
stringo, I bind or tie tight]: to unbind. Abstrin'ging, 
imp. Abstringed, pp. db-strinjd'. 

ABSTRUSE, a. db-stros’ [L. abstrusus, thrust away 
from one, hidden—from abs, trudo, I thrust]: thrust away 
from one’s sight; concealed ; difficult to be understood; 
obscure in meaning. Abstruse'ly, ad. -li, in an abstruse 
or hidden manner. Abstruseness, n. db-stros'nes, dark¬ 
ness in meaning ; obscurity.—S yn. of ‘ abstruse ’: recondite; 
obscure ; curious. 

ABSURD, a. db-serd' [L. dbsur'dus, irrational—from ab, 
surdus, deaf, that will not hear]: not agreeable to the ears, or 
not fit to be heard; not agreeable to reason or common sense; 
what is plainly opposite to the truth ; contemptibly foolish. 
Absurd ly, ad. -li. . Absurd'ity, n. -di-ti, what ‘is absurd; 
that which is not in accordance with reason or common- 
sense. Also Absurd ness, n— Syn. of ‘absurd’: foolish; 


ABT—ABULFARAJ. 

Irrational; preposterous; incongruous; inconsistent; ridicu. 
lous; nonsensical. 

ABT, dpt, Franz: musical composer: 1819. Dec. 22— 
1885, Mar. 81; b. Eilenburg, Prussian Saxony. A writer 
of popular songs, the best known of his 200 compositions 
being When the Swallows Homeward Fly. 

ABU, d'bo: mountain of India, in the territory of 
Serolie, Rajpootana, rising far above any other of the 
Aravulli ridge, and said to be about 5,000 ft. above the sea. 
The base is broad, its circuit being estimated at forty or 
fifty m.; the summit is very irregular, and divided into 
many peaks. It is a celebrated place of pilgrimage, 
especially for the Jainas, who have a magnificent group of 
four temples at Dilwara, about the middle of the mountain, 
one of which is described as ‘ the most superb of all the 
temples in Lidia.’ Before it is an equestrian statue of the 
founder, Bimul Sah, a Jain merchant of Anhulwara. All 
the temples exhibit symptoms of decay. The summit of 
A. is about 40 m. n.e. from the British cantonment of Deesa v 
and it has lately begun to be used as a sanatorium 

ABU, or bu (Arab, for ‘ father’): prefixed to many Arabic 
proper names, as the equivalent syllable Ah is pr fixed to 
Hebrew names; e.g., Abu-bekr, ‘Father of the virgin’ 
(Ayeshah). But Abu, like Ab, often signifies merely pos¬ 
sessor; as in Abulfeda (possessor of fidelity), ‘ the Trusty;’ 
Abner, ‘ the Brilliant’—literally, ‘ father or possessor of 
light.’ 

ABU-BEKR, d'bd-belc'r (‘Father of the virgin’ Ayeshah, 
the wife of Mohammed): 572-635: a man of great influence 
in the Koreish tribe, who, in 632, when Mohammed died, 
w r as made the first caliph or successor of the Prophet. After 
defeating his enemies in Arabia, and warring successfully 
against Babylonia, Syria, and the Byzantine emperor Hera- 
clius, A. died, and was buried at Medina, near the remains 
of Mohammed and his wife Ayeshah (q.v.). 

ABULFARAJ, d'bol-fd'rdj (Lat. Abulfaragius), called 
also Barhebreeus—i.e., Son of the Hebrew, as being by 
birth a Jew, though afterwards a Christian: 1226-86; b. Ma- 
latia, in Armenia: so distinguished for knowledge of the 
Syriac, Arabic, and Creek languages, and of philosophy, 
theology, and medicine, that he was called the phenix of 
the age. At the age of twenty he was made bishop of 
Gukqand afterwards of Aleppo; and rose to the rank of 
maphrian, the highest dignity among the Jacobite Chris¬ 
tians next to patriarch. Of his numerous Syriac and Arabic 
writings, most of which lie buried in the library of the 
Vatican, the best known is a Chronicle , in Syriac, of uni¬ 
versal history from Adam down to his own time. The 
first part of it was published at Leipzig, 1789, the rest (3 
vols.) at Louvain, 1872-74. A. himself abridged this work 
in Arabic, under the title of History of the Dynasties 
(edited by Pococke, Arab, and Lat. Oxf. 1663). Among his 
theological writings may be mentioned his Magazine oj 
Mysteries , a Commentary on the Svriac Version of the Bible- 


ABULFEDA—ABUT. 

ABULFEDA, d'bol-fedd: 1273-1331; b. Damascus: a 
Moslem prince, known as a writer of history. During his 
youth he distinguished himself in several campaigns against 
the Christian kingdom founded by the Crusaders. From 
1310 till his death, he ruled the principality of Hamat, in 
Syria, and was a true ally of the sultan. A. visited Egypt 
and Arabia, patronized literature and science, and left 
several important works in Arabic, among which are his 
Annals, the earlier portion of which has been edited by 
Fleischer, under the title of Historia Anteislamica (Leip. 
1831), and the rest by Reiske, in the Annales Moslemici 
(Copenh. 1789-94). This work was in great part compiled 
by A. from earlier Arabic authors, and is a valuable source 
of history, especially of the Arabic Empire. He also wrote 
a geography, which has been edited with a French transla¬ 
tion, by Reinaud and De Slane (Par. 1848), and by Reiske 
(Dresden, 1842). 

ABUNDANCE, ABUNDANT, etc. : see under Abound 

ABUSE, v. d-buz' [F. abus, misuse; abuser, to misuse, to 
deceive—from L. abusus , misused, abused—from ab, usus, 
used]: to use improperly; to treat wrongly or ill; to misuse 
anything; to violate, to revile; in OB., to deceive; to im¬ 
pose on. N. d-bus' , ill use of anything; rude reproach; 
misapplication. Abus'ing, imp. Abused, pp. d-buzd '. 
Abu ser, n. -zer, one who. Abuse'ful, a. full of abuse. 
Abusive, a. d-bu'siv, employing bad language; treating ill; 
reviling; containing abuse. Abu sively, ad. 41, in the 
manner of abuse; by an improper or wrong use. Abu'sive- 
ness, n. the quality of being abusive; rudeness or foulness 
of language.— Syn. of ‘abuse, v.’: to misuse; revile; vilify; 
reproach; deceive; injure; maltreat;—of ‘abuse, n.’: invec¬ 
tive; reproach; insult; scurrility; opprobrium; contumely;— 
of ‘abusive’: scurrilous; offensive; reviling; opprobrious; 
insulting; insolent; injurious. 

ABUSHEHR, d-bd-sher 1 (variously written Bushehr, 
Bushire, in Pers. Bendershehr): seaport on the e. coast of 
the Persian Gulf, at the extremity of a peninsula. The 
district is liable to be devastated by earthquakes and the 
simoom, and is deficient in water; but the situation is so 
favorable for commerce that the trade is valued at $3,000,000 
a year, of which three-fourths represent imports. It is the 
land terminus of the Indo-European telegraph line; the 
headquarters of the English naval squadron in the Persian 
Gulf, and a chief station of the British Indian Steam Navi¬ 
gation Co. The exports are horses, fruits, shawls, pearls, 
silk, rosewater, asafoetida, copper, gall-nuts, etc.; imports, 
sugar, indigo, iron, cotton goods, etc. Pop. nearly 20,000. 

ABUT, v. d-but' [F. aboutir, to meet at the end: OF. 
hotter, to strike: F. bout, end. Eng. butt , to strike with 
the head, as a goat: Mid. L. abutto, I terminate or bound]- 
to border upon, particularly at the end; to touch; to be 
contiguous. Abut ting, imp. Adj. facing each other and 
contiguous. Abut ted, pp. Abuttals, n. plu. d-biit'dls, 
the buttings or boundaries of lands, particularly at the 
ends—the sides or the breadth of lands are properly adja- 


ABUTILON—ABYSS. 

sent or bordering, and the ends in their length abutting or 
bounding. Abutment, n. d-but'ment, that which borders 
upon; what supports the end of a bridge. Abutter, n. 
that which abuts. 

ABUTILON, n. d-bu'til-on [F. abutilon, a marsh-mallow]: 
a genus of Malvaceae, or the mallow family, annual or 
shrubby plants, some favorite garden plants, have heart- 
shaped leaves, and axillary pendulous flowers. 

ABUTMENT, d-but'ment , in Architecture: the part of a 
pier or wall from which an arch springs, and which resists 
the outward thrust. The term impost is used when the arch 
is a semicircle, so that the pressure is vertical. In reference 
to a bridge, the abutments are the walls adjoining the land, 
which support the ends of the roadway, or the extremities 
of the arch or arches. 

ABY, Abuy, or Abie, v. d-bi' [AS. abyegan, to re¬ 
deem, to pay the purchase-money—from a, intensive; 
byegan, to buy: Scot, aby; OE. abeye, to suffer for—see 
Abide]: in Scot, and OE., to pay the penalty; to suffer the 
consequences of anjdhing. Abuy'ing, imp. paying the 
penalty. 

ABYDOS, a-bl'dos: a town in Asia Minor, at the narrow¬ 
est part of the Hellespont, opposite Sestos. It is celebrated 
as the place whence Xerxes and his vast army passed intc 
Europe, b.c. 480; also as the scene of the story of Hero 
(q.v.) and Leander. In the later antiquity, the people of 
A. were reproached for their effeminate and dissolute man¬ 
ners. 

ABYDOS, in Upper Egypt (Thebais): a town on the left 
bank of the Nile, and on the main route of commerce with 
Libya. Even in the time of Strabo, this town was in ruins. 
Here the remains of the Memnonium, and of a temple of 
Osiris are still remarkable. In the former, W. J. Bankes, 
1818, discovered the celebrated Tablet of A., bearing in 
hieroglyphics, a genealogy of the eighteenth dynasty of the 
Pharaohs. It is now in Paris, and copies have been pub¬ 
lished. In 1900 Prof. Flinders Petrie discovered the 
tombs of kings of first dynasty, together with records 
extending from 4,000 to 5,000 b.c. 

ABYSS, n. d-bls' [Gr. abus'sos, without a bottom—from 
a, without; bussos, a bottom]: that which is bottomless; a 
very deep place; a deep mass of waters; a gulf. Abysmal, 
a. d-biz'mdl, pert, to the greatest depths; deep as an abyss; 
unending. Abysm, n. d-bizm' [OF. abisme; Sp. abismo -— 
from mid. L. abys'simus, the deepest depth]: an abyss. 


ABYSSINIA. 

ABYSSINIA, ab-isirii-a, called Habesli by the Arabs, 
the large tract of highlands in the e. of Africa. From the 
Red Sea on .the n.e., it rises in terraces towards the s.w. 
Between the highlands and the Red Sea lies a flat tract 
called Adal, narrow at the n. (lat. 15 c 30 ), and widening to 
the s. The plains of Nubia and Kordofan form the bound¬ 
aries on the n. and w., while the s. limits are not well known; 
about 200,000 sq. m.; pop. 3,000,000 to 4,000,000. The 
country consists of high table-lands, intersected by deep 
ravines formed 1 )y the rivers, and steep sandstone terraces. 
Numerous mountain-chains, mostly of volcanic origin, rise 
abo?e the table-lands; the highest are the mountains of Sa- 
men or Samien, rising to about 15,000 ft. above the sea-level. 
Some of the plains have an elevation of 7,000 to 10,000 ft. 
A. gives rise to numerous rivers, the largest of which are the 
Abai or Nile (Bakr-el-Azrek or Blue River), and the Tak- 
kazie, an affluent of the Nile. In the s. is the Hawash— 
from which the country takes its name—which flows e. into 
the salt-lake of Assal in Adal. The largest lake is that of 
Tzana or Dembea, through which the Abai or Blue Nile 
flows. The climate in the elevated tracts of Abyssinia is 
temperate and salubrious; in the low tracts along the coast, 
and in the n. and n.w., the heat is excessive, and the cli¬ 
mate noxious. On the whole, A. is a country of great fer¬ 
tility; but, like the climate, the productions of the soil vary 
greatly with the different degrees of elevation. Wheat and 
barley are cultivated, also maize, the grains called Teff ( Poa 
Abyssinica), and Tocusso (Eleusine Tocusso ), various legu¬ 
minous plants, cotton, coffee, sugar-cane, tobacco, etc. The 
coffee-plant grows wild. Among wild animals, the lion, 
leopard, hyena, wolf, jackal, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, 
and zebra are found. 

The people of A. belong mostly to the Shemitic race, and 
resemble the Arabs both in physical characteristics and struc¬ 
ture of language. See Ethiopia. The ethnology of the 
country is variously given by different authorities. "Accord- 
ing to Riippell, there are three principal races. The ab¬ 
original Abyssinians, inhabiting the greater part of Amhara, 
numerous also in Tigre, are of middle size, with oval faces, 
lips not thicker than those of Europeans, pointed noses, and 
straight or slightly curled hair. In this race he includes the 
Falashas, or Jews, the Gamant, and the Agows. A second 
race, abounding most in the n. of Tigre, have thick lips, 
noses blunt and somewhat curved, and thick hair, vergin°* 
on wooliness. The third are the Gallas, inhabiting the s. 
of Shoa and the regions w. of Lake Dembea and the Abai* 
a large-bodied race, round-faced, short-nosed, with a depres¬ 
sion between the nose and brow, deep-set lively eyes, and 
thickisk lips. The color of these races is brown of various 
shades. The only negroes in A. are slaves from the countrv 
of the Skangallas to the w. y 

The oldest accounts of the Abyssinians are full of fables 
but seem sufflcient to prove that they attained some civiliza¬ 
tion even in remote antiquity. Christianity was introduced 
about the middle of the 4th c., and soon prevailed exten¬ 
sively. Axum was at that time the capital. Two centuries 


ABYSSINIA. 

later, the Abyssinians were powerful enough to invade 
Arabia, and conquer a part of Yemen. In the subsequent 
Struggles against the invading Moslem, the coast-land Sam- 
hara and the country of Adal were lost. In the 10th c., a 
Jewish princess overthrew the reigning dynasty, the surviv¬ 
ing representative of which fled to Shoa. After three cent¬ 
uries of confusion, the empire was restored under Icon Am- 
lach, and some progress -was made in improvement. Early 
in the 15th c., the Abyssinians entered into close relations 
with the Portuguese, by whose assistance the empire was 
saved, in 1540, from falling into the hands of the invader 
Granie, sultan of Adal. The southern provinces, howdver, 
were lost, and the seat of empire was removed from Shoa to 
Gondar. Under the influence of the Portuguese missionaries, 
the royal family adopted the Roman Catholic faith; and the 
old Coptic Church was formally upited to the see of Rome. 
The people and ecclesiastics obstinately resisted the inno¬ 
vation; the emperor gave way; and ultimately, 1632, the 
Romish priests were expelled or put to death. In conse¬ 
quence of the commotions thus excited, the monarchical 
power declined, while that of the governors of provinces 
greatly increased, till it became almost absolute. The 
people were under petty local tyranny. 

In consequence of invasions and civil warfare, the present 
social and political condition of A. is very unfavorable. 
The kingdom of Shoa is in better circumstances than the 
other states. Though Christianity is still the professed re¬ 
ligion of the majority of Abyssinians, it exists among them 
only in its lowest form, and is little more than ceremonial. 
Their church is national and independent, but the visible 
head, or Abuna (‘ our father ’) is ordained by the Coptic pa¬ 
triarch of Alexandria. The doctrines of the Abyssinian co¬ 
incide with those of the Coptic Church, especially in the 
monophysite heresy; but several peculiar rites are observed, 
including circumcision of both sexes, and observance of the 
Mosaic laws respecting food, etc.; love-feasts, and adult 
baptism. The oldest Abyssinian churches are hewn out of 
rocks. The modern churches are mostly small, round, or 
conical buildings, thatched with straw, and surrounded by 
pillars of cedar. Statues and bass-reliefs are not tolerated in 
churches, but paintings are numerous. The state of man¬ 
ners and morals in A. is as low as might be looked for in a 
country so long a prey to anarchy and violence. Human 
life is lightly valued, the administration of justice is bar¬ 
barously negligent and corrupt, and the marriage-bond is 
tied and loosed with extreme facility. The land generally 
yields at least two crops annually; but the agriculture is 
miserable, and the condition of the lower classes proportion¬ 
ally wretched. Among fruits, the fig is the most plentiful. 
Wine is used only for the Eucharist; the common drink is 
bouza , a kind of sour beer, made from the fermentation of 
bread. The manufactures of A. are rude, but sufficient, 
with a few exceptions, for the wants of the natives; cotton 
stuffs and leather goods are the staple articles. The foreign 
trade is carried on principally through Massowah; the chief 
exports being slaves, gold, butter, musk-horns, wax, and 
ivory 


ABYSSINIA. 

In 1862, King Theodore, enraged that persona* letters to 
Queen Victoria and Emperor JNupoleon were not person¬ 
ally answered, imprisoned the English^ and French 
consuls, and many missionaries and other Europeans. In 
1864, the British govt, sent envoys with presents to the 
king to treat for the release of the prisoners, but the 
envoys also were imprisoned. A British expedition was 
then fitted out, under command of Gen. (afterward Lord) 
Napier, the fortress of Magdala was taken by storm 1867, 
Apr. 18; and King Theodore killed himself before the 
surrender. Prince Knssni of Tigre was proclaimed em¬ 
peror of Tigre and Amhara 1872, as Johannes I., 
but failed to establish his rule over the whole coun¬ 
try. Frontier difficulties with Egypt were kept up till 
1882, when Egypt evacuated the Soudan. In 1885, Mas- 
sowah was occupied by Italians, and 1887, Jan. 26, three 
companies of Italian soldiers were slaughtered by the Abys- 
sinians. The latter act led the Italian govt, to determine 
on a regular war. After the Italians had fortified Masso- 
wah, Johannes wished to treat for peace, but declined the 
Italian proposals. The Italians made a league with Men- 
elek, King of Shoa, who had risen against Johannes 1888, 
by which the latter was supplied with munitions of war. 
and resumed operations against Johannes. On the death 
of Johannes in battle, 1889, Mar. 11, Menelek proclaimed 
himself emperor of all Ethiopia, which includes the mod¬ 
ern A. His pretensions were disputed by Mangascia, son 
of Johannes, who, howev r, after a show of military 
opposition, was acknowledged by him as king of Tigre. 
The Italians claimed that Menelek violated his first treaty 
with them, and made another with him 1889, by which 
Italy "was virtually given a protectorate over all Ethiopia. 
But 1890 Menelek denied that he had accepted an Italian 
protectorate, and the Italian ambassador who had nego¬ 
tiated the treaty with him, failing to iuducehimto change 
his attitude, broke off all negotiations 1891, Feb. 11. Dur¬ 
ing 1891 King Mangascia, Ras Alula, and other native 
leaders attacked and routed chief Debeb, who had claimed 
Menelek’s throne. The same year protocols were signed 
at Rome, establishing a new line of demarkation between 
the possessions of Great Britain and Italy in e. Africa. 

In 1895, Jan. 13, Ras Mangascia, at the head of 10,000 
men, besieged the Italians at Kassala, numbering 1,500 
men. Gen. Baratieri, the commander-in chief, immedi¬ 
ately set out from Keren with a relief expedition of 4,000 
men. Arriving before Kassala on the 14th, he defeated 
the enemy and raised the siege. To prevent an invasion 
of Erythrea by the Abyssiuians Gen. Baratieri left Adigrat 
early in October with 8,000 men. On the 9th, the Italian 
advance-guard came upon Mangnscia’s troops and, attack¬ 
ing them in the rear, routed them. Placing Gen. Ari- 
mondi at the head of a detachment with orders to pursue 
Mangascia, Gen. Baratieri turned his attention to his de¬ 
fenses. He fortified Adowa, Adigrat, and Makale. 
Meanwhile Mangascia retreated to the Vogeral mountains, 
closely followed by the vanguard of Arimondi’s force, 



ABYSSINIAN—AC. 

1,500 or 2,500 strong, under Major Toselli. In an attempt 
to prevent a junction, which the Abyssinians sought to 
effect before Gen. Arimondi could come up with his main 
body, Toselli and his detachment were almost annihilated, 
and Arimondi was forced to retire. 

In the middle of December, the Abyssinians advanced 
in two columns on Adowa and Asmara. Ras Mangascia 
attacked Makale, Dec. 20th, was repulsed, but renewed 
his attack every two or three days, until 1896, Jan. 23, 
when, the ammunition and rations being short and the 
water-supply cut off, the garrison under Col. Galliano sur¬ 
rendered, accepting the magnanimous terms offered by 
Menelek—that they take all their arms and equipment 
and march out unmolested to rejoin the main body of the 
Italian army at Adigrat. 

Before advancing on Adigrat, Menelek sent an envoy to 
the Italian camp there with an offer of peace. This offer 
Gen. Baratieri was unable to accept, and negotiations were 
broken off. Meanwhile in Italy the conduct of the war 
was vigorously attacked in the Italian parliament, and 
Gen. Baratieri was superseded, Feb. 24, by Gen. Baldissera. 

While Baldissera was on his way to Massowah with re¬ 
inforcements, Baratieri advanced against tlie Abyssinians 
concentrated at Adowa. With about 20,000 men he at¬ 
tacked Menelek’s army of 60,000 and was hopelessly de¬ 
feated, his men throwing away their arms in the precip¬ 
itate retreat that followed. The Italian loss in killed is 
estimated at 3,000 men; there are no records of the number 
of wounded. Fifty-two guns and thousands of rifles and 
other war material fell into the hands of the Abyssinians. 

This disaster caused considerable rioting throughout 
Italy and brought about a change of ministry—the Mar. 
quis di Rudini succeeding Premier Crispi. Negotiations 
for peace which were reopened made little progress until 
after May 4th, when Gen. Baldissera relieved Adigrat. On 
the 19th, the troops which had occupied Adigrat retired be¬ 
hind the frontier of Erythrea, and Menelek released all the 
Italian prisoners in his hands, and the war was ended. 
The provisions of the treaty of peace were as follows: 
an offensive and defensive alliance; the conclusion of a 
commercial treaty; the annulmentof the treaty of Uccialli; 
Tigre to be made a buffer state under Ras Makonnen; the 
establishment of an Italian frontier at Marel; the support of 
Italy in putting the Abyssinian finances on a sound basis. 

In 1902 an agreement was made with England not to 
build any work which would interfere with the flow of 
the Blue Nile, or Lake Tsana. A treaty was also signed 
permitting the construction of a railroad through Abys¬ 
sinian territory from the Sudan to Uganda. Est. area 
300,000 sq. m.; pop. 3,500,000. 

ABYSSINIAN, a. ab’i-sin'i-an , of or pert, to Abyssinia. 

AC, dk, a Latin prefix, a form of ad, meaning to; the forms 
of ad, meaning to, are a, ac, af, ag, al, an, op, ar, as, at, so 
varied for the sake of euphony, according to the commenc¬ 
ing letter of the part of the word of which it forms the 
prefix. 


PLATE 2. 


Abdomina 

Acacia 



Abdominal Regions, 1, Epigastric; 
2, Umbilical; 3, Pubic; 4, 4, Right and 
left hypochondriac; 5, 5, Lumbar; 6, 6, 
Iliac and inguinal. Above the upper 
line aa, is called the epigastric region; 
between the upper line aa, and lower 
line 66, the umbilical*; below the lower 
line 66, the hypogastric. 





Fig. 1, Acacia (A. Arabica'), 



Fig. 2.. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 

Fig. 2, Acacia heterophylla; Fig. 3, Bipinnate leaves: 
Fig. 4, Thistle, decurrent leaves. 












ACACIA. 


ACACIA, n. d-M'shi-a [L. acclcid; Gr .akdkia, a thorn]: 
genus of plants of the natural order Leguminosce,sub-order Mi- 


mosea. The genus A. differs from 
Mimosa in the greater number of 
its stamens (10—200), and in the 
want of transverse partitions in its 
bivalvular legumes. The acacias 
are diffused over all quarters of 
the globe except Europe. The 
greater number of them have a 
singular appearance, because of 
the leaf-stalks spreading out in a 
leaf-like form (phyllodium); while 
the leaflets are more or less 
stunted in appearance, and fre¬ 
quently are altogether absent. 
Other species have bipinnate 
leaves, with a great number of 
leaflets, and are extremely beau¬ 
tiful. Many are of great impor¬ 
tance in an economical point of 
view, because of the juice which 



Acacia Arabica (Gum-arabic 
Tree). 


flows from them, which, when inspissated, becomes an 
article of commerce under the name of Gum (q. v.). The 
species called A. gummifera, A. Seyal, A. Ehrenbergii, A. 
tortilis, A. Nilotica, and A. vera , natives of Africa, produce 
gum-arabic, also A. speciosa and A. Arabica, natives of the 
south of Asia. A. Arabica is called the Babul-tree in India, 
and its gum, babul. A gum similar to gum-arabic is pro¬ 
duced by A. decurrens , A. mollissima (the Silver Wattle), 
and A. affinis (the Black Wattle), in New Holland, and by 
A. karroo, at the Cape of Good Hope. Gum Senegal is the 
pro luce of A. Verek and A. Adansonii, natives of the western 
coast of Africa. Yet A. Verek is also said to yield true 
white gum-arabic. Catechu (q.v.) is obtained from the 
wood of A. catechu. The astringent bark and pods of some 
species are used for tanning. The bark of A. Arabica is 
administered in India as a powerful tonic medicine. The 
pods of A. concinna form an article of commerce in India, its 
seeds being saponaceous and used in washing. A decoction 
of the pods of A. Arabica is sometimes used in the same 
way. A considerable number of species afford useful tim¬ 
ber. The flowers of many species are fragrant. A number 
of species from New Holland and other countries have been 
introduced into the s. of Europe. Some are of frequent 
occurrence in green-houses in Britain; and a few of the 
Australian species succeed tolerably in the open air in the 
s. of England. The foliage of the acacias with bipinnate 
leaves shows a peculiar sensitiveness to changes of weather; 
when a thick cloud obscures the sun, the opposite leaflets 
close together, and so remain till the sun reappears. The 
Locust-tree of North America (Robinia pseud acacia ) is often 
called A. both in Britain and upon the continent of Europe. 
Other species of Robinia also receive the same name. See 
Locust-tree and Rose A. Flores Acacia (A. Flowers) is an 
old medical name for Sloe flowers. 


Vol. 1 — 4 


ACADEMY. 

ACADEMY, n. d-kdd'e-mi [F. academic —from L. Acade¬ 
mia ; Gr. Akademia, at Athens, name of a garden or grove 
where Plato taught in ancient times]: a public or private 
school; a society of learned men. Academic or Academi¬ 
cal, a. dk' d-dem'ik or dk'd-dem'i-kdl, pert, to a college or 
university. Ac ademically, ad. -li. Academician, n. 
d-kdd' e-mish' an, or Ac’ade mian, n. a member of a uni¬ 
versity or learned society. Also Acad'emist, n. 

ACADEMY: a name originally applied to the philosophi¬ 
cal school of Plato, derived from the place in which that 
philosopher was accustomed to meet and converse with his 
pupils. This was a garden or grove in the suburbs of 
Athens, said to have once belonged to the hero Academus, 
and by him to have been presented to the citizens for a 
gymnasium. The spot is at this day known under the name 
of Akadimia. The variations of doctrine among the suc¬ 
cessors of Plato gave rise to the distinctive titles of Old, 
Middle, and New A. The first is applied to the philosophic 
teaching of Plato himself and his immediate followers; the 
second, to that modification of the Platonic philosophy 
taught by Arcesilaus (q.v.); and the third, to the half- 
skeptical school founded by Carneades (q.v.). 

In its common English acceptation,' the word academy is 
loosely applied to any species of school which professes to 
communicate more than the mere elements of instruction. 
This, however, though perhaps more in affinity with the 
original application of the term, must be regarded as an 
abuse of its more general and strict acceptation in modern 
usage, as signifyinga society of savans or artists, established 
for the promotion of literature, science, or art. The first 
institution in ancient times that seems to merit the name, in 
this sense, of academy, was the celebrated Museum founded 
at Alexandria b.c. 3d c., by Ptolemy Soter, which con¬ 
centrated in that intellectual capital all that was most emi¬ 
nent in science, philosophy, poetry, and criticism. After 
this model the Jews, and, at a later period, the Arabians, 
founded numerous institutions for the promotion of learn¬ 
ing. During the middle ages, with the exception of the 
Moorish institutions at Granada and Cordova, in which 
poetry and music formed prominent subjects of study, 
we find nothing corresponding to the modern idea of an 
academy save the learned society established by Charle¬ 
magne in his palace, at the suggestion of his teacher Alcuin. 
This association was dissolved by the monarch’s death; and 
not till the middle of the 15th c., when the conquest of Con¬ 
stantinople drove many learned Greeks to seek asylum in 
Italy, do we find trace of a similar institution. Under the 
enlightened patronage of Lorenzo and Cosmo de’ Medici, 
the lovers of Greek learning and philosophy w r ere united in 
the bond of a common pursuit, and zealously labored to re¬ 
vive the long extinguished light of classic literature. After 
the decline of the Greek and Platonic Academies of Flor¬ 
ence there arose institutions of a more comprehensive char¬ 
acter, the example of which spread from Italy throughout 
all the states of Europe. 

Academies may be divided into those established for 


ACADEMY. 

general ends, and such as contemplate specific objects. The 
members are usually classified as Ordinary, Honorary, and 
Corresponding. The results of their labors in their various 
departments are reported at the periodic meetings, and 
printed in the records of the academy. Prizes are generally 
established as the rewards of distinguished merit in original 
discovery, or excellence in the treatment of subjects pro¬ 
posed for competition. Among general academies, deserv¬ 
ing of mention in the first place is the A. of Sciences, at 
Paris, established by Colbert, 1666, now a branch of the 
Institut de France. See Institute. The first scientific 
academy founded in modern times was the Academia Secre- 
torum Naturce, established at Naples, 1560, afterwards put 
down by a papal interdict. It was succeeded by the A. of 
the Lincei, founded at Rome by Prince Ceci, which attained 
distinguished success. Galileo was one of its members. 
Subsequently arose the A. dd Cimenio, at Florence, and the 
A. degV Inquieti, of Bologna, afterwards incorporated into 
the Accad. della Tracea, and finally, 1711, merged in the 
Institute of Bologna, or Clementine A.—The Berlin A. of 
Arts and Sconces, founded, 1700, by Frederick I., was, 
1710, divided into four sections: 1. Physics, Medicine, and 
Chemistry; 2. Mathematics, Astronomy, and Mechanics; 3. 
German Language and History; 4. Oriental Literature, in 
special connection with missions. The first president was 
Leibnitz, whose extraordinary versatility of genius qualified 
him for a leading place in all its departments. Under the 
Great Frederick, new life was infused into the academy by 
the encouragement offered to learned men of all countries to 
settle at Berlin. Maupertuis was now appointed president, 
and the academy was reorganized under the four classes of 
Physics, Mathematics, Philosophy, History and Philology. 
The public meetings are held twice a year. The transac¬ 
tions did not appear regularly till after 1811. They were 
formerly published in French, but are now in German. 
The Imperial A. of Sciences of St. Petersburg was planned, 
1724, by Peter the Great, with the advice of Leibnitz and 
Wolf. It was established in the following year by Catherine 
I., and liberally supported by the empress; fifteen members 
received pensions as professors of various branches. Of 
these were Volf, Biilfinger, Nicolas and Daniel Bernouilli, 
and the two De Lisles. After various fluctuations, the 
academy attained eminence and utility under the patronage 
of Catherine II. Among the most important results of her 
liberality are the travels and researches of such men as 
Pallas and Klaproth. The academy is still composed of 
fifteen salaried members, besides a president and director, 
and four pensioned supernumeraries,who attend the meetings 
and succeed to the vacant chairs. It possesses an extensive 
library and a very valuable museum. The first series of 
its transactions (1725-47) bears the name of Commen- 
tarii; the second (1748-77), of Novi Commeniarii; the third 
(1777-82), of Acta. Before this date they were written in 
Latin; thenceforth in Latin or French. From 1783 to 1795 
they are called Nova Acta; from that time to the present, 
Memoirs .—The A. of Sciences at Stockholm, founded 1739, 


ACADEMY. 

consisted at first of six members, one of whom was the cele¬ 
brated Linnaeus. It received a royal charter 1741, but no 
endowment. Its publications since 1779 are distinguished 
as New Transactions. Papers on agriculture are separately 
published, under the title of (Economica Acta. In 1799 it 
was divided into six classes: 1. Political and Rural Econ¬ 
omy, 15 members; 2. Commerce and Mechanical Arts, 15; 
3. Swedish Physics and Natural History, 15; 4. Foreign 
Physics and Natural History, 15; 5. Mathematics, 18; 6. 
History, Philology, and Fine Arts, 12. The resident mem¬ 
bers preside in rotation, during a term of three months: the 
transactions appear quarterly. At the annual meeting in 
April, prizes are distributed.—The Royal A. of Sciences at 
Copenhagen owes its origin, like the last-mentioned, to six 
learned men, employed by Christian VI. in 1742 to arrange 
his cabinet of medals. In 1743 the king, on the recommen¬ 
dation of Count Holstein, their first president, took the 
academy under his protection, endowed it, and ordered that 
natural history, physic-’, and mathematics should be em¬ 
braced within th: spher-? of its operations, at first limited to 
the national history and antiquities. The academy’s trans¬ 
actions are in Dan'sh; some of them are translated into Latin. 
—The A. of Sciences of Mannheim was founded, 171 , by 
the Elector-palatinj Karl Theodor, and divided into the 
sections of History and Physical Science; the latter was sub¬ 
divided in 1780 into Physics proper and Meteorology. The 
transactions under the tw r o former heads are published under 
the title of Acta; the meteorological memoirs are entitled 
Ephemerides. —The A. of Sciences of Munich was founded, 
1759. Soon after the erection of Bavaria into a kingdom, it 
was reorganized on a very extensive footing, under the 
presidency of Jacobi. Its memoirs are published under the 
title of Abhandlungen der Raierischen ATcademie. —The A. 
of Lisbon , established 1779, has three sections—Natural 
Science, Mathematics, and Portuguese Literature. It is 
liberally endowed by govt., and has a library, museum, 
observatory and printing office; its Memorias have ap¬ 
peared since 1787.—The Royal Irish A., whose origin was 
chiefly from the Univ. of Dublin 1782, and whose plan 
was afterward extended, published its first volume of 
transactions 1788.—The A. of Sciences a J Vienna , founded 
1846, has sections of History and Philology, Mathematics 
and Natural Science, Philosophy, Political Economy, and 
Medicine; its published Reports date from 1048, its Memoirs 
from 1850.—The American A. of Arts and Sciences was estab¬ 
lished at Boston 1780, having been in another form insti¬ 
tuted by Franklin ; its first vol. of transactions was pub. 
1785.—The National A. of Sciences (U. S.) was incorpo¬ 
rated by congress 1863; the A., comprising largely spe¬ 
cialists and experts, when called on by any governmental 
dept, is to investigate, experiment, and report on any spe¬ 
cified subject, at the expense of the govt. See Sciences, 
Nation at. Academy of. See also Science, American 
Association for the Advancement of. 

Among the academies established for the cultivation of 
particular departments of knowledge are the following:—1. 
Languages. The Academia della Crusca, ox Academia Ear 


ACADEMY. 

fvratorum, was founded at Florence, 1582, chiefly for the 
purpose of promoting the purity of the Italian language, 
whence its somewhat fantastic designation— crusca signifying 
chaff or bran. It first drew attention by its attacks on Tasso. 
Its principal service has been the compilation of an excellent 
dictionary, and the publication of correct editions of the 
older Italian poets. A new edition of this dictionary is at 
present in preparation, but from the slow rate of its progress 
it is calculated that many centuries must elapse before its 
completion. For an account of the Academie Frangaise, in¬ 
stituted, 1629, as a private society, see Institute. The 
Royal Sjjanish A. was founded at Madrid, 1714, by the 
Duke of Escalona, for the cultivation and improvement of 
the national language, in which it has done good service, 
particularly by the compilation of a Spanish dictionary. A 
similar institution was founded at St. Petersburg 1783, 
afterwards united to the Imperial A. At Stockholm a sim¬ 
ilar academy was established 1786; and at Pesth (for the 
cultivation of the Magyar language), 1830.—2. Archaeol¬ 
ogy. At the head of antiquarian institutions stands the 
Academie des Inscriptions , founded at Paris, 1663, by Col¬ 
bert. See Institute. For the elucidation of northern lan¬ 
guages and antiquities, an academy was founded, 1710, at 
Upsala, in Sweden; a similar institution w T as established at 
Cortona, Italy, 1727. Both have issued valuable works. 
The A. of Herculaneum w 7 as founded at Naples, 1755, by 
the Marquis of Tanucci, for the elucidation of Herculanean 
and Pompeian antiquities. Its publications, commencing in 
1775, bear the title of Anticliitd di Ercolano. An academy 
for the investigation of Tuscan antiquities was established 
at Florence 1807; and at Paris, 1805, a Celtic A. for the 
elucidation of the language, history, and antiquities of the 
Celts, especially in France. This society changed its name, 
1814, to iSociete des Antiquaires de France. — 3. History. 
The Royal A. of Portuguese History was founded at Lisbon, 
1720, by John V. At Madrid, 1730, a learned association 
was formed for the elucidation of Spanish history. It was 
constituted an academy in 1738 by Philip Y. It has pub¬ 
lished editions of Mariana, Sepulveda. Solis, and the ancient 
Castilian chronicles, some of which had never before been 
printed. A historical academy has existed for some time at 
Tubingen.— 4. Medicine. the Academia Naturae Curio 
sorum^ was established at Vienna, 1652, by the physician 
Bauschius, for the investigation of remarkable phenomena 
in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. In honor 
of Leopold I., who patronized it liberally, it took the addi¬ 
tional name of Ccesareo-Leopoldina; and since 1808 has had 
its chief seat at Bonn. Its valuable memoirs have appeared 
at irregular intervals under the title of Miscellanea , Epheme- 
rides, and Acta. The Academie de Medecine of Paris was 
founded, 1820, for the prosecution of researches into all 
matters connected with the public health, such as epidemics, 
etc. The Surgical A. of Paris (whose functions have partly 
descended to the preceding) w T as founded 1731. It was 
dissolved during the troubles of the first revolution. The 
Vienna A. of Surgery, established 1783, is, properly speak- 


ACADIA—ACALEPHiE. 

ing, a college.— Fine Akts. The academies of painting 
and sculpture of St. Petersburg (connected with the Imperial 
A.) and of Paris are institutions for the education of pupils. 
The French Academie des Beaux Arts is a branch of the In- 
stitute (q. v.). The Royal A. of Arts in London was found ed, 
17G8, for the promotion of the arts of design, painting, 
sculpture, etc. The number of academicians is 40. Con¬ 
nected with it is a school, with professors selected from 
among the academicians. The annual exhibition of the 
academy is open to all artists of merit. The Royal Scottish 
A. of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, was founded 
at Edinburgh, 1826, and received a royal charter, 1838. 
The number of academicians is 30; the general plan of the 
institution is similar to that of the London A. Similar to 
these also is the Royal Hibernian A. incorporated at Dublin 
1803. Numerous academies of the tine arts have been estab¬ 
lished in Italy—at Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Mantua, 
and Modena; also at Madrid, Vienna, and Stockholm. 

Many learned Societies differ from Academies only in 
name; such are The Royal Society of London, The British 
Association, The Washington Smithsonian Institution, etc., 
etc. See Societies. 

ACADIA, n. a-ka’di-d [F. Acadief. the original and now 
the poetic name of Nova Scotia. 

ACADIE : see Nova Scotia. 

ACALEPLLE, n. plu. dk'a-lefe [Gr. akalephe, a nettle]: 
name given by Aristotle to the Jelly-fishes or Medusidce and 
their allies, in allusion to their stinging propensities. As in 
all other Gcdenterate animals, the urticating or stinging 
properties of such forms reside in the cnidm or ‘thread- 


A B 

Medusa. 

A, under surface, showiug the mouth in the centre, surrounded by 
the tentacula, and the ovarial chambers exterior to the origins of 
these; B, side-view, showing the tentacula hanging down in their 
natural position. 

cells,’ with which the tissues of their bodies are provided. 
These cells consist each of a sac or vesicle, containing fluid 
and a thread-like filament; the cell rupturing on being 
pressed or otherwise irritated, and emitting the thread and 
fluid. The former must act mechanically as a kind of dart; 
whilst the fluid acts chemically in producing irritating effects 
by its injection into the wound made by the filament. Some 
of the forms allied to the Jelly-fishes, and included under 





ACALEPH^E. 

the old term Acalephce— such as the Physalia, or • Portu- 
guese-man-of-war-sting severely, the effects on the 
human subject persisting for days or even weeks. For 
description of jelly-fish, see Medusa. 

In recent zoology the term Acalephce is much restricted 
when used at all. Formerly, in the Cuvierian sub-king¬ 
dom Radiata, the term was used for a class, with the gen¬ 
eral name jelly-fishes, and included all animals below 
mollusks except echinoderms, polyps, and protozoans. 
The three orders, originally designated by mode of loco¬ 
motion (Pulmonigrades, Physogrades, and Ciliogrades), 
came to be known as 1 . Discophora, the medusae, or jelly¬ 
fish proper; 2. Siphonophora , such as the Porruguese-man- 
of-war; and 3. Ctenophora, such as globular forms like 
Berde, or ribbon-like, that move by means of cilia. The 



c. termination of intestine. Physalia. 


hydroids (see Hydra), previously put among polyps, 
were, in the arrangement of Agassiz, placed among aca- 
lephs, and the Siphonophora were included in the order 
Hydroidce. Since the sub-kingdom Radiata, and the class 
Acalephce have been broken up, the new sub-kingdom 
Ccelenterata includes three classes: 1 , Hydrozoa (hydroids 
and acalephs); 2. Actinozoa (sea-anemones and coral- 
polyps); 3. Ctenophora. The class Hydrozoa has three or¬ 
ders: 1. Hydroidea; 2. Discophora; 3. Siphonophora. It 
should be noted that some of the hydroids, by a process 
of budding, throw off free-swimming and bell-shaped 
forms, which are termed Gonophores (q.v.), and are bi¬ 
sexual, producing an embryo which becomes sessile and 
grows to a branching hydra-like organism, which again 
throws off gonophores. These are called medusoid, but 
differ only in details from medusae, such as ‘ naked eyes ' 
and more simple canal-system. The Discophora, or True 
Jelly-fish are ‘true’ only as the word is convenient in 
classification, having no other meaning. The order is 
divided into sub-orders: 1. Tr achy medusae, small jelly¬ 
fish having some points in common with hydroids; 2. Lu- 
cernarice , attaching themselves at will to seaweeds, and 
with eight marginal tufts; 3. Acalephce (in the restricted 
sense), of which the large jelly-fish, often cast upon our 
shores, are examples. These are produced directly from 
their own eggs, or pass through curious intermediate stages. 









ACANTHACE^E—ACANT1I0TEUTHIS. 

Thus the egg of a Medusa may he seen to give rise to a little 
rooted organism, like a little Hydra (q.v.) in form, and 
which is named the Hydra-tuba. This latter organism then 
becomes divided transversely into a number of saucer-like 
segments, and is named the Strobila (Bars); ultimately, the 
segments become detached; each swimming away as a 
young Medusa, and being known as an Ephyra. These 
animals feed on minute Crustacea, fishes, and the like ; and 
very many exhibit a phosphorescent light, or animal 
luminosity. 

ACANTHACE M : see Acantiius. 

ACANTHOCEPHALA, n. plu. d-kdn'tho-sef dl-d [Gr. 
ikantha, a thorn; keplidle , the head]: a class of parasitic 
worms, in which the head is armed with spines. 

ACANTHODES, n. plu. d-kdn'tho-dez [Gr. akantha , a 
spine]: a genus of fossil ganoid fishes having thorn-like fir- 
spines—the type of the family Acanthodid^e, ak'dn • 
thbd'i-de. 

ACANTIIOMETRINA, n. plu. d-kdn'Mm-e-iri'nd [Gr. 
akantha, a spine; metra, a womb]: a family of protozoa, 
characterized by having radiating siliceous spines; a sub¬ 
order of Radiolarians. 

ACANTHOPHCENIX, n. d-kdn'tho-fe'mks [Gr. akantha, 
a spine; pluznix, a fabulous Egyptian bird]: a genus of ele¬ 
gant palms, one species bristling with black spmes. 

ACANTHOPTERYGIAN, a. dk'dn-thbp'ier-ij'i-dn [Gr. 
akantha, a spine; pteru'gion, a winglet or fin]: a term ap¬ 
plied to fishes having the back or dorsal fin composed of 
spiny rays, as the perch, gurnard, etc. Ac anthop- 
teryg'ii, -ij'i-i, the group of bony fishes so named. 

ACANTHOPTERYGII, in Zoology: one of the two 
primary divisions of the Osseous Fishes in the system of 
Cuvier, distinguished by spinous rays in the first portion of 



Example of a Fish (Perch) belonging to the division Acanthopterygii. 

the dorsal fin or in the first dorsal, if there are two. The 
name is derived from the Greek akantha, a thorn, and 
ptnyx, a wing. The A. arc divided by Cuvier into fifteen 
families, among which are Percidce '(Perch, Bass, etc.), 
Triglidee (Gurnard, Flying-fish, etc.), and Scomber idee (Mack¬ 
erel , Tunny, etc.). 

ACANTHOTEUTHIS, n. d-kdn tho-tu'this [Gr. akantha, 
a thorn; teuthis, a cuttle-fish]: a genus of fossil cuttle¬ 
fishes. 


PLATE 3 



Acalepliae. 1, Medusa pellucens; 
2, Rhizostoma Cuvieri. 




ci.b.c. Spines of the dorsal, anal, and 

ventral fins of Acantliopterygn* 


Acacia 

Accommodatlor 



Acaridne. 1, Itch-mite (Sarcoptes 
scabieiy, 2, Cheese-mite (Acanis do- 
mesticus ); 3, Harvest-tick (Leptui 
autumnalis). 



Acaridse. Cheese-mite. 



Accommodation Ladder. 



























ACANTHUS. 

ACANTHUS, n. d-kdn'thus [Gr. akanthos ; u. acanthus , 
the acanthus]: the herb bear’s-breech; a genus of herba¬ 
ceous, prickly plants, Ord. Acanthdceee j in arch., an orna¬ 
ment resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus, or 
rather the Acanthus mollis, whose sinuated lobes are said to 
have given rise to the capital of the Corinthian pillar. 
Acanthaceous, a. dk' dn-thdshus, also Acajnaceous, a. 
dk' d-na' shus, armed with prickles. Acanthine, a. d-kdn 
thin, pertaining to or like the acanthus. 

ACANTHUS: name given by the Greeks and Romans 
to the plants sometimes called Brancursine, of which it is 
also the botanical generic name. A. mollis and A. spinosa, 
natives of the s. cf Europe, are the species best known. 
The twining habit of the plants their large white flowers. 



A. spinosus, natural. Ornamental A. Leaf. 


and, above all, the beautiful form of their dark and shining 
leaves, have led to their artistical application, especially in 
the capitals of Corinthian columns. See Orders of Archi¬ 
tecture. Roman drinking-cups have been found whose 
handles are twined with A. leaves.—The ancients made the 
A. mollis chiefly their pattern; but in Gothic ornaments 
more use is made of the smaller and less beautiful leaves of 
A. spinosa. 

The genus A. is the type of the natural order Acanthar 
cecc, which contains nearly 1,400 known species. They are 
herbaceous plants or shrubs, chiefly tropical; dicotyledonous. 
The greater part are mere weeds, but the genera Juslicia, 
Avhelandra, and Ruellia contain some of the finest hot¬ 
house flowers. The genus Thunbergia has cultivated va¬ 
rieties; they are slender climbers, growing rapidly, used 
for trailing over trellises; the flowers, abundant and large, 
are white, buff, or orange, mostly with a dark eye. Of 
our native genera, JDianthera , of the e. and s. United States, 
is called the Water-willow, from its leaves and wet situa¬ 
tions, and has two-lipped purplish flowers in long-stemmed 
auxiliary spikes; the pod obovate, fat, 4-seeded. Ruellia, 
with showy blue or purple funnel-form flowers, is repre¬ 
sented westward and southward by R. ciliosa, with the 
corolla-tube twice the length of the calyx; in R. 
strepens, but little longer than the calyx; both have a 
narrow pod. In this family the pods are usually flattened 
transversely to the partition, with the seeds on hooks; 




A CAPELLA—ACARUS. 

emnryo curved or straight; cotyledons large; radicle sub- 
cylindrical, next the hilum.—Some of the Acanthacece are 
used in their native countries as medicines. A valuable 
deep-blue dye, called Room, is obtained in Assam from a 
species of Ruellia. 

A CAPELLA, d-kd-pel'ld, or a la capella, in Music: 
means, in the church style; it is equivalent to Alla Breve 
(q.v.), a time-signature frequent in church-music. It also 
denotes that the instruments are to play in unison with the 
voices, or that one part is to be played by a number of instru¬ 
ments. 

ACAPULCO, a-kd-pdl'ko: town in Mexico, of consider¬ 
able commercial importance, having the best harbor on the 
Pacific coast of that country; lat. 16° 50' n.; long. 99° 48' w. 
So well sheltered that deeply laden vessels may lie safely at 
anchor close to the granite rocks. The town, defended by 
Fort Diego, on an eminence, has a very unhealthy site, and 
is one of the places most frequently visited by cholera, which 
proves especially fatal to new settlers. The population is 
composed of pearl-fishers, sailors, and husbandmen, Chief 
exports are cochineal, indigo, cocoa, wool, and skins; im¬ 
ports are cottons, silks, spices, and hardware. Pop. abt. 
8 , 000 . 

ACARIDiE, n. plu. d-kar'i-de, or Acar'ides, n. plu. 
-i-dez [L. acdrus; Gr. akdri , a mite]: a term applied to 
such insects as the mite, the tick, the water-mite, etc. 
Acarus, n. dk'ar-iis, or Acari, n. plu. dk'dr-i, a numer¬ 
ous genus of insects of the acarides. Acarina. n. dk'dr- 
I'nd, a division of-the Arachnida, of which the cheese-mite 
is the type. 

ACARNANIA, dk'dr-nd'm-d : country in ancient Greece, 
separated from Epirus on the n. by the Ambracian Gulf, 
now the Gulf of Arta; from JStolia on the e. by the river 
Achelous; and washed s. and w. by the Ionian Sea. With 
JEtolia it forms one of the nomes or departments of the 
modern kingdom of Greece. The w. part of A.—from the 
mouth of the Achelous or Aspropotamo to Cape Actium in 
the n.w.—is occupied by a mass of rocky and thickly- 
wooded mountains, rising abruptly from the indented coast 
and culminating in the summit of Berganti. A considerable 
part of A. is overgrown with wood—a rare feature in mod¬ 
ern Greece. There is no town of importance in the whole 
district, though naturally it is not destitute of resources. 

ACARUS, dk'ar-us: a genus of Arachnides (q.v.), of the 
order Trachearioz, the type of a tribe called Acarides, which 
corresponds with the genus Acarus as defined by Linnaeus. 
The species of the Acarides are very numerous. All of them 
are small; many microscopical. Some are familiar to us 
under the names of Mites (q.v.), Ticks (q.v.), etc. Some live 
upon the juices of plants; some in the dung of animals; many 
species are found in the vegetable and animal substances 
used for human food, especially when these have been kept 
for a considerable time, as ip cheese, flour, sugar, on the 



Acarus (Mite): 
highly magnified. 


ACARUS FOLLICULORUM. 

surface of preserves, of dried fruits, etc.; others are parasites 
upon the bodies of animals, particularly in diseased condi¬ 
tions, as in cases of itch. A minute species has been detected 
in the follicles of the human skin, and others even in the 
human brain and eyes. Some insects, particularly beetles, 
are often covered with Acarides. A species. ( Trombidium 
holosericeum) common in gardens in spring is remarkable 
for its blood-red color; and a nearly allied but much larger 

species {T. tinctorum), found in the East 
Indies, yields a hue dye. A Persian spe¬ 
cies {Argas Persicus) is poisonous, and 
causes sores. The bite of many species 
is annoying, as of the common Harvest- 
bug {Leptus autumnalis). The Acarides 
have eyes. Some of them have the mouth 
furnished with mandibles, others with a 
sucker. They are oviparous, and ex¬ 
tremely prolific. They have generally 
eight legs, but when young many of them have only six. 
A few are aquatic, and have hairy legs. 

ACARUS FOLLICULORUM : the most generally 
accepted name for a microscopic parasite residing in the 
sebaceous sacs and hair-follicles of the human skin. It 
is known also as the Demodex folliculorum, the generic 
name being derived from the Greek words demos, lard, and 
dex, a boring worm. It was first described by Dr. Simon 
of Berlin, 1842, under the title of Acarus folliculorum, 
which was suggested by the eminent zoologist, Erichsen of 
Berlin. In the following year Mr. Erasmus Wilson made 
it the subject of an elaborate memoir in the Philosophical 
Transactions, in which, as there are doubts as to its exact 
zoological position, he simply terms it the Entozoon follicu¬ 
lorum. According to Professor Owen, who gave it the 
name Demodex, it represents the lowest form of the class 
Araclmida, and makes a transition from the annelids to the 
higher arficulata. As regards the size and form of these 
animals there is much variety; they pass their whole exist¬ 
ence in the fatty matter of the sebaceous cells, moulting re¬ 
peatedly during their growth, and being finally expelled 
from the follicles with the secretions of these organs. Their 
presence has no reference, according to Mr. Wilson, to dis¬ 
ease of the skin or of the follicles. They are met with in 
almost every person, but are most numerous in those in 
whom the skin is torpid, in invalids, and in the sick. They 
vary in length from ^th to T £<jth of an inch, and the ac¬ 
companying figure represents the magnified parasite. Their 
number is various; in some persons not more than two or 
three can be found in a follicle, while in others Mr. Wilson 
has seen upwards of fifteen. The head is always directed 
inwards, and when a number are present they seem to be 
collected into a conical bundle, the larger end of the cone 
being formed by their heads. Tbe situation in which they 
are most commonly found is the skin of the face, and partic¬ 
ularly that of the nose, but they have been met with also 
in the follicles of the back, the breast, and the abdomen. 
It is not known that they are ever found on the limbs. 


ACATALECTIC—ACCELERATE. 

A reference to the figure shows that the 
jesses eight thoracic appendages (c, c) of the 
simplest and most rudimentary kind, each 
of' which is terminated by three short setae. 

The integument of the abdomen is very 
finely annulated. The mouth is suctorial or 
proboscidiform, consisting of two small spine¬ 
shaped maxillae (5), and an extensive labium 
capable of being elongated or retracted; it is 
provided on each side with a short, thick, 
maxillary palp (a, a), consisting of two joints 
with a narrow, triangular labrum above. The 
sexes are distinct, but the differences between 
the male and female are not well recognized. 

Ova are frequently seen, both in the body of 
the female and in detached discharged masses. 

Any one may readily observe the acari from 
his own skin, by collecting between two pieces 
of thin glass the expressed fatty matter from a 
nasal follicle, and moistening it with a drop of 
olive-oil. Very similar if not identical ani¬ 
mals have been found in the contents of the 
pustules of mangy dogs. 

ACATALECTIC, a. d-kat'd-lek’tlk [Gr. akatalektos , not 
defective at the end—from a, not; katalego, I cease]: not 
halting short; without defect. N. in poetry, a verse having 
the complete number of syllables. 

ACATER, n. a-kater, or Achatour, n. a-kd'tor [Norm. 
F. achatour and acater ; OF. achater, to purchase: F. achat, 
a purchase (see Cater and Cates)]: in OE., a purveyor. 
Acates, n. plu. a-katz' , provisions; dainties. 

ACATHISTUS, ak-d thls'tus: a hymn sung in the ancient 
Greek Church in honor of the Virgin. 

ACAULOUS, a. a-kaw'lus, also Acauline, a. a-kaw'lht 
[Gr. a, without; kaulos, a stalk]: in hot., applied to a plant 
without a visible stalk; stemless. Acaulescent, a. dk'- 
aw-les'ent , having no stem; acaulous. 

ACAYUCAN, a-kid-kdn: a town of Mexico, a military 
port, about 100 m. s.s.e. of Vera Cruz, having trade in 
cochineal. Pop. 6,000. 

ACC AD: ancient Babylonia (q.v.). 

ACCEDE, v. dkscd [L. accedo, I assent to, I approve— 
from ad, cedo , I go, I yield: F. acceder, to consent— lit. , to 
go to]: to agree to the proposal or request of another; to 
comply. Acceding, imp. Acceded, pp.— Syn. ol 
‘accede’: to assent; yield; acquiesce; agree; coincide; con¬ 
cur; comply; conform; consent; accord. 

ACCELERANDO, d-chdV er-dn'do (Ital.), in Music wit! 
gradually increasing velocity of movement. 

ACCELERATE, v. dk-seler-dt [L. accelerdtus, acceler 
ated—from ad . celero, I hasten; celer, swift]: to add swift 
ness to; to quicken; to hasten; to cause to move faster; to 
bring on before its time, as fruit. Accel'era ting, imp. 
Accel era ted, pp. Acceleration, n dk-sel'er d'shv/*. 


animal pos 



A carus follicu• 
lorum , mag¬ 
nified. 



ACCELERATED MOTION—ACCENT. 

the act of increasing speed or motion: the act of hastening. 
Accelerative, a. dk-sel er-dt iv, aiso Accelerators", a. 
dk-sel'er-d-teri, quickening, hastening. Accel era tor, n. 
he who or that which accelerates or hastens.— Syn. of 
‘accelerate’: to expedite; quicken; urge; instigate; hasten; 
speed; dispatch. 

ACCELERATED MOTION, in Mechanics: motion in 
which the velocity is continually increasing. When the in¬ 
crements of velocity are equal in equal times, the motion is 
said to be uniformly accelerated. The best example of such 
a motion is that of a falling body. It is found that near the 
earth’s surface, a body, descending from a state, of rest, 
falls 16 r ^ ft. in the first second. Now, a little consideration 
will show that at the end of the first second, it is moving at 
the rate of 32| ft. per second. For, since the velocity was 
nothing at first, and increased uniformly, 16^ ft. must have 
been the mean velocity, i.e., the velocity at the middle of 
the time; and therefore the velocity at the end must be 
double, or 32| ft.: 32£ ft is thus the measure of the accel¬ 
erative force of gravity. At the end of the second and third 
seconds, the velocity is found to be doubled, trebled, etc., 
or 64L 96£ ft. 

Acceleration of the Moon. It was observed first by 
Halley, that the time of the moon’s revolution round the 
earth has for several thousand years been decreasing, or her 
velocity has been increasing. This phenomenon remained 
for a considerable time inexplicable; at last, Laplace, in 
1787, discovered the cause in the varying eccentricity of the 
earth’s orbit, which has been on the decrease since about 
12,000 years b.c. Since that time the moon has been grad¬ 
ually coming nearer to the earth; and this will go on till 
36,900 after Christ, when the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit 
will begin again to increase. 

Acceleration of the Fixed Stars is the excess of a 
mean solar day over a sidereal day; i.e., a day measured 
by the transits of a star over the meridian; the excess is 
about 3' 56V' sidereal time. 

ACCENDIBLE, a dk-sen! di-bl [L. accendo, I set fire to]: 
capable of being inflamed or kindled. Accendlbility, n. 

dk'sen-di-bil'i-ti. 

ACCENT, n. ak'sZnt [F. accent —from L. accen’tus, 
accent—from ad, canto, I sing with energy]: that which is 
sung with energy; the stress or force of voice put upon a 
syllable or word; the mark indicating the same; manner of 
speaking; language or words. Accent, v. ak-sent', or 
Accentuate, v. dk-sen! tu-dt, to pronounce a word or 
syllable with a particular stress or force of voice. Accent¬ 
ing, imp. Accent'ed, pp. Accentuating, imp. Ac- 
cen'tuat'ed, pp. Accen tor, n. in music, one who leads. 
Accentual, a. dk-sen'tu-dl, relating to accent. Accentua¬ 
tion, n. dk-sen'tu-dshun, the placing accents on syllables; 
the act of pronouncing words and syllables properly. 

ACCENT, in Grammar: a special stress of voice upon 
one syllable of a word, by which it is made more prominent 
than the rest; the accented svllable is sometimes indicated 


ACCENT—ACCEPT. 

by a mark, as away ', for tify. Every word in English has 
one syllable thus brought markedly into notice. When the 
accented syllable falls near the end of a long word, there 
may be one or more secondary accents, as in rec ommend', 
subor'dina" tion. Sometimes these are so slightly marked as 
to be scarcely traceable. A. depends upon force of vocal or 
articulativc effort, not upon highness or lowness of pitch. 
Variations of pitch produce what elocutionists call inflection. 
It is the confounding of A. with a rise of tone, and the con 
trasting of it with a sinking of tone, that has produced so 
much confusion on this subject, especially as regards the 
accents of the ancients. In English, many nouns are con¬ 
verted into verbs simply by transposing the A., as ob'ject — 
object' . It is A., and not quantity, that determines English 
measures or metres in versification. No rule can be given 
as to what syllable of a word shall be accented. There 
seems to be an increasing tendency in our language to throw 
the A. towards the beginning of words. In the Finnish 
language, the A. is said to be invariably on the first syllable. 
—Emphasis is to sentences what A. is to words ; it is a stress 
upon one word of a sentence to make it prominent. If A. 
is syllabic emphasis, emphasis is logical A. 

ACCENT, in Music: analogous with A. in language; 
consists of a stress or emphasis given to certain notes or 
parts of bars in a composition, and may be divided into two 
kinds—grammatical, and rhetorical or aesthetic. The first 
kind of A. is perfectly regular in its occurrence—always 
falling on the first part of a bar. It is true that long or 
compound measures of time have, besides the chief A. in 
every bar, some subordinate accents; but these are only 
slightly marked. As a general rule, we may observe that 
the grammatical or regular A. must not be exaggerated. It 
should be marked only so far as to give a clear sense of 
rhythm. The sesthetical A. is irregular, and depends on 
taste and feeling, exactly as does the A. and emphasis used 
in oratory. In vocal music well adapted to words, the 
words serve as a guide to the right use of sesthetical accents. 

ACCEPT, v. dk-sept’ [F. accepter —from L. acceptdre, to 
receive—from ad, captus, taken—from capw, I take]: to 
take; to take what is offered; to agree or consent to; to 
acknowledge or promise to pay, as a bill. Accept'ing, 
imp. Accept'ed, pp. Accept'er, or Accept or, n. one 
who accepts. Acceptable, a. dk-sept'd-bl, pleasing or 
gratifying to a receiver; agreeable in person or by services; 
welcome. Acceptably, ad. dk-sept'd-bli, in an acceptable 
manner. Accep'tableness, n. Accep'tabil'ity, n. MV- 
%-ti, quality of being acceptable. Acceptance, n. dk-sept’- 
dns , the receiving with approval; a written promise or en¬ 
gagement to pay money at a specified date—also called a 
bill of exchange; the meaning or sense of a word as gener¬ 
ally understood. Accept'or, n. -er, the person who gives 
a written promise to pay money. Acceptation, n. dk'- 
sZp-ta'sMm [F.—L.]- reception; the meaning or sense in 
which a word or expression is generally understood. To 
accept service, in law , to agree between parties that a 


ACCEPTANCE—ACCESS. 

legal writ or process lias been formally served when such 
has not been the case.— Syn. of ‘ accept ’: to receive; take; 
admit. 

ACCEPTANCE : in contracts, an agreement to receive 
something which has been offered, and to complete the con¬ 
tract the acceptance must be absolute and past recall. A. 
may be express, as in the case where the party to be bound 
openly declares it; or implied, as where the party acts as if 
he had accepted. The offer and A. must be by some means 
understood by both parties, and this may be by language, 
symbolical, oral, or in writing: as deaf and dumb persons 
may contract either by symbolical or written language, and 
at auction sales a nod or a wink and the knocking down of 
a hammer may legally complete the contract.— Bill of Ex¬ 
change. The A. of a bill of exchange is the act by which 
the drawee or other person conveys his assent or intention to 
comply with, and be bound by, the request contained in the 
bill of exchange to pay the same; or, in other words, it is an 
engagement to pay the bill when due. The A. must be made 
by the drawee himself, or by some one authorized by him, 
and such drawee must have capacity to contract and to bind 
himself to pay the amount of the bill. A bill may either be 
accepted at the time, or before, or after it is drawn; when 
the bill is presented, the drawee must accept within twenty- 
four hours, or it should be treated as dishonored. On re¬ 
fusal to accept, even within the twenty-four hours, it should 
be protested. The A. may, however, be made after the 
time appointed for its payment. An A. may be in writing 
on the bill itself, or on another paper, or it may be verbal. 
A., also, may be express—a positive undertaking to pay ; or 
implied, where the agreement to pay is to be inferred by 
any acts of the drawee, as if he write ‘ seen,’ ‘ presented,’ 
or the day upon which it becomes due upon the bill, this, 
until otherwise explained, will constitute an A. An A. may 
be either absolute, conditional, or partial. An absolute A. 
is a positive agreement to pay the bill according to its 
tenor, and is usually made by writing upon it ‘ accepted * 
and subscribing the drawee’s name, or by either writing his 
name af, the bottom or across the bill. In order to bind an¬ 
other than the drawee, it is essential that his name should 
appear. A conditional A. is one which w r ill subject the 
drawee or acceptor to the payment of the money on a con¬ 
tingency. The holder is not bound to receive such an A.; 
but if he do receive it, he is bound by its terms. A partial 
A. is one which varies from the tenor of the bill, either in 
agreeing to pay only a part of the sum for which the bill is 
drawn, or to pay at a different time, or at a different place, 

ACCESS, n. dk-ses' or ak'ses [L. acces'sus, a coming to, 
approach from ad, cedo, I go: F. acces] : admission to; 
approach, or means of approach; an increase. Accessible, 
a. ak-sessi-hl, that may be approached; affable. Accer'- 
sibly, ad. -si-bli. Accessibil ity, n. MVi-ti, the quality 
of being accessible. Accession, n. dk-sesh'un [F.—L.]: an 
increase; an addition; an arriving at; that which is added; 
the acquisition of authority; the coming to the throne of a 


ACCESSARY—ACCIDENT. 

king. Accessional, a. ak-sesfi un-al, additional. Acces¬ 
sorial, a. dk'ses-sori-dl, relating to an accessary. Acces¬ 
sary, a. dk-se s'ser-i, also spelt -sort, -ser-i, aiding in doing 
something, or privy to it; additional. N. anything ad¬ 
ditional; one who aids or gives countenance to a crime. 
Acces SARiLY, ad. 4 41 . Acces'sarlness, n. the state of 
being accessary. Accession to the crown, the act of 
coming into the possession of sovereign power. Accessory 
before the fact, a person who conspires with another to 
commit a crime, or is privy to a crime and abets it before 
its commission, though absent from the criminal act. 
Accessory after the fact, a person who assists a 
criminal in any way, as to elude justice.—Syn. of ‘acces¬ 
sion": augmentation; increase; addition; enlargement. 

ACCESSARY, or Accessory, ak-ses'ser-i or dk'ses-ser-i: 
in criminal law, one who is not the chief actor in a felony, 
nor even present at its perpetration, but who is in some way 
concerned, either before or after the fact committed. An A. 
before the fact is one who procures or counsels another to 
commit a crime, he himself being absent. An A. after the 
fact is a person who, knowing a felony to have been com¬ 
mitted, receives, protects, or assists the felon. In sudden 
and unpremeditated offenses there can be no accessaries 
before the fact; and in all crimes under the degree of felony 
there are no accessaries at all, either before or after the fact, 
but all persons concerned therein are held to be equally 
guilty as principals. 

There are no accessaries in treason, but all are principals, 
on account of the heinousness of the crime. 

ACCESSION, in Law: ( Property ) the ownership of a 
thing, whether it be real or personal, movable or immovable, 
carries with it the right to all products of the thing, and 
to all that becomes united to it, either naturally or arti¬ 
ficially ; this is called the right of A. The doctrine of prop¬ 
erty arising from A. is grounded on the right of occupancy. 
The original owner of anything which receives an A. by 
natural or artificial means, as by the gradual addition to 
lands by deposit from rivers, the growth of vegetables, the 
pregnancy of animals, tho embroidering of cloth, or the con¬ 
version of wood or metal into vessels or utensils, is entitled 
to his right of possession to the property of it, under such, 
its state of improvement, but the owner must be able to 
prove the identity of the original materials. See Alluvion, 
in Law. (International Law.) A. in international law is the 
absolute or conditional acceptance by one or several States 
of a treaty already concluded between other sovereignties. 

ACCIACCATURA, n. dk'che-dk'd-tord [It—from acciac- 
cdta, a grace note]: in music, a grace-note, being one semi¬ 
tone below the note to which it is prefixed. 

ACCIDENT, n. dk'si-dent [F. accident- from L. accb 
dentem, slipping, happening to—from ad, to; cddo, I fall: 
accidentia, in mid. L., that which happens] : that which 
happens or befalls; chance; something taking place un¬ 
expectedly; an event not foreseen; a.quality not essential. 
Accidental, a. dk'si-dent'dl, happening by chance; casual. 


ACCIDENTAL COLORS—ACCLAIM. 

N. anything non-essential. Accidentally, ad. -li, in an 
accidental manner. Ac cidentalness, n. Accidence, n. 
ak si clens, a book containing the declensions and conjuga¬ 
tions of words, lit. as their terminations fall from or succeed 
each other—applied to Latin or Greek grammars, or to any 
grammar. By accident, by chance; accidentally.— Syn. 
of ‘accident’: contingency; casualty; incident; chance;—of 
‘accidental’: casual; incidental; contingent; fortuitous; 
occasional; unintentional. 

ACCIDENTAL COLORS : see Light. 

ACCIDENTS, in Music : occasional sharps, flats, and 
naturals placed before notes in the course of a piece. 

ACCIDENTS, in Logic: opposed to Essentials, or to 
Substance. An accident is a property of an object which 
may be modified, or even be altogether abstracted, without 
the object ceasing to be essentially what it is. But many 
of the distinctions made by the older philosophers between 
accidental and essential are fallacious. 

ACCIPITRES, n. plu. dk-sip'i-trez [L. accipiter, a hawk 
—from accipio, I seize]: in ornith ., a term applied to the 
birds of prey, as eagles, falcons, hawks, etc. Accipiter, n. 
dk-sip'i-ter, one of the birds of prey; in surg., a peculiar 
bandage placed over the nose—so named from its appear¬ 
ing as the claw of a hawk. Accipitrine, a. dkslp'i-trin, 
hawk like; rapacious. 

ACCIPITRES (plural of the Lat. accipiter, a hawk): 
name given by Linnaeus to an order of Birds, including, ac¬ 
cording to his system, the genera Vultur (Vultures), Falco 
(Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, etc ), Strix (Owls), and Lanius 



Head and Foot of Golden Eagle. 


(Shrikes), and principally distinguished by a hooked bill, 
short, strong feet, and sharp hooked claws. The name has 
not been generally adopted by subsequent ornithologists, but 
the order, as a truly natural one, has been retained under the 
names Rapaces, Raptores, etc.; the Shrikes, however, being 
generally excluded from it. 

ACCITE, v. dk-slt' [L. accitus, summoned, called—from 
ad, cro, I move, I excite]: in OE., to cite; to summon; to 
excite. Accit'ing, imp. Accit ed, pp. 

ACCLAIM, v. dk-kldm' [L. accldmo, I cry out to—from 
ad, chlmo, I cry out: F. acclamer, to proclaim]: to call out; 
to applaud. N. a shout of iov or Draise. Acclaim ing, 



ACCLIMATE—ACCLIMATIZE. 

imp. Acclaimed , pp .-kldmd'. Acclamation, n. dk'kla- 
ma'shun [F ]: applause expressed in an audible manner. 
Acclamatory, a. dk-kldm' d-ter'i , expressing joy or applause. 
—Syn. of ‘ acclamation': outcry; exclamation; vociferation; 
bawling; shouting; tumult. 

ACCLIMATE, v. ak-kll'mat , also Acclimatize, v. ak- 
kli'md-tiz [L. ac for ad; Eng. climate , which see: F. 
acclimater , to accustom to a climate]: to inure to a foreign 
climate; to accustom the body to live in a foreign country, 
to inure a plant or animal to a climate not natural to it. 
Acclimating, imp. Acclimated, pp. dk-kli'md-ted. 
Acclimation, n. ak'kli-md'shun, the act or process of be¬ 
coming habituated to a foreign climate. Acclimatizing, 
imp. dk-kli'md-tiz'mg. Acclimatized, pp ak-kli'md-tizd '. 
Acclimatization, n. dk-kli'md-ti-za shun, the act of inuring 
to a foreign climate; acclimation. Acclimature, n. dk- 
kli'md-tdr, the state of being acclimated. 

ACCLIMATIZE, or Acclimate : to accustom an animal 
or plant to a climate not natural to it. The process 
varies widely, according to the amount of difference between 
the old and the new climate. Where the difference is ex¬ 
treme, important changes take place in the constitution, and 
are often attended with certain diseases described as ‘ dis¬ 
eases of acclimatization.’ Thus, Europeans settling in 
tropical parts are liable to disease of the liver, while 
natives of tropical lands, when resident in England, are 
exposed to pulmonary disease. The power of bearing 
changes of climate is greatest in the Anglo-German race, 
and usually bears a direct ratio to the intellectuality of a 
race. Civilized people display greater ingenuity and 
strength of will than savages in accommodating themselves 
to changes of climate, by making careful corresponding 
changes in their mode of life. Ulloa and Humboldt assert 
that persons of and above middle age best stand transporta¬ 
tion to tropical climates. Among animals, we find great 
powers of adaptation to various climates in the horse, dog, 
cat, rat, etc.; and among plants, in the various cereals, in 
potatoes, and several weeds common to almost all climates; 
but there seems to be a limit to the power, at least as seen 
in the individual. To A. beyond a certain point is the 
work of some few generations. Almost all the domestic 
animals now commonly spread over Europe, and even in 
high northern latitudes, were originally natives of warm 
climates. The change produced by the acclimatizing of 
animals may be either an improvement or a deterioration ; 
of the latter, we have an instance in the Shetland ponv ; of 
the former, we see an example in the merino sheep of Spain. 
As an instance of want of the faculty of being acclimatized, 
the reindeer may serve. Removed from the cold north to 
the fertile valleys of a temperate clime, the reindeer degen¬ 
erates and dies. On the other hand, the horse, whose native 
land is the East, arrives at its highest development in Eng¬ 
land ; and the Syrian sheep, brought northwards as far as 
Spain, becomes remarkable for its fine fleece. Spain, on 
the whole, has a climate much warmer than that of Silesia 


ACCLIVITY—ACCOMMODATE. 

and Pomerania; and yet the merino sheep bred in these 
countries have become superior to their ancestors imported 
from Spain. This is a proof that art may do very much in 
modifying the influences of climate. Silk-worms, brought 
from China first into Italy, have been acclimatized not only 
in the south of France, but even on the coast of the Baltic. 
Recently, attempts have been made to A. in France the 
llama, the vicugna, and the alpaca of Peru, and with some 
success in the last instance, as alpacas have been found to 
thrive in the Pyrenees. It has been generally believed that 
plants may become gradually inured to a climate so differ¬ 
ent from that to which they have been accustomed, that if 
they had been at once transferred to it, they would have 
perished. On the other hand, it is maintained that each 
species of plant has certain limits of temperature within 
which it will succeed, and that alleged instances of acclima¬ 
tizing have been merely instances of plants formerly sup¬ 
posed to be more delicate than they really were. But as it 
is certain that different varieties of the same species are 
often more and less hardy, it would seem that in the produc¬ 
tion of new varieties by seed there is still a prospect of the 
acclimatizing, to a certain extent, of species of. which the 
existing varieties are too delicate to grow well in the open 
air. Of late years numerous Acclimatization Societies 
have been formed, the best known being the Paris Societe 
d'Acclimata tion. 

ACCLIVITY, n. ak-kliv'i-ti [L. acchv'itas, a rise, an 
ascent—from accllvus, ascending—from ad, clivus, a slope]: 
a slope upwards; rising ground; the face of a hill ingoing 
up: declivity, the face of a hill in coming down. 

ACCLOY, v. dk-kloy' [L. ac for ad; Eng. cloy , which 
see]: in OE., to stuff or till; to crowd; to fill to satiety. 
Accloy'ing, imp. Accloyed, pp. dk-kloyd'. 

ACCOLADE, n. dko-ldd' [F. accolade, an embrace, a 
kiss—from L. ad, collum, the neck— lit. , a falling on the 
- neck, or an embrace]: the ceremony of conferring knight¬ 
hood by a gentle blow of a sword on the neck or shoulder. 
The grand-master, in receiving the neophyte, embraced him 
by folding the arms round the neck {ad collum). 

ACCOLADE, in Music: the couplet uniting several 
staves, as in part-music or pianoforte-music. 

ACCOMMODATE, v. ak-kommo-ddt [L. accommoddtus, 
fitted or adapted to a thing—from ad, commddatus, adjusted 
according to a common measure—from ad, con, together, 
modus, a measure, a limit: F. accommoder, to suit— lit. , to 
fit or adapt to according to measure]: to make suitable for; 
to adjust; to adapt to; to supply; to help; to lend. Accom' 
moda ting, imp. Adj. disposed to afford accommodation; 
obliging. Accom moda ted, pp. Accommodation, n. 
ak-kom'mo-da shim, suitable convenience; adjustment, as of 
differences; agreement; what is furnished to supply a want. 
Accom moda tive, a. -dd'tiv, furnishing accommodation; 
obliging. Accom'modate'ness, n. fitness. Accom'moda- 
tor, n. one who. Accommodation bill, an instrument 
or bill of exchange, drawn and accepted entirely with the 


ACCOMPANIMENT—ACCOMPANY. 

view of raising money by its discount, and not, as in the 
case of a bond fide bill, for value received, or in payment of a 
debt. Accommodation ladder, a light ladder "hung over 
a ship’s side to facilitate descent and ascent.—S yn. of ‘ ac¬ 
commodate’: to adjust; adapt; conform; suit; aid; assist; 
serve; oblige; reconcile; arrange;—of ‘accommodating’: 
civil; polite; courteous; complaisant; considerate; obliging. 

ACCOMPANIMENT, in Music : the performing, with 
the vocal or with a solo part, of oth jr parts for harmony 
or effect : it may consist of a whole orchestra, or a single 
instrument, or even subservient vocal parts. It serves to 
elevate and beautify, and is subject to certain rules for 
composition as well as for performance. It must be sub¬ 
servient. and therefore should not predominate. In this 
point of view, modern composers have often erred by 
making the A. too full, and causing it to stand out so inde¬ 
pendent and engrossing, that the principal part is lost. 
This abuse not only destroys the effect, but also tends to 
ruin the vocal organ of the singer. In proper A., after • 
faithfully fulfilling its duty, there always remains oppor¬ 
tunity enough for display in the ritornells and symphonies. 
The Italians in their best period were celebrated for the 
simplicity and effectiveness of their A. Now they have 
entirely lost this claim. In A. the composer must keep 
three principal points in view—namely, harmony, rhythmi¬ 
cal figure, and suitable choice of instrumentation, in re¬ 
spect to number and character of tone ; but all must be 
subservient to the ruling character of the part accom¬ 
panied. Right or proper harmony may be said to be bom 
at the same time with the melody, and only requires to be 
here and there adjusted with care. Otherwise there arises 
a double character, which interrupts or destroys the melody. 
The figure of the A. should be so conformed as to supply 
expression as requisite : it may also, by a succession of 
secondary ideas, render clear and certain the individuality of 
the principal part, such as the blustering of the poltroon, the 
daring of the courageous, or the fear of the timid. The A. 
should also, by its certainty and firmness, prevent wavering. 
All qualified orchestras view A as of high importance. The 
word also means the art of playing harmony from a figured 
bass ; this, though more in use formerly, is still a necessary 
study for the A. of recitative. See Figured Bass. 

ACCOMPANY, v. ak-kum'pd-ni [OF. acompaignier, to 
associate with: F. accompagner , to accompany—from com- 
pngnie, company: L. ac for ad; mid. L. compdnium, a tent 
companion or company—from com , together with; pants, 
bread]: to go with as a companion; to attend or escort; to 
be an associate. Accom panying, imp. Accompanied, 
pp. dk-kum pan-id. Accompanier, n. dk-kum'pd ni-er. 
Accompaniment, n. dk-kum'pdn-iment, that which accom¬ 
panies or attends; something that, attends or is added byway 
of ornament or improvement; in music, the subordinate 
part or parts, generally instrumental, which perform with 
the singer for harmony or effect. Accompanist, n. dk- 
kum'pdn-ist, in music, the person who accompanies the voice 


ACCOMPLICE—ACCOUCHEUR. 

on some instrument.— Syn. of ‘ accompaniment \ concomi¬ 
tant; adjunct; companion. 

ACCOMPLICE, n. dk-kdm'pits [L. ac for ad; mid L. 
complices, associates in crimes, accomplices—from con, 
plico, I fold: F. complice, privy to]: a companion in doing 
something wrong; a confederate, usually in an ill sense.— 
Syn. of ‘accomplice’: an accessory; confederate; assistant; 
coadjutor; associate; abettor. See Approver. 

ACCOMPLISH, v. dk-kdmpllsh [F. accomplissant, ac¬ 
complishing: mid L. accdmpleo , I complete fully—from L. 
ad, compleo, I fill completely—from pled, I fill]: to fill com¬ 
pletely; to complete; to finish entirely; to bring to pass. 
Accom plishing, imp. Accom plished, pp. -plisht. Adj. 
rich in acquired qualities and manners; elegant; refined. 
Accomplishment, n. the finishing entirely; attainment; 
fulfilment; completion; polite manners or education. Ac- 
com plisher, n. one who. Accomplishable, a. dk-kdm’- 
plish-d-bl. Accom plishments, n. plu. polite acquirements. 
— Syn. of ‘accomplish’: to effect; execute; perform; 
achieve; fulfil; realize; furnish; acquit; perfect; obtain; 
complete. 

ACCOMPT, ACCOMPT ANT, old spellings of Account, 
etc., which see. 

ACCORD, v. dk-kawrd' [mid L. accorddre; F. accorder, 
to make a bargain, to agree—from L. ad, cor, the heart; 
cordis, of the heart: Sp. acordar: It. accordare\ : to make to 
agree from the heart; to make to agree or correspond; to 
grant or give; to be suitable. N. agreement; consent; 
harmony. Accord ing, imp. Adj. agreeing; granting; 
suitable. Accord ed, pp. Accorder, n. one who. 
Accordance, n. dik-kdrd'dns, agreement with a person; 
conformity. Accord'ant, a. agreeable to; corresponding 
to. Accordantly, ad. -II. Accord ingly, ad. -li, agree¬ 
ably; suitably; in conformity with. According to, prep, 
phrase. Own accord, of one’s own free will; voluntarily. 

ACCORDION, n. dik-kdr'dl-dn (from accord, to agree, 
which see): a keyed wind-instrument producing musical 
tones by the vibrations of metallic tongues, while wind is 
supplied by the action of bellows—so named from its agree¬ 
able sounds, though it is but little better than a toy. The 
concertina and the harmonium are superior instruments, 
constructed on the same principle—the action of a gust of 
air on metallic tongues. Accor'dionist, n. -bn-ist, a per¬ 
former on the accordion. 

ACCOST, v. dk-kdst' [F. accoster, to join side to side, to 
come up to—from mid L. accostdre, to adjoin, to touch at 
the side—from L. ad, costa, a side: Sp. accostar : It. accos- 
iare — lit. , to set one’s self side by side with another]: to 
speak first to; to address or salute. Accost'ing, imp. Ac- 
cost'ed, pp. Accostable, a. dk-kdst’d-bl, fit to be accosted; 
easy of access.— Syn. of ‘ accost’: to salute; address; greet; 
hail; welcome. 

ACCOUCHEUR, n. dk'koo-sher' [F.—from F. d, L. ad, 
to; F. couche, a bed: L. ac for ad, collocdre, to lie down, to 


ACCOUNT—ACCOUTRE. 

lay: OF. accoucher, to lie down in bed]: a surgeon who at- 
tends women in child-birth. Accouchement, n. ak-koosh 
mdng, lying in child-birth. Accoucheuse, n. ak!koo-shez ', 
a mid-wife. 

ACCOUNT, n. dk-kownt! [OE. accompte, to tell, to re¬ 
count—from L. ad, computdre ; F. compter, to sum up; to 
reckon—this word used to be written accompt ]: a sum 
stated; state or result of a summing up; a sum stated on a 
slate or paper; a narrative or statement; regard; profit; 
worth; consideration; advantage; explanation; a statement 
of prices; expenses, etc. V. to reckon or compute; to judge; 
to esteem; to value; to give reasons; to explain; to be lia¬ 
ble. Account ing, imp. Account ed, pp. Accounta¬ 
ble, a. dk-kownt'd-bl , liable to answer for one’s conduct. 
Account'abil'ity, n. -d-bil'i-ti, being liable to answer for 
one’s conduct. Accountably, ad. -bli. Account'able- 
ness, n. Account'ant, n. one skilled in accounts and gen¬ 
eral book-keeping; one who audits the books and prepares 
balance-sheets of public companies. Account'antship, n. 
the office of an accountant. Accountancy, n. dk-kownt' dn-si, 
the state or condition of being an accountant. To tukn to 
account, to cause to yield a good return; to produce ad¬ 
vantage. To find an account, to make it worth while. 
To open an account, to have one’s name entered in the 
books of a trader, merchant, or banker, as a customer. To 
give a good account of them, to deal with them so as to 
defeat their schemes and punish them. To make account 
of, to value; to esteem. To account of, to pay in behalf 
of. To make of no account, to consider of no impor¬ 
tance; not to take into the computation. On no account, 
for no possible reason or consideration. On account of, for 
the sake of; in behalf of; for the advantage of. Account 
current, a plain statement or bill of particulars showing 
the Dr. and Cr. side of business transactions between two 
parties during a given time. Account-days, on the Stock 
Exchange, the settling-days, in which money differences are 
arranged between brokers. Accountant-general, an 
officer of Chancery, who is appointed to receive all the 
money paid into that court.— Syn. of ‘ account, n.’: compu¬ 
tation; reckoning; recital; value; relation; detail; advan¬ 
tage; consideration; importance; narration; narrative; ex¬ 
planation; description; end; sake; a bill; record; history; 
tale; memoir; story;—of ‘accountable’: amenable; respon¬ 
sible; liable; answerable; obnoxious. 

ACCOURAGE, v. dk-kdr'dj [L. ac; Eng. courage ]: in 
OE., to animate; to encourage. Accourt, v. ak-kort' [L. 
ac; Eng. court] : in OE., to engage in earnest courtship; to 
show acts of courtesy. 

ACCOUTRE, v. dk-kd'ier [F. accoutrer, to dress or equip 
—from mid. L. custos; OF., cousteur, the vestry-keeper— lit., 
one who invests the priest with the habiliments of his office]: 
to dress or equip for military service; to arm. Accoutring, 
imp. dk-ko'tring. Accoutred, pp. dk-ko'terd. Accoutre¬ 
ments, n. plu. ak-ko ter-merits, military dress or equip¬ 
ments, as the belts for the sunport of the soldier’s arms^ his 



ACCOY—ACCUMULATE. 

pouch or pouches, and sometimes his sash; trappings, 
ornaments. 

ACCOY, v. dk-koy' [L. ac, to; and coy, which see]: in 
OE., to render coy; to make diffident; to caress. 

ACCRA, or Acra, ak'rd: capital (since 1875) of the Gold 
Coast. Pop. (1901) 14,842. See Guinea. 

ACCREDIT, v. ak-kred'it [F. accrediter , to accredit: L. 
accreditus, believed, given credit to— from L. ad, credo, I be¬ 
lieve or trust in]: to give trust to; to nrocure honor or 
credit for; to stamp with authority. Accrediting, imp. 
Accredited, pp. dk-kred'it-ed. Ad,t. authorized to appear 
as one possessing the confidence of another, or as a public 
character.—S yn. of ‘accredit’: to delegate; depute; com¬ 
mission; intrust. 

ACCRETION, n. ak-kre'shun [L. accretidnem, an increase 
—from L. ad, cresco, I grow]: a growing into; increase by 
external addition of new matter. Accretive, a. dk-kre'tiv, 
growing to by external additions. Accrescence, n. dk- 
kres'ens, increase to anything by additions, as in the growth 
of plants, as distinguished from excrescence, a protuberance 
or growth on a body. Accrescent, a. dk-kres'ent, in hot., 
growing after flowering. 

ACCRINGTON, dk'ring-ton: manufacturing town of 
England, in Lancashire, which has recently increased much 
in size and importance, lies in a deep valley, surrounded by 
hills, about 34 m. n.e. of Liverpool, and 13 m. e. of Preston, 
on the banks of the Hindburn. Christ Church is a tine 
Gothic building, erected in 1838. The inhabitants are mostly 
employed in cotton factories, weaving, and calico-printing. 
A. is considered the centre of the cotton-printing business 
There are coal-mines in the neighborhood, in which many 
of the inhabitants find employment. Pop., including Old 
A. (1881) 31,435; (1891) 38,003. — Old A. is an adjacent 
chapelry, also with cotton-manufactures. 

ACCUBATION, dk-ku-bd'slvdn: act of reclining; ap¬ 
plied specifically to the ancient custom of reclining, or 
lying extended on a couch or bench, at meals. The cus¬ 
tom prevailed among the orientals, and was adopted from 
them by the Greeks and Romans. The mode was to lie 
flat on the breast, or supported by the left elbow, the 
table being lower than the couches. 

ACCRUE, v. dk-krd [F. accrue, growth, increase of the 
land by the receding of the sea: OF. accreu ; F. accru, in¬ 
creased—from L. ad, cresco, I grow]: to increase by grow¬ 
ing to; to arise from; to proceed; to come to; to be added, 
as increase or profit. Accru ing, imp. Accrued, pp. dk- 
rod'. Accru ment, n. addition; increase. 

ACCUMBENT, a. dk-kum'bent [L. accumbens or accum- 
ben'tem, laying one’s self down upon—from ad, crambo, I lie 
down]: leaning upon; reclining at meals. Accum'bency, 
n. -si, the state of being accumbent. 

ACCUMULATE, v. dk-kumu-ldt [L. accumuiatus , 
heaped up, accumulated—from ad, cumulus, a heap. F. 
accumuler, to accumulate]: to heap or pile up; to collect or 


v 


ACCURACY—ACE. 

gather together; to increase greatly. Adj. heaped; col¬ 
lected. Accumulating, imp. Accumulated, pp. 
Accu mula tion, n. -la shun [F.— L.]: the act of heaping 
up or collecting together; the things accumulated. Ac- 
cu mula tive, a. taken as a whole or in the mass. Accu'- 
mula'tiyely, ad. -Idtlv-ll. Accumulator, n. -ter, one 
who gathers or amasses.— Syn. of ‘accumulate’: to amass; 
heap together; pile up; collect; gather; aggregate. 

ACCURACY, n. dk'ku-rd-sl [L. accurdtus, careful, exact 
—from ad , cura, care]: state of being prepared with care; 
correctness; exactness. Accurateness, n. dk'ku-rat'nes , 
freedom from error or mistake. Accurate, a. ak'ku-rdt , 
prepared with care; very exact; free from error or mistake. 
Accurately, ad. -li, exactly; without error.—S yn. of 
‘accurate’: exact; precise; correct; nice; just; punctual; 
particular; strict. 

ACCURSE, v. dk-kers [L. ae for AS. a, intensive; AS. 
corsian, to execrate by the sign of the cross]: to devote to 
utter destruction; to call down evil or misery upon. 
Accursed, pp. dk-kerst . Adj. dk-ker'sed, doomed; wicked; 
execrable. Accursedly, ad. dk-ker'sed-ll, after the manner 
of him who is accursed 

ACCUSATIVE CASE: see Declension. 

ACCUSE, v. dk-kuz' [F. accuser, to accuse—from L. ac- 
mso, I blame—from ad, causa, a cause— lit. , to bring to a 
iudiciai process]: to charge with a crime or fault; to blame. 
Accu sing, imp. Accused, pp. dk-kuzd'. xVccusation, 
n. dk'ku-zd’shun [F. accusation; L. accusdtio]: being de¬ 
clared guilty of a crime or fault; the charge brought against 
any one. Accu'ser, n. one who blames or charges some one 
with a fault or crime. Accu'sable, a. -zd-bl, chargeable 
with a crime. Accusatory, a. ak-ku'zd-ter-i, that blames; 
tending to accuse. Accusative, a. dk-ku'zd-tiv [L. accusa- 
tlvus; F. accusatif ]: the name for the case in Latin which 
is called in English the objective; censuring. Accusa¬ 
tively, ad. -tlv-li, after the manner of the accusative case. 
—Syn. of ‘accuse’: to charge; impeach; arraign; blame; 
censure; indict;—of ‘accusation’: censure; charge; crimi 
nation; impeachment. 

ACCUSTOM, v. dk-kus'tdm [L. ac, for ad; F. coutume; 
OF. coustume, and costume; mid L. costuma, custom, habit: 
F. accoutumer, to accustom]: to make familiar with by habit 
or use; to inure to. Accus toming, imp. Accus'tomed, 
pp. -tumd. Adj. frequent; usual. Accus'tomary, a. -era, 
usual; customary. Accus'tomarily, ad. -i-li, according 
to common or usual practice.— Syn. of ‘accustom’: 'o in¬ 
ure; familiarize; habituate; exercise; train. 

ACE, n. as [F. as; It. asso, a single point of cards or dice 
—from L. as, a pound or unit]: a unit; a trifle; a single 
figure or mark on a card, as ace of clubs. Within an ace, 
within a very small quantity or degree; very nearly. Note. 
— The L. as, a pound, came to signify the unit of measure, 
and thence was applied to the card or side of a dice-cube 
A hich is marked with a single point (see Bracket by Kit- 


ACELDAMA-ACETABULIFER A. 

chen): others affirm there is no connection between L. as and 
Eng. ace . 

ACELDAMA, n. d-sel'dd-md or a-kel'- [Chald. akel, a field; 
dama, blood]: a field near Jerusalem, so named because 
bought by Judas with the price of blood, and the scene of 
his violent death by his own hands; a place where much 
blood has been shed.—Acts. i. 19. 

ACEPHALA, n. plu. d-sef'd-ld [Gr. a. without; kephdle', 
the head]: applied to those mollusks that have no distinct 
head—as the oyster, the scallop, etc.; the Lamellibrancbiata. 
See Mollusca. Acephalous, a. d-sefd-lus, headless; dis¬ 
tinguished from encephalous, having a distinct head; in bot ., 
applied to the style which is lateral, and does not surmount 
the ovary. Acephalocyst, n. ds'ef-dl b slst [Gr. fcusts, a 
bladder]: a species of internal parasite consisting of an oval 
vesicle filled with fluid. 

ACER, and ACERACE.ZE: see Maple. 

ACERB, a. d-serb' [F. acerbe —from L. acer'bus, unripe, 
sour: F. acerbite; L. acerbitas, harshness, acerbity]: sour; 
bitter. Acerbity, n. d-serb'i-ti, also Acerbitude, n. 
d-serb'i-tud, sourness with bitterness; sharpness of temper 
and manners. 

ACERIC, a. d-ser'ik [L. dicer, a maple-tree]: of the maple- 
tree—as aceric acid, an acid found in its juice. 

ACEROSE, a. ds'er-bz, also Acerous, ds'er-us [L. dcus, a 
needle; deer, sharp]: in bot., linear and sharp-pointed, ap¬ 
plied to the leaves of the fir tribe. Acerose, a. [L. dcus, 
chaff]: husky, chaffy. 

ACERRA, a-cher'rd (anc. Acerrce ): town in s. Italy, in 
the province of Caserta, 9 m. n.e. of Naples, with which 
it is connected by railway. It was once fortified, but the 
walls are now crumbling into ruins. It has a cathedral and 
seminary. The country around is fertile, but extremely 
unhealthy through malaria, caused partly by the sluggish 
artificial channels called the Regj Lagni, the representatives 
of the Clanius non cequus Acerris of Virgil; and partly by the 
flax-grounds, where the stalks are left to macerate. Pop. 
15,000. 

ACERVAL, a-ser'ml [L. acer'vus, a heap]: in heaps 
Acervate, v. d-ser'mt, to heap up Acer'vatlng, imp. 
Ac'ervat'ed, pp. Acervation, n. as'er-m'shun, act of 
heaping up. Acervuli, n. plu d-ser'm-li , little heaps or 
clusters. Acervuline, a. di-ser'vu-lin, filled up in irregu¬ 
lar heaps—applied in zool. to the shells of certain Foramin- 
ifera. 

ACESCENT, a. a-ses'ent [L. aces'cens or acescen'tem, be¬ 
coming sour]: slightly sour; tending to acidity. Aces- 
cence, n. d-ses'ens, or Acescency, n. d-ses'en-sl, tendency to 
acidity. 

ACETABULIFERA, n. plu. as'e-tab'u-lif er-d [L. acetal'- 
vlum, a sucker, a vinegar-cruet; fero, I bear or carry]: those 
cuttle-fishes whose arms or tentacles are furnished with 
rows of little cups or suckers. Ac’etab'ulum, n u-lum, 
plu. Ao'etab'ula, in zool., applied to such organs as the 


ACETAL—ACETIC ACID. 

cup-like sucking-disks on the arms of the cuttle-fish; in anat,, 
the socket of the hip joint. Ac etabu'liform, a. -u'Vi- 
fawrm, cup-shaped. 

ACETAL, d-se' tal, C 2 H 4 (OC 2 H 5 ) 2 : colorless liquid, of 
an agreeable odor, and a flavor said to resemble that of the 
hazel-nut. It is one of the products of the slow oxidation 
of alcohol under the influence of finely-divided platinum, 
or of chlorine, or of dilute sulphuric acid and peroxide of 
manganese.. Its specific gravity is 0-821, and it boils aft 
221°. It yields various reactions and products of interest 
in organic chemistry. 

ACETANILIDE, n. ds-et-an'i-lid or -Id [from acetate and 
aniline], or Antifebrin: a pure white crystalline powder 
(formula C 6 H 5 . C 2 H 3 O.NH), odorless, but of slightly 
burning taste. It is obtained by the action of glacial acetic 
acid on aniline; neutral in reaction, melting at 113° C., 
and distilling at 292° C. A. reduces the bodily tempera¬ 
ture, and allays pain, but depresses the heart’s action. 

ACETARlOUlS, a. as'e-td'ri-us [L. acitum, vinegar]: ap¬ 
plied to plants used as salads. Acetary, n. as'e ter'i, the 
acid pulp of certain fruits. Acetate, n. as'e-tat, a salt of 
acetic acid; a compound of acetic acid with another element, 
as lead, which is then called ‘ acetate of lead \ Ac'etat'ed, 
a. combined with vinegar. Acetic, a. a-set'ik, of vinegar; 
sour. Acet ic acid, the pure acid of vinegar. 

ACETIC ACID, d-set'ik: the sour principle in vinegar 
is the most common of the vegetable acids. If alcohol, di¬ 
luted with water, be mixed with a ferment, such as yeast, 
and exposed to the air at. ora little above, its ordinary tem¬ 
perature, it is rapidly converted into vinegar or A. A. 
The views held by Liebig regarding the part that wood- 
shavings, sand, ash, etc., play in condensing oxygen, and 
transmitting it to the alcohol, are now supplanted by those 
of Pasteur, who maintains that the true acetifying matter 
is a very minute mycoderma—a special vegetable organized 
being. It is impossible to conceive a more simple form of 
vegetation, consisting of extremely minute spores arranged 
in chains; each spore having a mean diameter not exceed¬ 
ing -j-^ of an iuch, and the length being about twice as 
great. The rapidity of the development of these spores, 
under favorable circumstances, is almost inconceivable; 
and the power which they possess in fixing the oxygen of 
the air, and of transmitting it to the alcohol, and of estab¬ 
lishing an incomplete combustion of the latter, is no less 
wonderful. A surface of a square yard, covered with this 
plant, is able, in the course of 24 hours, to fix the oxygen 
of more than 1,000 quarts of air. The temperature of the 
surface of the fluid at which this slow combustion is pro¬ 
ceeding is considerably raised, and often remains for 
several days at 21° or 25° above that of the surrounding 
air. The process which has just been described bears a 
very close analogy to the respiratory process, the oxygen 
of the air being in one case fixed by minute vegetable cells, 
and in the other by the blood-corpuscles. The change is 
accompanied by the absorption of oxygen, one atom of 
which combines with 2 of hydrogen to form water, aide- 


ACETIFY—ACETYLENE. 

hyde being left. Further oxidation then takes ’dace; acetic 
acid being formed thus: 

Alcohol. Aldehyde. Water. Aldehyde. Acetic Acid. 

C 2 H g O + O = C 2 H 4 0 + H a O. C 2 H 4 0 + O = C 2 H 4 0 2 

From the mode in which A. A. combines with bases to form 
salts, it is evident that one atom of the hydrogen differs 
from the other atoms in being replaceable by a metal or an 
alcohol radical (as Ethyl, C 2 H 5 ), and on this account A. A. 
is called a monatomic acid, and its formula is usually rep¬ 
resented as HC 2 H 8 0 2 ; that of acetate of potash being 
KC 2 II 3 0 2 and of acetate of ethyl C 2 H 5 C 2 H 3 0 2 . A striking 
experiment may be made illustrating the mode in which 
alcohol is converted into A. A. If slightly diluted alcohol 
be dropped upon platinum-black, the oxygen condensed in 
that substance acts with great energy on the spirit, and 
A. A. is evolved in vapor. Here the whole office of the plati¬ 
num is to determine the oxygen of the air, and the hydro¬ 
gen of the alcohol to unite. In the commercial processes 
for manufacturing vinegar, some vegetable substance con¬ 
taining nitrogen (one of the albuminous principles) takes 
the place of the platinum-black, and determines the same 
change. Pure A. A. is a crystalline solid at ordinary tem¬ 
peratures. The salts of A. A., called Acetates, are numer¬ 
ous and important in t he arts. The most important is ace¬ 
tate or sugar of lead. See Lead. For the commercial 
processes of manufacturing A. A., see Vinegar. 

ACETIFY, v. a-set'i-fi [L. acttum, vinegar; fid, I am 
made]: to convert or change into acetic acid or vinegar. 
Acetifying, imp. Acetified, pp. -fid. Acetifier, 
n. fi -er, that which changes into vinegar. Acetification, 
n. a set'i fi-kd'shun, the act or operation of making sour or 
changing into vinegar. Acetone, n. as'e-lon, a colorless 
inflammable liquid of peculiar odor, obtained from the de¬ 
structive distillation of acetates, also from citric acid, starch, 
sugar, etc. Acetose, a. as'etoz, also Acetous, a. ase'tus, 
sour; sharp. Acetosity, n. ds'e-tds'i-ti, the quality of be¬ 
ing sour or sharp. Acetimeter, n. as'e-tirrie-ter [Gr. me- 
tron, a measure]: an instrument for measuring the strength 
of acetic acids. 

ACETYL, n. as'et-U [L. acetum, acid ; Gr. Jiule, matter]: 
organic radical not yet isolated, but supposed to exist in 
acetic acid and its derivatives; the rational formula for 
acetic acid being on this hypothesis (C 2 H 3 0)0H. See 
Types, Chemical. The reason for assuming the existence 
of this radical in the acetic compounds is, that the formula 
to which it leads affords the simplest explanation of the 
most important reactions of acetic acid. Thus, when acetic 
acid is treated with a metallic oxide or hydrate, the basic 
atom of hydrogen is replaced by a metal, and an acetate of 
the metal (C 2 H 3 0)0M, is produced. The term acetyl was 
formerly applied to the radical C 2 H 3 , and the anhydrous 
acid was regarded as a binoxide of this radical. 

ACETYLENE, n. as-et'il-en : hydrocarbon having the 
formula C 2 H 2 . The most brilliant of illuminating gases, 
produced by the action of water on calcium carbide. 


ACHAEAN—ACHEILLARY. 

ACHAEAN, or Aciiean, or Achaian: see Aciiaia. 

ACH^EMENIDES, ak-e-men'i-dez: ancient Persian dy¬ 
nasty. named from Achcemenes, who founded the family 
and whose name was the Greek form of the Persian Hak- 
hamanis. From being a mere family his descendants suc¬ 
ceeded in drawing together the Persians until they formed 
a kingdom, which was ruled by the A. under the suze¬ 
rainty of the Medes. This dynasty reigned in Persia until 
b.c. 330, when it was overthrown by Alexander the Great. 

ACHAIA, a-kd'ya, or Ach^ea, a-ke'ya: small Greek dist. 
in the n. of the Peloponnesus, divided into 12 little states; 
bounded e. by the Saronic Gulf, n. and w. by the Bay oi 
Corinth, and s. by Arcadia and Elis. The land, rising 
gradually from the coast to the hills of the interior, was 
famed, in ancient times, for fertility in the produce of oil, 
wine, and fruits. When the Romans divided the whole of 
Greece into Macedonia and A., the latter included all Greece 
excepting Thessaly. In the modern kingdom of Greece, A. 
forms, with Elis, a nome or department, in the extreme n.w. 
of the Morea, and its chief town is Patras (q.v.). Except¬ 
ing the w. coast, the land is fertile, and produces corn, 
wine, and oil.—The ancient Achaeans were, in a great meas¬ 
ure, separated from the other people of Greece. Their 
twelve little towns, of which iEgium was the chief, formed 
a confederacy which was dissolved in the Macedonian times, 
but was renewed b.c. 280, and subsequently extended itself, 
under the name of the Achaian League , throughout Greece, 
until b.c. 146, "when Grecian liberty fell under the power 
of Rome. 

ACHALGANJ': town of British India, in the s. part of 
the chief-commissionership of Oude, 4 m. n.e. from the 
Ganges, n. lat. 26° 25', and e. long. 80° 35'. Pop. 5,000, 
of whom 500 are Mohammedans, and the rest Hindus. 

ACHARD, a-shar' , Franz Karl: 1754-1821; b. Berlin: 
meritorious naturalist and chemist, distinguished by his im¬ 
provements in the process of preparing sugar from beet-root. 
His experiments, under the patronage of the King of Prussia, 
after years of experiment, resulted in complete success, 
through his discovery of the true method of extracting the 
sugar. In this he had the aid of Neubeck, a medical man, 
and the use of a model farm in Lower Lusitania. After¬ 
wards, A. was called to Berlin as director of the physical 
class in the Academy of Sciences. He wrote, with other 
essays, one on the European Manufacture of Sugar from 
Beet (Leip. 1809). 

ACHE, n. ak [AS. cece, an ache, a pain: Gr. achos, grief, 
pain either in body or mind: Ger. ach, alas, applied to 
grief]: a continued pain more or less severe. Y. lobe in 
continued bodily pain; to suffer grief. Ach ing, imp. N. 
same sense as ache. Adj. having a continued pain in a 
moderate degree. Ached, pp dkd. 

ACHEILLARY, a. ak -il'er-i [Gr. a, without; cheilos , a 
lip]: in hot., having the labellum undeveloped, as in an 
orchid. 


ACHELOU S—ACHIEVE. 

ACHELOUS, dk'e-lous, now called Aspropotamo, ds- 
pro-pot'd-mo (i.e., White River, from the cream-color of its 
waters): the largest river in Greece, rises in Mount Pindus, 
flows through the land of the Dolopians, divides ^Etolia 
from Acarnania, and falls into the Ionian Sea. The ex¬ 
tensive alluvial deposits at the mouth of this river have been 
observed from ancient times. It is said that the banks of 
the A. were anciently the haunt of lions. 

ACHENE, n. dk-e'ne, also Achenium, n. ak-e'ni-um: 
Achenia, plu. [Gr. acha'nes, not gaping, not opening the 
mouth—from a, not; chai'nd, I yawn or crack, as ripe fruit]: 
a term now frequently employed by botanists to designate 
a dry, hard, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit, in which the in¬ 
teguments of the seed are closely applied to it, but distinct 
from it Such are what are popularly called the seeds of 
borage, and other plants of the same natural order. They 
were termed nuts by Linnaeus. Sometimes the achenia are 
aggregated upon a common receptacle, forming what is 
called an eiaerio, as in the ranunculus, in which they are 
placed upon a dry receptacle, or in the strawberry, in which 
the receptacle is fleshy. Sometimes the aggregated achenia 
are inclosed within the fleshy tube of the calyx, as in the 
rose. The fruit of the Composite is also sometimes called 
an A.; but a different appellation {cypsela) has been given 
to it, because the tube of the calyx coheres with the fruit, 
the name A. being limited to superior fruits. Acheng- 
dium, n. dk! e-nb'di-um [the Latinized postfix, ode, signifying 
‘ fulness of ’]: a fruit composed of many achenia. 

ACHERON, ak'e-ron: name given to several rivers by 
the ancients, always with reference to some peculiarity, such 
as black or bitter waters, or mephitic gases. The A. in 
Thesprotia, which flows through the lake Acherusia, and 
pours itself into the Ionian Sea; another river of the same 
name in Elis, now called Sacuto; and several streams in 
Egypt, were supposed to have some communication with the 
infernal world. According to Pausanias, Homer borrowed 
from the river in Thesprotia the name of his infernal A., 
which lntei poets surrounded with manv imaginary horrors. 

ACHERONTIA: see DkatiTs-head-moth. 

A-CHEYAL POSITION, a-sheml when troops are 
arranged so that a river or highway passes through the 
centre and forms a perpendicular to the front, they are said 
to be drawn up in A. P. Wellington’s army at Waterloo 
was d-cheval on the road from Charleroi to Brussels. In 
cases where a river forms the perpendicular to the front, 
secure possession of a bridge is necessary; otherwise one half 
of the troops might be routed, while the remainder stood 
idly as spectators. 

ACHIEVE, v. a-chev' | F. adherer, to perfect, to complete 
—from d, to; chef, head: L. ad, caput, the head— lit., to 
bring to a head]: to finish or complete successfully; to carry 
on progressively to an end. Achieving, imp. Achieved, 
pp. a-cherd! , gained. Achieve ment, n. a shield of armori 
al bearings, particularly applied to the funeral shield, called 
a hatchment; something done by continued exertion. 


ACHiLL—ACHILLEA. 

Achiev er, n. one who. Achievable, a. a-chev'd-bl, that 
may he effected or completed. Achiev'ance, n. -dns, per¬ 
formance.—S yn. of ‘achieve’: to accomplish; effect; per¬ 
form; execute; fulfil; complete; realize; obtain;—of 
‘achievement’: exploit; feat; deed; accomplishment; per¬ 
formance; completion. 

ACHILL, ak'il, or ‘Eagle’ Isle: off the w. coast of 
Ireland; reckoned within the county of Mayo. It is 151 m. 
long by 121 m. broad, and has a very irregular coast line, 
though its general shape is almost that of a right-angled 
triangle. It has a wild and desolate appearance; most of 
the surface is boggy; of the 35,000 acres which the island 
contains, not half a thousand are cultivated. There are 
three villages in A., and a number of hovels or huts scattered 
over its barren moors, sometimes in small clusters, forming 
hamlets, but so wretched as hardly to be fit for beasts. A. 
rises towards the n. and w. coast, where the mountains attain 
an elevation of 2,000 ft. One of them, composed, like'the 
. rest of the island, wholly of mica-slate, presents, towards 
the sea, a sheer precipice from its peak to its base, a height 
of 2,203 ft. There is a mission-station in the island, an ex¬ 
ception to the general wretchedness of the houses. Pop., 
gradually decreasing from emigration and other causes, 
amounts to 6,700. 

ACHILL^EA, d-kil-lc'd: genus of plants of the natural 
order Composite (q.v.), having small flowers (heads of 
flowers) disposed in corymbs, and the receptacle covered 
with chaffy scales (small bracteae). The florets of the ray 
are female, and have a short, roundish tongue or lip; the 
florets of the disk are hermaphrodite, the tube of the corolla 
flatly compressed and two winged; the involucre is imbri¬ 
cated. The common yarrow or milfoil ( A . millefolium) 
abounds in all parts of Europe and in some parts of North 
America—into which it has perhaps been carried from 
Europe—growing in meadows, pastures, etc. It is about a 
foot in height; its leaves bipinnate, the pinnse deeply divided, 
the segments narrow and crowded. It has white or rose- 
colored flowers. The leaves have a bitterish aromatic, some¬ 
what austere taste, and little smell; the flowers have a strong 
aromatic smell, with an aromatic bitter taste, and contain an 
essential oil, a resin, bitter extractive, gum, several salts, and 
traces of sulphur. Both leaves and flowers are used in med¬ 
icine as a powerful stimulant and tonic. The leaves were 
formerly much used for healing wounds, and are still so em¬ 
ployed by the common people in the Highlands of Scotland 
and in some parts of the continent. The expressed juice is 
a popular spring medicine in Germany. Yarrow is often 
sown with grasses intended to form permanent pasture for 
sheep; and A. mosrhaia , sometimes called musk milfoil, 
is cultivated as food for cattle in Switzerland. A. moschafa, 
A. atrata, and A nana —all natives of the Alps—are very 
aromatic, and bear the name of genipi or genipp. The 
inhabitants of the Alps value them very highly, and use 
them for what is called Swiss Tea. They are very stimu¬ 
lating and tonic; as are also A. setacea and A. nobilis , both 


ACHILLES. 

natives of Switzerland and other middle parts of Europe, 
and A. ageratum, a native of the s. of Europe, used by the 
French as a vulnerary, and called Hcrbe au Charpentier .— 
Sneezewort (A. Ptarmica) is a native of Britain and other 
parts of Europe, 1 to 3 ft. high, with lanceolate leaves, and 
much larger flowers than the common milfoil. It grows in 
meadows and damp places. The root, which is aromatic, 
is used as a substitute for Pdlitory of Spain (q.v.), and the 
whole plant is pungent and provokes a flow of saliva. 

ACHILLES, a-kU'liz, the hero of Homer’s Iliad: son of 
King Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess, belonging to a line 
descended from Jove Of his life before the Trojan war, 
and of his death after the fall of Troy, the poets after Homer 
first profess to give accounts. We are told that he was 
dipped in the river Styx by his mother, and was thus made 
invulnerable, except in the heel, by which he was held 
during the process; hence ‘the heel of A.’became a pro¬ 
verbial phrase to denote any vulnerable point in a man’s 
character. It had been prophesied at his birth that his life 
would be short; and, therefore, when the seer Calchas 
announced that without A. Troy could not b« laken, his 
mother, to keep him from the dangers of the expedition, 
concealed him at the court of King Lycomedes, among 
whose daughters the boy lived disguised as a girl. But 
Ulysses discovered him by a stratagem. He offered to the 
young ladies a number of articles, some of feminine attire 
and others of arms; and the young warrior was betrayed by 
his choice. A., in the Greek campaign against Troy, ap¬ 
peared with fifty vessels manned by his followers, the Myr¬ 
midons; but remained sullen and inactive during a great 

part of the contest. When the city of 
Ly rnessus was taken, he had seized and 
carried away the beautiful Brisei's. A 
pestilence in the Greek camp being as¬ 
cribed to the anger of Apollo, whose 
priest had been robbed of his daughter, 
Chryseis, by Agamemnon, Agamemnon 
was compelled by the army to send 
Chryseis back to her father. On this, 
he took away Brisei's from A., which 
greatly offended the latter. With this 
incident the Iliad begins. Neither the 
splendid offers made by Agamemnon 
nor the disasters of the Greeks could 
afterwards move A. to take any part in 
the contest, until his friend Patroclus 
was slain by Hector. The hero then 
buckled on his armor, which had been 
made for him by Vulc;in, and of which 
the shield is described at great length 
by Homer. The fortunes of the field 
were now suddenly changed in favor 
of the Greeks; and the vengeance of A. 
was not satiated until he had slain a 
great number of the Trojan heroes, and lastly Hector, 
whose body he fastened to iris chariot, and dragged into the 



Achilles, from an 
ancient statue. 













ACHILLES’ TEN DON—ACHROMATIC. 

Grecian camp. He then buried his friend Patroclus with 
great funeral honors. King Priam, the father of Hector, 
came by night to the tent of A., and prayed that the body 
of his son might be given back to the Trojans. A. com 
sented; and with the burial of Hector the Iliad closes. We 
are told that soon after the fall of Hector, A. made a con¬ 
tract of marriage with Polyxena, the daughter of the Trojan 
king, but was slain by her brother Paris in the temple of 
Apollo, where the marriage should have been celebrated. 
According to other accounts, he was slain by Apollo, who 
assumed the likeness of Paris as a disguise. His ashes w r ere 
placed in an urn, with those of his friend Patroclus, and 
w r ere buried on the promontory of Sigeum, where, after the 
fall of Troy, the princess Polyxena, who had been made a 
prisoner, was offered as a propitiatory sacrifice. 

ACHILLES’ TENDON, n. d-kil'lez ten'don [L. Achillis 
tendo, the tendon of Achilles]: named from the vulnerable 
tendon or part in the heel of Achilles; attaches the soleus 
and gastrocnemius muscles of the calf of the leg to the heel- 
bone It is capable of resisting a force equal to a 1,000 lbs. 
weight, and yet is frequently ruptured by the contraction 
of these muscles in sudden extension of the foot. Ancient 
surgeons regarded wounds or serious bruises of the A. T. as 
fatal. 

ACHIMENES, n. dk'i ine'nez [a word of unknown mean¬ 
ing, originally given by Dr. Patrick Browne]: an elegant 
and free-flowering extensive genus of plants, of the natural 
order Gesnerdcm (q v.), tropical and sub-tropical, and fur¬ 
nished with scaly underground tubers. The species are 
numerous—natives of the warm parts of America. 

ACHLAMYDEOUS, a. dk'lam-id'e-us [Gr. a, without; 
chlamus , a loose warm cloak]: in hot. , having no floral en¬ 
velope; denoting naked flowers. Achlamyde^e, n. plu. 
ak'ldm id'e e , the class of naked flowers having only the es¬ 
sential organs and no floral envelope. 

ACHMIN: see Ekhmim. 

ACHMITE, n. dk'mit [Gr. akme, a sharp point or edge]: 
a silicate of iron and soda, found in long greenish-black 
crystals, terminating in sharp points. 

ACHOR, n d'kor [Gr. achor, a soreness of the head]: a 
species of scald-head with soft and scaly eruptions. 

ACHORES (see Achor): one of the forms of pustules— 
viz., that in which the pustules are very small, but have 
large inflamed bases. They are most common on the faces 
of children, and their secretion forms those large, thick, 
irregular scabs, resembling dried honey, which are so com¬ 
mon on children’s chins. They seem to be inflamed hair 
sacs or sebaceous follicles. Their treatment is the same as 
that for Impetigo (q.v.). 

ACHROITE, n. dlc'rd-it [Gr. a, without; chrbd, color]: 
applied to the colorless varieties of tourmaline. 

ACHROMATIC, a. dk'rb-mdt'ik [Gr .achrdmdtos, colorless 
—from a, without; chroma, color]: free from color; lenses 
are achromatic w T hen their spherical aberration is corrected, 

Vol. 1—5 


ACHROMATIC—ACID. 

and the production of prismatic colors thereby avoided. 
Achromatism, n. d-krdm' d-ilzm, also Achrom'atic'ity, n. 
- tis'i-il , state or property of being achromatic. 

ACHROMATIC (without color): name applied to lenses 
and telescopes through which objects are seen without false 
colors, or, in other words, free from that colored fringe 
which, in the old telescopes, surrounded the object, and 
diminished its distinctness. The white, or rather colorless 
ray of light is composed of several colored rays which have 
various degrees of refrangibility. See Refraction; Light; 
Color. When the direct ray is refracted, it divides itself 
into colored rays, deviating in various degrees from the right 
line of the primitive ray. The rays thus refracted by the 
convex object-glass do not meet exactly in one point, the 
focus of the glass, but rather at several points, so as to pro¬ 
duce the various colors, red, blue, and yellow, which sur¬ 
round the object. Newton, misled by imperfect experi¬ 
ments, believed it impossible to find any remedy for this 
defect; but Euler, in 1747, expressed his conviction that the 
desired A. improvement was practicable, and this belief was 
confirmed by the researches of the Swedish mathematician 
Klingcnstierna. The practical solution of the difficulty was 
reserved for John Dollond ; though, when he obtained a 
patent for his A. telescope, a priority of invention was 
claimed for a gentleman of the name of Hall. Dollond 
succeeded in forming an A. object-glass by a combination of 
crown-glass and flint-glass, which follow one law as to their 
relative refractive powers, and another as to their powers of 
dispersing the colors. By uniting a convex lens of crown- 
glass with a concave one of flint-glass, in certain relative 
dimensions, a reunion of the colored rays may be effected, 
and the object will be seen without false colors. In the 
construction of A. telescopes, Dollond was followed by his 
son Peter, and also by the optician Ramsden. A further 
improvement was made by Fraunhofer of Munich, who 
succeeded in producing perfectly pure glass—very difficult, 
with flint glass. An important improvement of the A. tele¬ 
scope is due to the Viennese optician Plossl, who has lately 
invented what he calls the dialytic telescope, in which the 
several kinds of glass composing the compound object glass 
are placed not close together, but at regulated distances 
apart. This arrangement allows a shortening of the tube. 
See Telescope. 

ACICULAR, a. d-sik'u-ler [L. dcus, a needle; acic'uld , a 
little* needle]: formed like a needle, applied to mineral 
crystals which occur in slender needle-like prisms or 
prickles. Acic'ular'ly, ad. -ler'li. Aciculite, n. d-sik'- 
d-llt, needle-ore; an ore of bismuth found embedded in 
quartz in long, thin, steel-gray crystals. Aciform, a. ds'i- 
fawrm [L. dcus, forma, shape]: needle-shaped. 

ACID, n. as id [L. acidus, sharp to the taste, sour—from 
aced, lam sharp or sour—connected with dcus, a needle]: 
something which causes sourness to the taste; in diem., a 
body which unites with bases to form salts. Adj. sour; 
sharp; biting to the taste. Acidity, n. d-sld'i-ti, also 


ACIDASPIS—ACIDS. 

Acidness, n. ds%d-ne.s, the quality of being sour. AcidiF- 
erous, a. as'jd-if er-us [L. ferd, I bear]: containing acid. 
Acidify, v. d-sid'l-fi [L. fid, I am made]: to make a body 
sour; to change into an acid. Acid'ifying, imp. Acidified, 
pp. -fid. Acidification, n. d-sid'ifi-kd' shun, the act or 
process of changing into an add. Acidifier, n. a-sld'i- 
fl'sr, that which changes something into an acid. Acidi- 
ftable, a. d-sidi-fl'd-bl, that may be converted into an acid. 
Acidimeter, n. dis'i-dim' c-ter LL. acidiis; Gr. metron, a 
measure]: an instrument used in testing the strength of acids. 
Ac'idim'etry, n. -e-iri, the process by which the free acid 
in a substance is determined. Acidic, a. d-sid'ik, in geol., 
denoting one of the two great groups into which the igneous 
rocks are divided, in which the silica ranges from 50 to 80 
per cent; the other being the basic, in which the silica is 
less, and the heavier bases, as magnesia, lime, etc., pre¬ 
dominate— Acids are chemical compounds distinguished 
by the property of possessing one or more hydrogen atoms 
replacable by metals, thus forming salts (q.v.) The most 
striking characteristics of acids are their sour taste, and 
influence on vegetable coloring matters (e.g.) turning blue 
litmus red, etc. They mostly are oxidized bodies; and at 
one time oxygen was considered essential, as the name 
oxygen (acid producer) may be thought to indicate. There 
is an important class of acids (hydrochloric, hydrodic 
acids and others) which contain no oxygen, and some are 
devoid of the sour taste or the influence on vegetable 
coloring matters. The oxygen acids by far the most 
numerous, are composed of compounds of higher oxides 
of elements (of sulphur, nitrogen, etc.), or of organic 
radicals (of ethenyl. etc.) with water. The oxidized group 
is called the anhydride (q.v., of the acid. The elements 
that form the most powerful acids with oxygen (powerful 
in displacing other acid" irom combination with metals 
and bases) are non-metallic, generally have several oxides, 
and the higher the oxide forming the acid is, the stronger 
is that acid. Generally, some of the oxides are acid-form¬ 
ing and some not. Thus sulphur has two acid-forming 
oxides, sulphurous and sulphuric anhydrides (S0 2 and 
SO 3 ), each combines with one molecule of water to form 
respectively sulphurious and sulphuric acids (H 2 S0 3 , and 
H 0 SO 4 ). Nitrogen forms five acids, of these, two form 
acids the nitrous and nitric anhydrides (N 2 0 3 , and N 2 0 5 ) 
giving nitrous and nitric acids on combination with water 
(UNO, and HNO :i ). Here an explanation may be given: 
Nitric anhydride (N 2 0 5 ) -f- water (H 2 0) give two mole¬ 
cules of nitric acid = 2 HN0 3 . The same kind of divis¬ 
ion is done in the case of nitrous acid, and this kind of 
division (viz.: H 2 N 2 Q 6 =HN0 3 ) is quite common in other 

cases. The organic acids are not necessarily restricted to 
hydrocarbon radicals; oxalic acid is based on a combina¬ 
tion of C2O3 a hypothetical radical with water (H a O) giv¬ 
ing H 2 C 2 Ch. In an organic acid nitrogen, sulphur, and 
other elements also can be present. The basicity of an 
acid depends on the number of replacable atoms of hy- 



ACIDASP1S. 

drogen which it contains. This in the case of oxygen 
acids depends on the number of hydrogen atoms that enter 
into its molecule in the water molecules; in the case of 
organic acids on the number of atoms of hydrogen com¬ 
bined directly with the oxygen and only indirectly with 
a carbon atom, through the oxygen atom only. Thus in 
organic acids the hypothetical radical oxatyl (COOH) is 
found. The basicity of the acid depends on how many 
times this group enters. In oxalic aoid it enters twice 

| COOH [ ’ th ere f° re oxalic acid is bibasic or has two 

atoms of replacable hydrogen. Lactic acid has only one 

( CH 2 OH ) 

group of oxatyl - CH 2 [ ; therefore it is mono-basic. 
I COOII ) 

A third class of acids may be termed hydrogen or heloid 
acids as they contain no water. They are such as hydro¬ 
chloric acid, HC1; hydrocyanic IICN, and a few others. 
Though comparatively few they are of the greatest im¬ 
portance in the arts. The oxygen acids can be brought 
into analogy with the hydrogen acids. Thus oil of vit¬ 
riol or sulphuric acid, instead of being considered a com¬ 
bination of the saturated molecules sulphuric anhydride 
and water (S0 3 -j- H 2 0 = II 2 S0 4 ), can be considered a 
combination of the unsaturated monad molecule sulplii- 
on (S0 4 ) and hydrogen (S0 4 -f- H 2 = H 2 S0 4 ). Here the 
unsaturated radical sulphion plays the same part that 
the atom of chlorine plays in hydrochloric acid (Cl-{-H — 
HC1). Hence has arisen the general definition of acids 
as “salts of hydrogen.” Frankland has given a good 
definition of an acid “ as a compound containing one or 
more atoms of hydrogen, which becomes displaced by a 
metal when the latter is presented to the compound in the 
form of a hydrate.” Sulphuric acid and sodium hydrate 
combine forming sodium sulphate and set water free. H 2 
S0 4 -{- 2N a OH = N a2 S0 4 -f- 2H 2 0. This includes weak 
acids that would not dissolve the metals with whose hy¬ 
drates they would combine. But there are many acids 
that would not be included even in this definition. Other 
acids are based on oxygen acids with the admission of or¬ 
ganic radicals or replacement of oxygen by sulphur and 
other elements replaced. The most characteristic inor¬ 
ganic acids (hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric, sulphuric) 
are used in medicine in a very dilute condition as tonics 
and astringents, and to allay thirst in fevers. They cor¬ 
rode the teeth, however, and if long administered tend to 
disorder digestion; so they must be used with caution. 
Most of the group have special, some (as hydrocyanic, 
oxalic) extremely poisonous actions. The stronger acids, 
when concentrated, are powerful caustics.—See Chem¬ 
istry. 

ACIDASPIS, n. as'l-dds'pts [Gr. aMs, a spear-point; 
aspis, a buckler]: certain fossil crustaceans, so called from 
the central lobe of the head-plate projecting over the body 
in the form of a pointed stomacher. 


ACIDULATE—ACKNOWLEDGE. 

ACIDULATE, v. d-sid'u-ldt [L. acid'ulus, a little sour— 
from acldus, sour): to make slightly sour; to make moder¬ 
ately acid. Acid ula ting, imp. Acidulated, pp. 
Acid ulous, a. -u-lus, slightly sour. Acidul^e, n. plu. 
d-sld'u-le, mineral springs rich in carbonic acid. 

ACINACEOUS, a. ds'i-na'shus [L. acinus, a stone or 
seed in a berry]: full of kernels. Acinose, a. ds'i-noz, also 
Ac inous, a. -nus, applied to mineral textures and surfaces 
which have a granulated appearance like the raspberry; 
consisting of minute granular concretions. 

ACINACIFORM, a. ds'in-ds'i-fawrm [L. acindces ; Gr. 
akindkds, a straight sword or sabre; forma, shape]: in hot., 
shaped like a Turkish sword or scimitar. 

ACINUS, n. ds'i-nus, Acini, n. plu. ds'i-ni [L. acinus , a 
berry, or seed of a berry]: the smallest subdivision, or 
ultimate secreting lobule, of a gland. 

ACIPENSERIDyE, n. plu. ds'ip-en-ser'i-de [L. aclpen'- 
ser, the. sturgeon]: the sturgeon family—a limited group 
of ganoid fishes; the existing species are chiefly of large 
size. 

ACI REALE, a! die rd-d'ld: town of Sicily, in the district 
of Catania; at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast, where 
the small river Aci, flowing from Etna, enters the sea. The 
town is built of lava, is defended by a fortress. Pop. over 
87,000, employed chiefly in the •manufacture of linen and 
silk ; it also has considerable trade in flax and grain. Many 
of the edifices are very handsome. A. R is famed for its 
mineral waters, and for the cave of Polyphemus and the 
grotto of Galatea in its vicinity. 

ACIS, a sis: personage in Roman mythology; said to 
have been son of Faunus, who was grandson of Saturn, 
and to have fallen a victim to the jealousy of Polyphemus. 
The legend was that A. was beloved by the nymph Ga¬ 
latea, and Polyphemus caused his death by crushing him 
beneath a rock, whereupon Galatea changed his blood into 
the river Acis. 

ACKNOW, v. dk-no' [see Acknowledge]: in OE., to 
acknowledge; to confess; to recognize. Acknow'ing, 
imp. Acknowen, pp. dk-non , 

ACKNOW, v. dk-no' [see succeeding entry]: in OE., to 
acknowledge; to confess; to recognize. Acknow'ing, imp. 
Acknowen, pp. uk-non 

ACKNOWLEDGE, v. dk-nol'ej [L. ad, to; and OE. 
knowlechen, to acknowledge—corrupted from OE. aknow ; 
AS. oncnawan, to know, to perceive—from AS. a for on, 
cnawan ; Icel. knd ; L. gnosco, I know; andlcel. leik, like]: 
to own the knowledge of; to own; to confess; to admit to 
be true; to assent to. Acknowl edging, imp. Acknowl¬ 
edged, pp. dk-nol'ejd. Acknowledgment, n. dk-ndl'ej- 
ment, the owning to be true; confession; the expression of 
thanks for a benefit received; a receipt. Acknowl edger, 
n. one who.—S yn. of ‘acknowledge’: to own; confess; 
avow ; recognize ; proclaim ; admit; concede ; allow;—of 
4 acknowledgment ’ : admission ; confession ; recognition ; 
avowal. 


ACL A STIC—ACNE. 

ACLASTIC, a. a -kids'tlk [Gr. a, without; and kids’tos, 
breaking]: in nat.-philos., not refracting. 

ACLINIC, a. d-klin’ik [Gr.&, without; kli'no, I incline]: 
without inclining. Aclinic Line, the magnetic equator; 
an irregular imaginary line connecting all points where 
the magnetic needle remains horizontal, i.e. with the ‘dip’, 
such as it has increasingly when carried toward the mag¬ 
netic poles of the earth. The line does not coincide with 
the geographical equator, but crosses it in the central Pa¬ 
cific ocean, touching S. America about on the s. line of 
Ecuador, continuing s. to the region of Bahia, crossing 
the Atlantic to the Gulf of Guinea, then to Abyssinia, the 
s. extremity of Hindustan, and so on. 

ACME, n. dk'me [Gr. akme , the point]: the highest point; 
the top; maturity or perfection; the height or crisis of any 
condition or state. 

ACNE, n. dk‘ ne [Gr. contr. from akmai, pimples on the 
face]: a skin disease; an erruption of small hard pimples, 
chiefly on the face, forehead, back, and shoulders. It is 
-classed by some dermatologists with Pustulae; by others 
with Tubercula , which includes hard elevations of the 
skin larger than Papulae. The sebaceous follicles of the 
skin (q.v.) are the primary seat of the affection. Their 
natural secretion accumulates in their interior, and there is, 
at the same time, a tendency to inflammation of the follicle 
and surrounding tissue. It is not rare to find on the face and 
shoulders of young persons about or above the age of 
puberty a number of black spots, each of which is placed on 
a slightly raised pale base. These black points are called 
comedones. Pressure at the base occasions the expulsion of 
a little, elongated, spiral, white mass, with a black point or 
anterior end, commonly but erroneously regarded as a worm. 
In the midst of the white mass of sebaceous matter, a para¬ 
site, Acarus folliculorum (q. v.) is, however, often found. 
Interspersed are other spots, with the base more raised and 
inflamed, which become more or less perfect pustules, each 
of which rests on a comparatively large red base. In some 
of the inflamed follicles, coagulated lymph (to use the old 
phraseology) is thrown out, and a small hardened mass is 
the result. According as one or other of these appearances 
preponderates, we have different varieties of this disease. 
When the pustule is the most striking feature, the affection 
is called Acne simplex or vulgaris; when the black points 
abound, it is Acne punctata; and when there is decided in¬ 
duration, it is Acne indurata. This affection is never seen 
in children, and is rare in aged persons. 

As long as there is no inflammation, the treatment simply 
aims at favoring the escape of the contents of the sebaceous 
follicles, by rubbing the face and other affected parts with 
cold cream at bedtime, washing on the next morning with 
soap and water, and gentle subsequent friction with a soft 
towel. When acute inflammation is present, and the pus¬ 
tules are very tender, there is no better application than 
tepid water, with or without a little gelatine in solution; 
and subsequently the ointment of the hypochlorite of sulphur 
has been found useful by Wilson and others. Acne indurata, 


A-COCKBILL—ACONITE 


is the least tractable of the three forms. In all these 
cases the digestive organs must have careful attention. 

Acne Rosacea , regarded by some writers as a special dis¬ 
ease, to which they assign the name Rosacea (q.v.), is prop 
erly hyperaemia of the face accompanied by acne. 

A COCKBILL, adv. or a. a-kok'-bil: having the ends 
pointiing upward; applied to the yards or the anchor of a 
vessel. 

ACOLYTE, n. dk'o-lit, also Acolyth, n. dk’o-lita [mid. 
L. acoly'thus, a follower—from Gr. akdlouthed, I follow as 
a servant]: in the R. Cath Cli., one whose duty it is to as¬ 
sist in the performance of religious rites, lighting the 
candles, attending on the officiating priest, presenting the 
wine and water at the communion, etc. The name occurs 
first about the 8 d c. Acolytes were considered as in holy 
orders, and ranked next to sub-deacons. These services 
have, since the 7th c., been performed by laymen and 
boys, improperly called acolytes; but in the Roman Church 
aspirants to the priesthood are still at one stage conse¬ 
crated as acolytes. See Orders, Holy. A., in astronomy, 
is an attending or companion star. 

ACONCAGUA, d-kon-ka gwd: an extinct volcano, the 
highest peak of the Andes q.v.), bight22,422ft.; about 150 
in. e.n.e. of Valparaiso, on the frontier of Chili and the 
Argentine Republic. It is about 1,000 ft. higher than 
Chimborazo. 


ACONITE (Acouitum): a genus of plants of the natural 
order Ranunculacece (q.v.), having five petaloid sepals, of 
which the upper one is helmet-shaped, and two hammer¬ 
headed petals concealed within the helmet-shaped sepal. 
The fruit consists of 3-5 follicles. A. Napellus, the com¬ 
mon wolf’s bane or monk’s-hood, often cultivated_ in 
flower-gardens for its erect racemes of blue flowers, is a 
native of Europe, Asia, 
and the Rocky Mt. re¬ 
gion. Two other species 
occur in the Alleghan- 
ies. A. Napellus , root 
and all, is poisonous, 
containing an alkaloid, 
called Aconita or Acon¬ 
itine, one of the most 
virulent of all known 
poisons; but an extract 
of the leaves is a valu¬ 
able medicine, admin¬ 
istered in small doses 
for nervous and other 
diseases. An A., some¬ 
times called A. Stoer 
ckianum, but generally 
regarded as a variety of 
A Cammarum (also 
known as A. panicula- 
tum) was brought into 
great repute on the Continent during the last century by 



Monk’s-hood (Aconitum Napellus )? 
a , fruit; b, root. 



ACONITE—ACORUS. 

Dr. Stoerck, an Austrian imperial physician, and is still 
much cultivated for medicinal use. The same properties seem 
in greater or less degree to belong to a number, if not to all, 
of the species of this genus, and they contain the same al¬ 
kaloid. The virulent bikh poison of India, equally fatal in 
its effects whether introduced into wounds or taken into the . 
stomach, is prepared from the roots of several species. The 
A. ferox of Nepaul, from which much of it is obtained, has 
been identified by Drs. Hooker and Thomson with A. Na- 
peilus. Two other Himalayan species, A. palmatum and 
A. luridum, are equally employed in its preparation. A. 
album,or white-flowered monk’s-hood, a native of the Levant, 
and A. lycoctonum, yellow-flowered monk’s-hood, or wolfs¬ 
bane, a native of the Alps, are frequent in flower-gardens. 

ACONITE, n. dk'd-nit, also Aconitum, n. ak'6-ni'tum 
[L. aconitum: Gr. akonitbn ]: the herb wolf’s-bane, or 
monk’s-hood; the Aconitum napellus, Ord. Ranunculdcece ; 
a deadly poison extracted from it. Aconitin, n. d-kdn'i- 
tin, or Aconita, dk-o-nlsh'ia (C30H47NO7), the alkaloid of 
Aconitum Napellus, a strong narcotic poison, used for 
neuralgia; Aconitic a. dk'dn It Ik , of or pertaining to A. 

ACONTIA, n. plu. d-kbn'shi-d [Gr. akbnfion, a small 
dart, a javelin]: long filaments with thread-cells, attached 
to the free edges of the mesenteries of sea anemones. 

ACORN, n. d'kaiorn [AS. cecern; Icel. akarn; Dut. 
aker, an acorn—from Icel. akr, a field: Goth, akran, fruit— 
from akr8, a field]: fruit of the field or wild country; the 
fruit of the oak-tree, formerly used as human food. 
Note.—Acorn is related etymologically neither to oak nor to 
corn, though the original postfix ern has been changed 
into orn from the mistaken notion that cecern meant an 
oak-corn (see Skeat). 

ACORN-SHELL: sccBalanus. 

ACORUS, n. ak'd-rus [L. acorus -—from Gr. akiorori ]: a 
genus of plants of the natural order Aroidece (see Akum); 
or, according to other botanists, of the natural order Oronti- 
aceoe, regarded as a connecting-link between Aroidece and 
Juncece. The plants of this genus have a leaf-like scape, 
which bears upon its side a dense, cylindrical, greenish 
spike of flowers, with 6-partite herbaceous perianth and six 
stamina in each flower. To this genus belongs the sweet 
flag (A. calamus), which was long ago brought from Asia, 
and in the 15th c. was planted in the gardens of princes and 
rich men, but has now become naturalized in England, 
Germany, and America, growing in marshes and ditches. 
Its root (rhizome) is perennial, divided into long joints about 
the thickness of the thumb, has a bitterish acrid taste, and 
is very aromatic. It is a powerful medicine of transient 
tonic effect, occasionally used, especially in cases of weak 
digestion. It is cut into slices and prepared with sugar as 
confectionery: it is also used to correct the empyreumatic 
odor of spirits, and to give them a peculiar flavor. It is 
called Calamus Root by perfumers in the manufacture of 
hair-powder.—The other species of A. are likewise aromatic, 


PLATE 


4 


Acorn »shel> 
Addax 



a, Pelagic larva of Acorn-shell 6, External shell of adult; c, Vertical 
section of adult. (From Darwin’s Monograph;. 



Acuminate Leaf. 


a. 




Acotyledones. 1, Spores of ohenS, 
germinating; 2, Spores of hor-se-tails 
lEquisetacea ?), germinating; 3, Spores 
of mosses, germinating. 


































ACOStA—ACOUSTICS. 

and applied to the same uses. A. gramineus is cultivated in 
China. 

ACOSTA, a kds'td, Gabriel d’: 1587-1640 (or 47); h. 
Oporto: a Portuguese nobleman, descended from a Jewish 
family. After being educated in the doctrines of the Ro¬ 
man Catholic Church, he became skeptical, and leaving 
Portugal, went to Amsterdam, where he adopted the Jewish 
faith, changing his name Gabriel to Uriel. He did not. re¬ 
main long contented with his new creed; but wrote against 
the Pentateuch, disputed the doctrine of the soul’s immor¬ 
tality, and became involved in controversy with his rabbini¬ 
cal teachers On account of his work, entitled Examen de 
Tradigoens Pharisecis conferidas con d ley Escripta (Examina¬ 
tion of Pharisaic Traditions compared with the Scriptures), 
1624, he was charged with atheism by the Jews before a 
Christian magistracy. Having lost his property, and being 
sentenced to a seven years’ excommunication, he sought 
reconciliation with the synagogue, and submitted to very 
ignomiD us chastisements, repeatedly inflicted as often 
as his eligious doubts arose again; until, in a state of 
insanity, he ended his career by suicide, though of this there 
may be some doubt. His autobiography was published in 
Latin and German (Leip. 1847). 

ACOTYLEDON, n. d-kbt'i-le'ddn [Gr. a , without; koto- 
leddn, a seed-lobe]: in hot., a plant whose embryos or germs 
have no seed-lobes. Acotyledonous, a. a-kfd'i-le'do-nus, 
having no seed-lobes. 

ACOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS (Acotyledones of Jussieu): 
one of the great primary classes into which the vegetable 
kingdom is divided, according to the structure of the seed 
and whole development therewith connected. See Cotyle- 
don. The class of Acotyledones contains those plants which, 
in the Linnsean system, form the class Cryptogamia (q.v.). 
It consists partly of Acrogenous Plants (q.v.), as Ferns and 
Mosses, and partly of Thallogenous Plants ( q.v.), as Lichens, 
Fungi, and Algae. It thus includes the vegetable tribes 
of lowest organization, wLose embryo exhibits no distinct 
seed-lobes (cotyledons), but is a mere cell or spore , with 
granular matter in its interior, and germinates indifferently 
from any point of its surface. 

ACOUSTICS, n. plu. d-kow'stiks [Gr. akous'tds, that may 
be heard—from akoud, I hear]: the science that treats of the 
cause, nature, and phenomena of sounds; remedies for 
deafness. Acou stic, a. -stik, also Acou'stical, a. -stikdl, 
relating to hearing or sound. 

ACOUSTICS: the science of sound; more commonly, 
a special practical branch of the science of sound w T hich 
deals with the construction of public halls and auditor¬ 
iums so as to secure the accurate hearing of speech or 
music. Taken in this sense, A. is in a very backward state. 
In general it is easy to point out the acoustical defects of 
a complete building ; but it is quite another matter to design 
a building which shall certainly be free from such defects. 
One reason for this is obviously the lack of data on wdiich 
to reason, due to the enormous cost which would be in- 


ACQUAINT—ACQUIESCE. 

volved in a thorough experimental treatment of the sub¬ 
ject. The consequence is that when by chance one suc¬ 
cessful attempt lias been made, architects prefer to copy 
it rather than attempt some new form, which might 
propably entail failure Even this expedient does not 
always succeed: some unavoidable though slight varia¬ 
tion in dimensions or materials may change tlie effect. 
One of the phenomena in A. has a curious illustration in 
the whispering gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. 

The improvement of the acoustic properties of a build¬ 
ing must be determined by the ascertained defects, so that 
no general rules could be laid down. One great point is 
the prevention of echoes, unless these reach the ear almost 
at the same moment with the original sound. This can 
be effected in many cases by lowering the ceiling so as to 
expedite the echo; also by hanging carpets or heavy ta¬ 
pestry on the walls, and especially in the corners of the 
building. These have the effect of abolishing it. At¬ 
tempts are often made to secure the same res' ts by 
stretching wires across in various directions. Su * de¬ 
vices find no support in any known scientific princip.es as 
to the mode in which sound is propagated. For the 
science of A. in tne larger sense, see Sound. See also 
Ear: Echo. 

ACQUAINT, v. dk-kwdnt' [mid. L. accognitdre, and 
adcognltdre ; F. accointer; OF. acointer, to make known 
—from L. ad, cognitus, known]: to make known to; to in¬ 
form; to give notice of; to make familiar with. Acquaint- 
ing, imp. Acquaint ed, pp. Adj. familiar; well known. 
Acquaintance, n. dk-kwdnt' dns, familiar knowledge; a 
person merely known, or familiar to. Acquaint'ance- 
ship, n. state of being acquainted; knowledge of, either 
intimate or but a little.— Syn. of ‘acquaint’: to inform; 
apprise; instruct; teach; advise; disclose; communicate; 
make known;—of ‘acquaintance’: familiarity; intimacy; 
knowledge; fellowship. 

ACQUAVIVA, d'kwd-vem: town of s. Italy, in the 
province of Bari, 16 m. s of the town of Bari, in a healthy 
situation at the foot of the Apennines. It is surrounded 
with walls and ditches, has a handsome parish church, 
several convents, two hospitals, etc. Pop. 7,600. 

ACQUESTS, n. plu. dk-kwests' [F. acquet; OF. acquest, 
acquisition—from mid. L. a'cqucesltus ]: in law, property 
acquired by purchase or otherwise, but not by inheritance. 

ACQUI, dk'kwl (Lat. Aquas Statiellce ): walled town of n. 
Italy, on the left bank of the Bormida, 18 m. from Alessan¬ 
dria. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs, 
known to the Romans, and now much frequented by invalids. 
The town is of great antiquity, and contains many remark¬ 
able ecclesiastical buildings. Pop. 7,400. 

ACQUIESCE, v. dk'kwi-es' [L. acquiescere, to cease from 
activity—from ad, quiesco, I am quiet: F. acquiescer, to 
acquiesce: It. acquiescere — lit., to become physically quiet]: 
to agree in; to rest satisfied with; to assent quietly. Ac'- 
quies'cing, imp. Acquiesced, pp. dk'kwiest Ac'quies- 


ACQUIRE—ACRE. 

cence, n. -es'sens [F.]: agreement in; satisfaction with, 
also Ac'quies'cency, n. -sen-si. Ac quies cent, a. -ent, 
easy; submitting; resting apparently satisfied with. To 
acquiesce, to comply with, or submit to without opposition. 
—Syn. of ‘ acquiesce ’: to rest; repose; yield; accede; assent; 
consent; agree; coincide; conform; submit; comply; concur; 
accord. 

ACQUIRE, y. dk-kwir' [L. acquirere , to procure in addi* 
tion—from ad, qucero, I seek; F. acquerir to acquire]: to 
gain; to gain possession of something as cue’s own, as money 
or knowledge; to earn or attain. Acquir ing, imp. Ac¬ 
quired, pp. dk-kwlrd'. Ad j. gained; not natural. Acquire¬ 
ment, n. something gained by study—as grammar, arith¬ 
metic, etc. Acquirable, a. -d-bl,. capable of being 
acquired.—S yn. of ‘acquire’: to obtain; gain; win, earn; 
attain; procure; secure; get. 

ACQUISITION, n. dk'kwi-zish'un [F. acquisition , an ac¬ 
quisition— from L. acquisitionem — from ad, quasitus, 
sought]: the act of acquiring; the thing acquired, as a good 
name; something gained, as property; attainment in knowl¬ 
edge. Acquisitive, a. dk-kwizi-tiv , acquired or gained. 
Acquisitively, ad. -tiv-li. Acquisitiveness, n. dk-kwis'i - 
tiv-nes, in phren., the faculty of the mind for gaining oz 
possessing. 

ACQUIT, v. dk-kwit' [F. acquitter, to set free, to clear— 
from mid. L. acquietdre —from L. ad, quietus, kept quiet— 
lit., to set at rest]: to clear from blame or guilt; to discharge. 
Acquit ting, imp. Acquit ted, pp. Acquit tal, n. a 
setting free; the being found not guilty. Acquit tance, 
n. -tans, a release from a debt; the writing or receipt to 
show this.— Syn. of ‘acquit’: to absolve; exonerate; clear; 
exculpate, forgive; pardon. 

ACRE, a section of territory the ownership of which was 
long held in dispute by Brazil and Bolivia, but wdiichwas 
ceded to Brazil in February, 1903, after that country had 
presented an ultimatum for its possession. Acre is known 
for its large rubber industry, wdiich greatly figured in 
bringing the controversy to an issue. 

ACRE: a measured portion of land: the German acker 
means both ‘a field’ and a ‘measure of land.’ Most 
nations have some measure nearly corresponding; originally, 
perhaps, the quantity v r liich one plow could plow in a day; 
uniformity, therefore, is not to be looked for. 

The A in the United States is the English statute A., con¬ 
sisting of 4,840 sq. yards. The chain v r ith which land is 
measured is 22 yds. long, and a sq. chain will contain 22 X 22, 
or 484 yds.; so that 10 sq. chains make an acre. The A. is 
divided into 4 roods, a rood into 40 perches, and a perch 
contains 30f sq. yds. The Scotch A. is larger than the 
English, and the Irish than the Scotch. 121 Ir. ac. = 196 
Eng. nearly; 48 Sc. ac = 61 Eng. The following table 
shows the values of the more important corresponding meas¬ 
ures compared with the English A. or the A in the United 
States. The German morgen below are becoming obsolete, 


ACRE—ACRIMONIOUS. 

as the German Empire has adopted the French metrical 
system. 


English acre. 

United States acre. . 

Scotch acre. 

Irish acre. 

Austria, Joch. 

Baden, Morgen or Acre.... 
Belgium, Hectare (French) 
Denmark, Toende. 


TT'nnr.p i Hectare (= 100 ares). 
e | Arpent (common) ... 

Hamburg, Moi'gen.. 

Hanover, “ . 

Holland. “ . 

Naples, Moggia. 

Poland, Morgen. 

Portugal, Geira.. 

Prn _ •_ j Little Morgen.. 

Russia i Grea t Morgen. 

Russia, Deciatina. 

Sardinia, Giornate. 

Saxony, Morgen.. 

Spain, Fanegada. 

Sweden, Tunneland . 

Switzerland, Faux... 

“ Geneva, Arpent.. 

Tuscany, Saccata. 

Wurtemberg, Morgen . 

Roman Jugerum (ancient). 

Greek Plethron (ancient). 


1.00 

1.00 

1.27 

1.62 

1.42 
0.89 
2.47 
5.5 
2.47 
0.99 

2.38 
0.64 
2.10 
0.83 

1.38 

1.43 
0.63 

1.40 
2.70 
0.93 
1.36 
1.06 
1.13 
1.62 
1.27 
1.22 

2.40 
0.66 
0.23 


ACRE, St. Jean d’, {sang zhong dd'ker), or ACCA: the 
Biblical Accho , known as Ptolemais in the middle ages; sea¬ 
port on the coast of Syria, not far from the base of Mount 
Carmel. The harbor is partly choked with sand, yet is one 
of the best on this coast. A. has often been the arena of 
warfare, and has suffered many changes of fortune. In 
1004, it was taken by the Genoese; in 1187, by the Sultan 
Saladin; afterward it became the chief landing-place of the 
Crusaders, the seat of a bishop and of the Order of St. John; 
nnxt, it fell into the hands of the Egyptians; and in 1517 
was captured by the Turks; in 1799, it was besieged by the 
French for sixty one days, but was successfully defended by 
the garrison, aided by a body of English sailors and marines 
under Sydney Smith. In 1832. it was stormed by Ibrahim 
Pacha, son of the viceroy of Egypt, and continued in his 
possession till it was bombarded and taken, in 1840, by a. 
combined English, Austrian, and Turkish fleet. Pop. 10- 
15,000. See Egypt. 

ACRI, d'krl: town of s. Italy, in the province of 
Cosenza, 13 m. n.e. of the town of Cosenza, in a beautiful 
and healthy situation, with a fertile country around. Pop. 
4,500. 

ACRID, a dk'rid [L. deer, or dcrem, sharp]: hot and 
bitter; of a sharp or biting taste; corrosive. Ac'ridness, 
n., or Acridity, n. dk-rld'i-ti, sharpness; bitterness. 

ACRIMONIOUS, a. ak!ri-mo ni-us [L. acrimonid . sour¬ 
ness—from acer, sharp]: sharp; severe; sarcastic—applied 
to manner of speaking. Ac'rimo'niousness, n. -nl-us-nes, 
the state or quality of being acrimonious; asperity. Ac'- 
rimo niously, ad. -II. Acrimony, n . dk'ri-mbn-i, sharpness 































ACRITA— ACROGEN. 

or bitterness in speaking. Acritude, n. dk'rl-tud, bitter¬ 
ness.— Syn. of ‘ acrimony’; asperity; animosity; tartness; 
harshness; severity; bitterness. 

ACRITA, n. pin. dk'ri-td [Gr. akritos,, indistinct] the 
name given by Prof. Owen, 1835, to a medley (hydroids, 
some worms, infusoria, and even diatoms) in which nerves, 
etc., are ‘confusedly blended with tissues.’ 

ACRITICAL, a. d-krlt'l-kdl [Gr. akritos, indistinct]: 
applied to a disease in which no regular crisis has been 
indicated. 

ACRITOCHROMACY, dk'n-tb-kro'mdi-si [Gr. akritos and 
chromatia, which, when asssociated, imply ‘ inability to dis¬ 
criminate between colors’]: a term which seems likely to 
supersede Color Blindness, Daltonism, Achromatopsia, etc. 

ACROAMATIC, a. dk'rd-d-mdt'lk, also Ac'roamat ical, 
a. - i-kdl [Gr. akrbdmd, a hearing]: originally in the Aristote¬ 
lian schools applied to lectures heard by the more advanced 
scholars; hence, pertaining to the more obscure or deeper 
parts of learning; abstruse; oral. 

ACROBAT, n. dk'rb-bdt [F. acrobate —from Gr. akro- 
bdtes, one who goes on tiptoe—from Gr. akros, high; baino, 
I go]: a rope-walker or dancer; a vaulter; a tumbler: one 
who performs difficult fiats, vaulting, sliding, tumbling, and 
dancing on a slack or tight rope, stretched either horizon¬ 
tally or obliquely. These feats require great skill, supple¬ 
ness, and steadiness. For a long time, acrobats were con¬ 
tented to divert and astonish children or the most ignorant 
of the populace; but the extraordinary skill of some recent 
performers has given this perilous art celebrity. Within the 
present century, Farioso, Madame Saqui, and Signor Diavolo, 
and especially Blondin, have been notable. The acrobats 
of antiquity appear to have closely resembled those of our 
own day. 

ACROBRYA, n. plu. dk'rd-brl'd [Gr. akros, at the highest 
point; brub , I bud forth or germinate]: plants in which the 
growth is formed by additions in an upward direction.— 
Syn. of ‘acrogens.’ 

ACROCARPI, n. plu. ak'rb-kdr'pl [Gr. akros, at the 
highest point; karpos, fruit]: mosses having their fructifica¬ 
tion terminating the axis. Acrocarpous, a. dk'ro-kar'pus, 
having the fructification terminating the axis. 

ACROCEPHALIC, a. dik'rb-se-fhlik [Gr. akros, high; 
kephdle, the head]: high-headed, or pyramidal-headed— 
applied to the high-skulled tribes of the human family. 

ACRODONTA, n. plu. dk’rb-dbn'td [Gr. akros, high; 
odous or odonta, a tooth]: certain fossil saurians having 
their teeth immovably fixed to the summit of the jaw. 
Acrodus, n. dk'rb-dus, certain fossil fish-teeth, characterized 
by their enamel being covered with fine grooves—known by 
the name of fossil leeches. 

ACROGEN, n. ak'ro-jen [Gr. akros, high; genndo, I 
produce]: in bot., applied to plants which increase by 
growth at the summit or growing point. Acrogenous, 


ACROGENOUS PLANTS—ACROLEIN 

a. d-krqj'e-nus , increasing by growth at the summit cl 
growing points—as the tree ferns. 

ACROGENOUS PLANTS, d-krofe-nus . plants whose 
stem-structure is acrogenous —that is, in which the vascular 
bundles are developed simultaneously, and not in succession, 
the stem increasing by the coherence of the bases of the leaves 




-ection of Acrogenous stem. Tree Fern. 

and by elongation at the summit. In a transverse section of 
the stem, a circle of vascular tissue is found near the circum¬ 
ference, and the centre is composed of cellular tissue, some 
portion of which frequently disappears, so that the stem, 
though solid when young, becomes hollow in a more ad¬ 
vanced stage of its growth. Tree-ferns afford the finest 
specimens of the acrogenous stem. All A. P. have stomata, 
or breathing-pores, on the surface. In general, they have 
a distinct stem and leaves arranged with most perfect 
symmetry. Some plants, in which the distinct stem is 
absent, are ranked with A. P., because the thallus has the 
texture of leaves, and exhibits a higher organization than 
in Thallogenous Plants (q.v.). A. P. are all Acotyledonous 
(q.v.); and under this designation are included Ferns, 
Equisetaceoe, Lycopodiacece, Marsileacece. Mosses . and Hepa- 
ticce. 

ACROGNATHUS, n. dk'rog-nd'thus [Gr akros, high, 
pointed; gndtlids, the jaw-bone]: a genus of fossil fishes 
from the lower chalk, characterized by their deep jaws. 

ACROLEIN, dk-rr/le-m [L. deer, sharp, or Gr. akros , on 
the top, from its lightness; [L. oleum , oil] (C2H3COH): a 
colorless, limpid, volatile, strongly refracting liquid, 
lighter than water, and having its boiling-point at about 
126°. It constitutes the acrid principle produced by the 
destructive distillation of fatty bodies, and is in part due 
to the decomposition of glycerine. It is best prepared by 
distilling a mixture of glycerine and anhydrous phos¬ 
phoric acid, the ob ject of "the latter being to effect the 
removal of the element of. four atoms of water from 
the glycerine (C3IUO3), which contains the elements 
of (C 3 H 4 0) +those of two atoms of water (2H a O). In 
its state of vapor, it is extremely irritating to the 
eyes, nostrils, and respiratory organs—a property to 
which it owes its name. The pungent smell given off by 





ACR0L1TK—ACIIOFOLIS. 

tlie smouldering wick of a candle just blown out is due to 
the presence of A. When A. is mixed with a solution of 
potash or soda, the irritating odor disappears, and is replaced 
by one of cinnamon, while a brown resinous substance is 
formed-, and certain oxidizing agents, as oxide of silver, con¬ 
vert it into acrylic acid , C 3 11 4 0 2 . 

. ACROLITH, dk'ro-lith, or Aceolite, n. [Gr. akros, ex¬ 
treme ; lithos, a stone]: statue having trunk of wood, ex¬ 
tremities of stone ; as the oldest works of Greek plastic art, 
in which wood-carving is seen in transition into marble 
statuary. The trunk ol the figure is still, in the old style, 
of wood, covered with the usual temple-vestments; but the 
extremities—head, arms, feet—which are meant to appear 
naked from below the drapery, are of stone. Acrolithan, 
a. dk-roli-thdn, pertaining to or constructed like an aero 
lith. See Sculpture. 

ACROMIUM, n. ak-romi-um, also Acromion, n. mi-on 
[Gr. akros, high, extreme; omos, a shoulder]: the projecting 
or outer part or process of the scapula or shoulder-blade. 
Acromial, a. ak-ro mi-al, of or belonging to the acromium. 

ACRONYC, a. d-kron'ik, also Acron'ycal, a. -i-kdl [Gr. 
akros, high, extreme; nux or nukta, night]: in astron., a 
term applied to the stars when they either appear above or 
sink below the horizon at the time of sunset. Acron'y- 
cally, ad. -It. 

ACROPOLIS, n. d-krdp'd lis [Gr. akros, high; polis, a 
city]: the citadel of Athens; the highest part or citadel of a 
city. Many of the important cities of Greece and Asia 
Minor were protected by strongholds so named. The A. 
occupied a lofty position, commanding the city and its 



Acropolis of Athens. 

environs; inaccessible on all sides except one, which usually 
had artificial defenses. It contained some of the most 
important public buildings, especially temples, besides 
affording a last refuge in case of a hostile attack. The A., 
like the castle of the middie ages, had formed the centre or 















































ACROSAURUS—ACROSTIC. 

nucleus around which the town gradually grew. Among 
the most celebrated ancient Acropolises was that of Argos, 
whose name Larissa, indicates its Pelasgic origin; that of 
Messenia, which bore the name of Ithome; that of Thebes, 
called Cadmea; that of Corinth, known as Aero Corinthus; 
but especially that of Athens, which was styled pre-eminently 
the A. See Athens. 

ACROSAURUS, n. dk'rd-saw'rus [Gr. akros, high; sauros, 
a lizard]: an extraordinary fossil reptile found in South 
Africa. 

ACROSPIRE, n. dk'ro-splr [Gr. akros, high, extreme; 
speira, a spiral line]: the shoot or sprout at tbe end of a 
germinating seed; the first sprouting leaves or ‘ braird ’ of 
corn. Ac rospired, a. -spird, having sprouts; having- 
sprouts at both ends of the grain. 

ACROSS, prep. ad. d-kros' [AS. a, at, on; Iccl. kross, a 
cross]: from side to side; laid over something so as to cross 
it; denoting position beyond. 

ACROSTIC, n. d-kros tik [Gr. akros, high, extreme 
stichos, a row or line], adj. pertaining to. Aciios'tically, 
ad. -li. A short succession of lines or verses, the first letters 
of which follow some predetermined order, usually forming 
a word—most frequently a name—or a phrase or sentence. 
Sometimes the final letters spell words as well as the initial, 
when the poem is called a Double A., and the peculiarity 
may even run down the middle of the poem like a seam. 
Sir John Davies composed twenty-six Hymns to Astrea 
(Queen Elizabeth), in every one of which the initial letters 
of the lines form the words Elisabetha Regina. The 
following is one of the twenty-six: 

E v’ry night from ev’n to morn. 

L ove’s chorister amid the thorn 
I s now so sweet a singer; 

S o sweet, as for her song I scorn 
A polio’s voice and finger. 

B ut, nightingale, sith you delight 
E ver to watch the starry night, 

T ell all the stars of heaven, 

H eaven never had a star so bright 
A snow to earth is given. 

R oyal Astrea makes our day 
E ternal with her beams, nor may 
G ross darkness overcome her; 

I now perceive why some do write 
N o country hath so short a night 
A s England hath in summer. 

In the A: poetry of the Hebrews the initial letters of the 
lines or of the stanzas were made to show the letters of tbe 
alphabet in their order. Twelve of the psalms of the Old 
Testament are written on this plan. The Psalm cxix. is the 
most remarkable It is composed of twenty-two divisions 
or stanzas (corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the 
Hebrew alphabet), each stanza consisting of eight couplets ; 
and the first line of each couplet in the first stanza begins, 
in the original Hebrew, with the letter aleph, in the second 
stanza, with beth, etc. The divisions of the psalm are 


ACROTERION-ACT. 

named each after the letter that begins the couplets, and 
these names have been retained in the English translation. 
With a view to aid the memory, it was customary at one 
time to compose verses on sacred subjects after the fashion 
of those Hebrew acrostics, the successive verses or lines be¬ 
ginning with the letters of the alphabet in their order. Such 
pieces were called Abecedarian Hymns. See Hook's Church 
Dictionary. 

ACROTERION, dk’ro-teri-on (Gr., the summit or ex¬ 
tremity) in Architecture: a statue or other ornament placed 
on the apex or at one of the lower angles of a pediment. 
Some understand by A., the pedestal on which such orna¬ 
ment stands. 

ACROTIC, a. dhrot’ik [Gr. akros, extreme, high]: 
pertaining to or atfecting the external surface. 

ACRYLIC,- a. d-kri'lik [a word formed from acrolein, 
which see]: in diem ., denoting an acid in the form of a 
colorless liquid having a slightly empyreumatic odor, 
produced by oxidation of acrolein; denoting a colorless 
pungent liquid—also called allylic alcohol: acrylic aldehyde 
=acrolein. 

ACT, n. dkt , Acts, n. plu. dks [F. acte , an action—from 
L. actus, an act]: something done; a deed; a doing; power 
exerted; an exploit; a decree or law; one of the principal 
divisions of a play. Y. to do; to exert power; to perform. 
Act ing, imp. Act ed, pp. Adj. feigued; false. Action, 
n. ak'shun [F.—L.]: the state of acting or moving; force 
exerted by one body on another; a deed; a battle; a process 
at law for the remedy of a wrong, or the establishment of a 
right; gesture. Actionable, a. dk'shun-a-bl, something in 
word or deed that may be carried to a court of law. 
Ac tionably, ad. -bli, in a manner that may subject to an 
action at law. Ac'tionist, n. one who. Ac'tionless, a. 
-les, dull; slothful; torpid. Active, a. dk'tlv [F. actif — 
from L. activus]: nimble, lively; not dull. Ac tively, ad. 
-li, in an active manner; nimbly. Activity, n. dk-tiv'i-ti, 
nimbleness; the habit of diligence. Actor, n. dk'ter, he 
that acts or performs; a stage-player—fem. Actress. 
Actual, a. dk'tu-dl [L. actualis] : real; what truly exists. 
Ac'tually, ad. -li, in effect; really. Actuality, n. 
dk'tu-dl'i ti, reality. Actualize, v. dk tu-dl iz, to realize; 
to make actual. Actualiz ing, imp. Actualized, 
pp. dk'tu-dl-izd' . Actuate, v. dk'tu-dt, to move, to incite 
to action. Ac tuating, imp. Ac tuated, pp. Actua¬ 
tion, n. dk' tu-a shun, the bringing into action; operation. 
To act up to, to fulfil, as an engagement or promise. Act 
of Bankruptcy: see Bankruptcy. Act of Fatth, in Spain 
and Portugal, formerly the burning of Jews and heretics 
by the Inquisition, on account of their religion; an auto- 
da fe. Act of God, in law, any event generally calamit¬ 
ous, beyond human foresight, control or precaution ; (e.g.) 
storm, lightning, flood. Losses by such events one is not 
bound to make good to another, unless by special contract. 
Act of Congress, any statute or law passed by both the 
Senate and the House of Representatives, and then sane- 


ACT. 

tiooed by the signature of the President: see Bill in 
Legislation: Statutes, Legislative: Congress, United 
States. Act of Parliament, any statute, law, or edict 
made by both Houses of Parliament, and sanctioned by 
the sovereign: see Parliament: Bill in Legislation; 
Statutes, Legislative. Acts of Sederunt, se d'e'runt, 
iules and legulation agreed upon by judges of the Su¬ 
preme Ccurt of Scotland, sitting in session, and issued by 
them as orders for regulating the forms and procedure in 
the administration of justice. Act of Settlement in 
Great Britain, the statute by which the crown was 
limited to the family to which Queen Victoria belongs: 
(see Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia). Act of 
Toleration: see Toleration, Act of. Act of Uniform¬ 
ity: see Non conformists. Action Sermon, in Scot., a 
sermon or address delivered to communicants immediately 
before the administration of the Communion or Lords 
Supper.— Actual cautery, in med., a red-hot iron, or fire 
itself, as opposed to caustic chemicals.— Syn. of‘act, v.’: 
to do;. make; work; operate;—of ‘action’: an act; work; 
operation; deed; battle; gesture; gesticulation; posture; 
attitude; agency;—of ‘active’: diligent, industrious; labori¬ 
ous; brisk; agile; n'mble; busy; officious; assiduous; 
sedulous, alert; vigorous; lively; quick; sprightly; prompt; 
— of ‘activity’: alertness; agility; nimbleness; quick¬ 
ness; liveliness; briskness; energy;—of ‘actor’: player; 
performer; agent;—of ‘actual’: real; positive; certain; true; 
veritable, genuine;—of ‘actuate’: to impel; induce; move; 
incite, animate; rouse; instigate. 

ACT, in the Drama; a distinct part of the general plot 
or action, whose end is usually marked by a fall of the cur¬ 
tain. An act should be, in a certain sense, complete in it¬ 
self, and at the same time should form a necessary part of 
the whole drama. As every dramatic plot naturally divides 
itself into three parts—the exposition, the development and 
the conclusion or catastrophe—a division into three acts 
would seem most natural; but in practice it has been found 
inconvenient to enclose extended plots in such limits, and 
since the time of the ancient Greek tragedy, five acts have 
generally been considered necessary. In the first act the 
general nature of the drama is indicated, the characters are 
introduced, and the action commences. The plot should 
rise in interest in the second, and reach its climax in the 
third act. In the fourth act, the conclusion or catastrophe 
should be prepared, but should by no means be anticipated 
so as to weaken the effect of the denouement , which must 
occupy the fifth act. This is not an easy task ; accordingly, 
many dramas fail in the fourth act. 

ACT, in Law: term with various technical meanings; 
e.g. a legal document; a record of a public or official 
transaction—from the Roman Acta (q.v.) Act denotes 
also something done for which the person doing is respon¬ 
sible; a transaction by a corporation or association, or by 
a court; a proceeding by a public legislature, e.g. an act 
of congress. In general legal use an act is the solemn 
accomplishment (or the record thereof) of some distinc¬ 
tive proceeding. 


ACTA—ACTEA. 

ACTA, n. dk'ta [L.]— acts: specifically, proceedings, or 
minutes of proceedings, in a court legal or ecclesiasti¬ 
cal. In modern times the term is applied to the transac¬ 
tions, journals or records of learned societies. In ancient 
Rome, Acta Diurna (also Urbana , Publica , etc,) was a kind 
of official gazette posted in public places, and recounting 
the public transactions and events of the day often in¬ 
cluding general news and gossip. They are thought by 
some to have taken the place, after B. C. 131, of the 
more dignified Annates (see Annals). 

ACTION, dk-teon : a mythical personage, grandson 
of Cadmus : trained as a hunter by Chiron. Having once 
surprised Diana while bathing in a fountain, he was changed 
by the offended goddess into a stag, and his own dogs, not 
knowing him, tore him in pieces. According to Euripides, 
Diana was jealous because A. had boasted that he had ex¬ 
celled her in hunting. 

ACTA SANCTORUM or MARTYRUM, dk'ta sank-to- 
rtnn , mar'tur-iim (Acts of Saints or Martyrs): collective 
title given to several old writings, respecting saints and 
martyrs, in the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, but 
now applied especially to one extensive collection begun by 
the Jesuits in the 17th c., and intended as a better arrange¬ 
ment of the materials found in ancient works. This great 
undertaking, commenced by the Jesuit, Heribert Rosweyd 
of Antwerp, has importance, not only in a religious and eccle¬ 
siastical point of view, but also with regard to history and 
archaeology. After Rosweyd’s death, 11129, J. Bowland was 
commissioned by the order of Jesuits to continue the work ; 
and with the assistance of G. Henschen, he prepared two 
volumes, which appeared, 1643. After the death of this 
editor, 1665, the work was carried on by a society of learned 
Jesuits, who were styled ‘ Bollandists,’ until 1794, when its 
further progress w T as prevented through the invasion of 
Holland by the French. The lives, which are arranged in 
the order of the calendar, had at that time reached the 
middle of October, so that the great work was approaching 
completion. In 1837 the undertaking was resumed ; and, 
1846, the 54th volume was published at Brussels. A new 
edition of the first 54 vols., with 6 vols. of the continuation, 
appeared, 1863-67. At present, 63 vols. have appeared, 
with an Index (1875). See Bollandists. 

ACTEA, n. or Actasa, dk-te'd [Gr. aktaia, the elder-tree: 
L. racemusus, full of clusters, clustering]: genus of the 
Crowfoot family of plants ( Ranuncuacew); having 4r-5 de¬ 
ciduous sepals; 4-10 petals on claws; the many stamens 
with white filaments; pistil single; fruit a berry with seeds 
crowded in two rows. The kindred genus Cimicifuga 
(q.v) has the fruit a dry pod.—The White Baneberry (A. 
alba) has oblong raceme, berries white, sometimes red; 
petals narrow; most common in w. and s. states.—The 
red Baneberry (/l. spicata), old name Herb Christopher 
is common at the north; also in the northern part 


ACTEOSAUIIUS—ACTINIA. 

of Europe, found in bushy places in some parts of Eng¬ 
land. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, about 1-2 ft. high- 
with triternate leaves, and the leaflets deeply cut and ser, 
rated, the flowers in racemes, the berries black and poison¬ 
ous. The root is anti-spasmodic, expectorant, and astringent, 
and sometimes useful in catarrh. Gimi Gifuga racemosa (A. 
racemosa of Linnaeus) is a native of the United States, whose 
roots are said to possess similar qualities, and are also re¬ 
puted as a remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. 

ACTEOSAURUS, n. dk'te-6 saw'rus [Gr. aide, the sea¬ 
shore; sauro* , a lizard]: a fossil lizard-like animal of the 
chalk period having very small extremities. 

ACTIAN GAMES : see Actium. 

ACTINENCHYMA, dk'tin-eng'kim-d [Gr. aktin, a ray; 
engchumd, juice, the substance of organs]: in hot., cellular 
tissue having a star-like or stellate form; stellate parenchyma, 
plu. Actiniae, ak-tirii-e. 

ACTINIA, n. dk-tini-d [Gr. aktin, a ray]: a genus of 
marine animals, belonging to the sub-kingdom Coelenterata 
(see Sub-Kingdoms, Animal), and to the class Actinozoa, 
of which latter group the genus is thoroughly typical. 
The animals included in this genus are familiarly known as 
* Sea-Anemones.’ They are found attached by their lyases 
to rocks and stones, and present the appearance of cylin¬ 
drical fleshy bodies, possessing a mouth surrounded by 
numerous tentacles at the free extremity. These tentacles 
in the genus Actinia are of simple, tubular conformation. 


h 


Actinia seen from above. Section of Actinia : 

a, cavity of stomach ; b, sur¬ 
rounding chambers. 

They are perforated at their tips, and also possess sucker- 
like disks. The mouth leads into a stomach-sac, which (as 
in all Coelenterate animals) communicates freely below with 
the general body-cavity, and thus comes to resemble a 
pocket with the bottom cut out. The stomach-sac is kept in 
its place by a series of vertical radiating plates, named 
lamellae or mesenteries, to the faces of which the reproductive 
organs are attached. The Actiniadse are capable of slow 
movements by expanding and contracting the muscular 
bases of their bodies. They may be cut and divided in 
various ways, with the result of producing new individuals 
by artificial fission. Some species may attain a great age, 
as proved by the well-known case of a common Actinia {A. 
mesembryanthernum), which, taken from the Firth of Forth 







ACTINISM—ACTION, 

by Sir John G. Dalyell, 1823, made a public appearance at 
the Fisheries Exhibition at Edinburgh, 1882. This re- 
markable animal—‘ Grannie ’ by name—has at various times 
given birth to numerous young; and as more than one of 
her progeny have in turn become parents, her cognomen is 
not merely complimentary. See Anemone, Sea. 

ACTINISM, n. ak'tin-izm [Gr. aktin , a ray]: the chemi¬ 
cal property of light, as the sun’s rays in photography. 
Actin'ic, a. -ik, pertaining to. Actin iform, a. -l-fawrm 
[L. forma, shape]: resembling a ray. Actinograms, n. 
plu. dc-tin'o-grams [Gr. gramma , a letter]: the results re¬ 
corded by the actinograph. Actinograpii, n. a/c-tm 1 o-grdf 
[Gr. grapho, I write]: an instrument for recording the 
quantity of actinism present. Act inog'raphy, n. -rdf-i, a 
description of the rays of light. 

ACTINISM : the property of the sun’s rays which pro¬ 
duces chemical changes : see Spectrum. 

ACTINOCARPOUS, a. dk'tin-b-kar pus [Gr. aktin, a ray: 
karpos, fruit]: having trophosperms radiated like the rays 
of star-fruit. 

ACTINOCRINUS, n. ak' tin-ok' ri-nus, also Actinocri- 
nite, n. dktln-bk'ri-nlt [Gr. aktin, a ray; krinon, a lily] 
a genus of encrinites characterized by the thorn-like side- 
arms which project from the main column. 

ACTINOID, a. bk'tin-byd [Gr. aktin, a ray; eidos, 
resemblance]: resembling a ray. Actinology, n. ak tin- 
ol'd-ji [Gr. logos, discourse]: the doctrine of the rays 
of light. 

ACTINOLITE, n. dk-tin'd lit [Gr. aktin, a ray; lithos, a 
stone]: a mineral composed of radiating or thorn like crys- 
taR of a green or greenish-gray color; the glassy and fibrous 
varieties of hornblende; also Actinote, n. dk'tlnbt. 

ACTINOMERES, n. plu. dk'tin-om'er-ez [Gr. aktin, a 
ray; meros, a part]: the lobes mapped out on the surface of 
the body of the Ctenopliora, by the ctenophores or comb- 
like rows of cilia. 

ACTINOMETER, n. dk'tin-om'e-ter [Gr. aktin, a ray; 
matron, a measure]: an instrument for measuring at any 
instant the direct heating power of the solar rays. 

ACTINOSOMA, n. dk'tin-b-sb'md [Gr. aktin, a ray; soma, 
a body]: the entire body of any aclinozoon, whether simple, 
as in the sea-anemones, or composed of several zooids, as in 
most corals. Actinozoon, n. dk'tin-b-zobn. Actinozo'a, 
n. plu -zo'a [Gr . zbbn, an animal]: the division of the Coe- 
lenterata, of which the sea-anemones and corals are the 
type. 

ACTINOTROCHA, n. plu. ak'tin-d-tro'kd [Gr. aktin, a 
ray; trochos, a wheel]that form of invertebrate larva, seen 
in such as the Annelides, in which exist a circlet of cilia 
round the anterior extremity. 

ACTION, in Law: in its general sense, a judicial pro¬ 
ceeding before a competent tribunal for the attainment of 
justice ; and in this sense it is applied to procedure, whether 


ACTIONARY—ACTIUM. 

criminal or civil. In its more limited acceptation, it is used 
to signify proceedings in the civil courts, where it means the 
form prescribed by law for the recovery of a right or what 
is one’s due. 

A criminal A. is a prosecution in a court of justice in the 
name of the government, against one or more individuals 
accused of crime. A civil A. is a legal demand of one’s 
right, or it is the form given by law for the recovery of that 
which is due. An A. is real or personal, according as 
realty or personalty is recovered ; not according to the 
nature of the defense. Real actions are those brought for 
the specific recovery of lands, tenements, or hereditaments. 
Peisonal actions are those brought for the specific recovery 
of goods and chattels ; or, for damages or other redress for 
breach of contract, or other injuries, of whatever description. 
Mixed actions participate both of personal and real actions. 
Such are the actions of partition, and to compel parties to 
put down boundaries or landmarks. See Common Law 
Courts of, and Equity. 

ACTIONARY, n. ak'shun-er'i [F. actionnaire —from L. 
actionem, an action—from L. actus, done]: the owner of 
shares in French or Continental companies; a shareholder. 

ACTIUM, ak'shi-um , now Azio, ad'ze-d: town and prom¬ 
ontory on the w. coast of Greece, at the entrance of the 
Ambraciot bay, now the Gulf of Arta: memorable for the 
sea-fight near it, 31 bc., Sep. 2, between Octavianus (after¬ 
wards the Emperor Augustus) and Marcus Antonius. These 
two had for some time ruled the Roman world between them 
—the former in the west, the latter in the east; it now came 
to a struggle for the sole sovereignty. The two armies 
were encamped on the opposite shores of the gulf: Octavian 
had 80,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 260 ships of war; 
Antony, 100,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 220 ships. 
Antony’s ships were large, and well provided with engines 
for throwing missiles, but clumsy in their movements; Oc- 
tavian’s were smaller and more agile. Antony was sup¬ 
ported by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, with sixty vessels, 
who induced him, against the opinion of his most experi¬ 
enced generals, to determine upon a naval engagement. The 
battle continued for some hours undecided; at last, Agrippa, 
who commanded Octavian’s fleet, succeeded, by a skilful 
maneuver, in compelling Antony to extend his line of battle, 
whose compactness had hitherto resisted all attempts of the 
enemy to break through. Cleopatra, whose ships were sta¬ 
tioned behind Antony’s line, apprehensive of that line being 
broken, took to flight with her auxiliary fleet, and Antony 
recklessly followed her with a few of his ships. The de¬ 
serted fleet continued to resist bravely for some time, but 
was finally vanquished; the land-army, after waiting in vain 
seven days for Antony’s return, surrendered to Octavian. 
As a memorial of the victory that had given him the empire 
of the world, and out of gratitude to the gods, Octavian 
enlarged the temple of Apollo at A., dedicated the trophies 
be had taken, and instituted games to be celebrated every 
five years. He also built, on the spot where his army had 


ACTON—ACULEATE. 

been encamped, the splendid city of Nicopolis (city of vic¬ 
tory), near where Prevesa now stands. 

ACTON, ale-ton', John Francis Edward: prime-minis¬ 
ter of Ferdinand IV. of Naples: 1736-1811; b. Besan(;on, 
d. Palermo: son of a physician. After serving in the Tus¬ 
can navy, he entered the Neapolitan service, and became the 
favorite of Queen Caroline. His anti-French measures were 
cruel and intolerant, and ultimately caused a popular re¬ 
action against the royal family of Naples. A. was removed 
from power, on the demand of France, 1804. In 1791 he 
had succeeded to an English baronetcy. He is often con¬ 
founded with his brother Joseph, also in the Neapolitan 
service, whose daughter he married, by a papal dispensa¬ 
tion. 

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, the fifth book in the New 
Testament, often quoted by the early Christian writers, and 
never ascribed to any other writer than the Evangelist Luke. 
Beginning with the ascension of Christ, it gives an account 
of the spread of the Christian Church; confined, however, 
chiefly to the part taken by the Apostle Paul. Notwith¬ 
standing its title, little is said of the other apostles, with the 
exception of Peter. The narrative closes with the year 62, 
Paul being then a prisoner at Rome. The book has always 
been received as canonical, except by a few Manichaean 
heretics; though its historical character has been impugned 
by a few modern writers. Spurious Acts were put in cir¬ 
culation by early Christian sects. 

ACTS, Test and Corporation : see Test Acts. 

ACTUAL, ACTUALIZE, ACTUATE, ACTUATION, 
etc.: see under Act. 

ACTUARY, n. dk'tu-er'i [mid. Lat. actudrius, one who 
writes deeds, a clerk—from L. actus, done]: one who speci¬ 
ally deals with the calculations of probabilities; a notary. 
The Actuarii , in ancient Rome, were clerks who recorded 
the Acta of the senate and other public bodies. The term 
might, therefore, so far as its etymology is concerned, be 
applied to men of business in general. But in the constantly 
increasing tendency to subdivide labor and specialize func¬ 
tions, there has arisen, in recent times, a distinct branch of 
business, embracing all monetary questions that involve a 
consideration of the separate or combined effect of Interest 
and Probability, especially as connected with the duration 
of human life; and it is to one who is officially busied in this 
department that the name has been specially assigned. The 
investigations and calculations of the A. supply the prin¬ 
ciples of operation for the numerous institutions now en¬ 
gaged in the transaction of Life Assurance, Annuity, and 
Reversionary business. His functions may be briefly de¬ 
fined as the application of the doctrine of probabilities to the 
affairs of life. 

ACULEATE, a. a-ku'le-dt, or Acu'leat'ed, a. -dt’ed 
[L. aculeus, a prickle or thorn—from dcus, a needle]: in 
bot., sharp pointed; thorny; prickly: in zool., having a sting 
or prickles. Aculeiform. a. ak'u-le’ifawrm [L. forma, 




ACULEUS—ACUPRESSURE. 

shape]: formed like a prickle or thorn. Aculeus, n. a-ku'. 
le ns , a prickle forming a process of the bark only, as in the 
rose. Aculei, plu. d-ku'le-l. 

ACU LEUS, in Botany: see Prickle. 

ACUMEN, n. d-ku'men [L. acumen , a point, acuteness 1 , 
acuminis, of a point—from dcuo, I sharpen]: sharpness; 
quickness; penetration; sagacity. Acuminated, a. d-ku 
mi-nd'ted, sharpened to a point; also Acu minate and Acu- 
minous, a. -niis. Acumination, n. d-ku 1 mi-na.shun, ter¬ 
mination in a sharp point; a pointed head. Acuminulate, 
a. ak'u mm'u-ldt , in hot., having a very sharp, tapering 
point. 

ACUPRESSURE, n. aku-presh'ur [L. acus, a needle ; 
pressus, pressed], in Surgery: a mode of arresting hemorrhage 
from cut arteries, by the use of needles instead of ligatures, 
suggested by Sir James Y. Simpson in a paper be¬ 
fore the Royal Soc. of Edinburgh, 1859. There 
are several modes of A.; but in general it con¬ 
sists in passing the needle through the flaps 
or sides of the wound, so as to cross over and compress the 
orifice of the bleeding artery, just as in putting a flower in 
the lapel of one’s coat, one crosses over and compresses the 
flower-stalk with a pin pushed twice through the lapel. The 
middle portion of the needle—the only part of it which is in 
immediate contact with the fresh surface of the wound— 
bridges over and compresses the artery at its bleeding orifice, 
or perhaps a line or two more on its cardiac side. The head 
and point of the needle are exposed externally on the cu¬ 
taneous surface of the flap or side of the wound. A. is 
now rarely used. The haemostatic forceps, introduced by 
Sir Spencer Wells, has been adopted by all operative sur¬ 
geons. It has the great advantage of being easily ap¬ 
plied; moreover at the end of the operation, the smaller 
vessels grasped by it are found occlude., by the mere 
pressure, and the larger vessels may be readily ligated. 

ACUPUNCTURE, n. d'ku-pungk'tur [L. dcus, a needle; 
punctus, a pricking]; in surg., the pricking a diseased part 
with a needle with the view of lessening pain; also Acu- 
punc'tura tion, n. -ra shun: a very ancient remedy, 
practised extensively in the east, for the cure of headaches, 
lethargies, etc. In Europe it is principally employed to 
relieve neuralgic pains, and those of chronic rheumatism. 
Steel needles are used, about three inches long, set in 
handles. The surgeon, by a rotatory movement, passes one 
or more to the desired depth in the tissues, and leaves them 
there from a few minutes to an hour. Their insertion is 
accompanied by no pain, except the first prick a fact of 
which the quacks of the 16th c. did not fail to take advan¬ 
tage. According to Jerome Cardan, they travelled from 
place to place practising A., and before inserting the needle, 
they rubbed it with a peculiar kind of magnet, either be¬ 
lieving, or pretending, that this made the operation painless. 
The relief to pain afforded by this simple operation is some¬ 
times astonishing, and the wounds are so minute as to be 
perfectly harmless —The needles are sometimes used as 
conductors of the galvanic current to deep-seated paits, and 


ACUTE—ADAGIO. 

are sometimes made hollow—on the suggestion of Dr. Alex- 
ander Wood of Edinburgh—to allow of a small quantity of 
some sedative solution being injected into the tissues, by 
which even the terrible pain of tic douloureux may be al- 
most immediately relieved. See Neuralgia. 

ACUTE, a. d-kut' [L. dcutiis, sharp-pointed]: sharp, 
pointed; sharp; penetrating; opposed to dull or stupid; high 
or shrill as opposed to grave or low; in med., attended with 
symptoms that come speedily to a crisis—opposed to chronic t 
Acutely, ad. -li, in an acute manner; sharply. Acute¬ 
ness, n. the quality of being pointed or acute; force or quick¬ 
ness of intellect. Acute angle, in geom ., an angle less 
than a right angle or 90 \ Acute-angled triangle, a 
triangle or three-sided figure with its three angles acute. 
—Syn. of ‘acute’: sharp; keen; sagacious; shrewd; pene¬ 
trating; ingenious; subtle;—of ‘acuteness’: keenness; pene¬ 
tration; shrewdness; sagacity; ingenuity. 

AD, dd [L.]: Latin prefix meaning to; ad assumes, for 
the sake of euphony, the various forms of a, ac, af, ag, al, 
an, ap, ar, as, at, according to the fust letter of the primb 
tive or root. 

ADA, od'oh: town of the Austrian ,empire, in Hungary, 
8 m. s. of Zenta. Pop. 10,000. 

ADACTYL, n. d-ddk'til [Gr. a, without; daktulos, a 
finger]: in zool., a hand without fingers; a foot without 
toes. 

ADxAFUDIA, d dd-fo'de-d: town of the Felattah coun¬ 
try, w. Africa, about 400 m. s e. from Timbuktu, about 
13° 6' n. lat., and 1° 3' e. long. It is in a dry, healthy, 
and fertile plain, and is surrounded by a mud wall. A large 
trade is carried on, and slaves form a principal part of the 
merchandise. Pop. supposed about 24,000. 

ADAGE, u. dd'dj [F. adage — from L. addgium, a prov¬ 
erb]: a proverb; an old or wise saying which has been 
handed down from olden times.—S yn. of ‘adage’: prov¬ 
erb; byword; aphorism; axiom; maxim; sayiug; saw; 
truism; apophthegm. 

ADAGIO, n. d-dd'ji-d [It.]: ad. slowly: a slow move¬ 
ment or measure of time in Music, between largo, grave, and 
andante. In more extended compositions of instrumental 
or chamber music, the second or third movement is generally 
marked adagio, and serves as a contrast with the rapid and 
energetic movement of the preceding and following parts oi 
the sonata or symphony. The A. must be written in a 
measure of time which will afford scope for a flowing and 
expressive slow melody with a gracefully varied accompani¬ 
ment. Without contrasted movement and a lively variety 
in the accompaniment, the slow air would have a monoto¬ 
nous or dull effect. A clear and expressive execution of the 
A is a sure test of ability and good taste in the player or 
singer, as it demands a pure and beautiful intonation, a 
true reading and phrasing of the cantilena, even in its most 
minute details, and a careful attention to all points of effect. 
The finest specimens of the A. are found in the works of the 


ADAL—ADAM. 

old masters, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and are as 
distinct in their features as were the composers in their 
personal characteristics. Recent composers have generally 
succeeded better in their rapid movements than in the A. 

ADAL and ADEL, a-ddl': the name Adal is applied by 
geographers to the flat country lying between Abyssinia and 
the Red Sea, from Massowa in n. lat. 15° 40', to the bay of 
Tajurra, lat. 11° 30'. Adel seems to designate the coast- 
country from Tajurra to Cape Guardafui, part of which is 
known as the country of the Somauli. 

ADALIA, d-dd'le'd, anciently Attalia: chief seaport on 
the s. coast of Asia Minor; n. lat. 36° 52 ; e. long. 30° 45'. 
The streets rise like the seats of a theatre, up the slope of the 
hill behind the harbor. Pop. 13,000. 

ADAM, n. dd'dm [Heb. adamah, ground, earth]: the first 
man mentioned in Genesis. Adamic, a. d-ddm'ik, pertain¬ 
ing to. Ad'am’s apple, n. the prominent part of the 
throat; the larynx. Adam’s needle, a plant of Kew 
Mexico, the Yucca glorwsa, Ord. Lilidcece. Adamites, n. 
pin. dd'a-mlts , a religious sect of the first, and revived in 
the fifteenth century, who professed an exact imitation of 
the primitive state of innocence in their public assemblies. 
Adamitic, a. dd'd-mlt'lk, pertaining to the time of Adam. 
Pre Adamite, a. pre-dd'd-mlt, before the time of Adam. 

ADAM and EVE: the earliest man and woman of the 
human race. The narrative of their creation and fall is in 
Genesis. To the scriptural account, the later Jewish writ¬ 
ers in the Talmud have made many tasteless additions. 
They tell us that the stature of A., when first created, 
reached to the heavens, while the splendor of his counte¬ 
nance surpassed that of the sun. The very angels stood in 
awe of him, and all creatures hastened to worship him. 
Then the Lord, in order to show the angels his power, 
caused a sleep to fall on A., and removed a portion of 
every limb. A. thus lost his vast stature, but remained 
perfect and complete. His first wife was Lilith, the mother 
of demons; but she fled from him, and afterwards E. was 
created for him. At, the marriage of A. and E., angels 
■were present, some playing on musical instruments, others 
serving up delicious viands; while the sun, moon, and stars 
danced together. The happiness of the human pair excited 
envy among the angels, and the seraph Sammael tempted 
them, and succeeded in leading them to their fall from inno¬ 
cence.—According to the Koran, all the angels paid homage 
to A., excepting Eblis, who, on account of his refusal, was 
expelled from paradise. To gratify his revenge, Eblis 
seduced A. and E., and they were separated. Adam was 
penitent, and lived in a tent on the site of the temple of 
Mecca, where he was instructed in the divine command¬ 
ments by the archangel Gabriel. After 200 years of separa¬ 
tion, he again found E. on Mount Ararat. Many other 
traditions of the Jews and the Mohammedans respecting A. 
and E. may be found in Herbelot’s Bihliotheque Orientate. — 
In the system of the Christian Gnostics and Manichseans, A. 
is one *4 the highest iEons.— According to the Calvinistic 


ADAM. 

theology, A. was the covenant head or federal representative 
of the whole human race, who were thus involved in the 
consequences of his breach of the Covenant (q.v.) which 
God made with him at his creation. This view is supported 
by reference to the parallel drawn between A. and Christ, 
Rom. v. and 1. Cor. xv., in the latter of which chapters 
Christ is called, in contradistinction to A. ‘ the second man/ 
and ‘ the last A.’ 

ADAM (op Bremen): d. 1076: old historical writer, 
whose work entitled Gesta Bammenburgensis Ecclesiee Pontifi- 
cum, gives a history of the archbishopric of Hamburg from 
788 to the death of the Abp. Adalbert in 1072. This work 
has great historical value; in addition to its notices of eccle¬ 
siastical affairs, it gives accounts of the northern Slavonic 
tribes, which the author collected during a visit to the 
Danish king Svend-Estrithsou. A. was canon and magister 
scholarum at Bremen from 1067 till his death. 

ADAM, a-dting' , Adolphe Charles: 1803, July 24— 
1856; b. Paris, France: musical composer. Beginning in 
1848, he was prof, of composition in the Pans Conserva¬ 
toire, at the same time contributing to newspapers. His 
style was that of Boildieu. His most popular works were 
his comic operas, the chief of which is the Postillion de 
Longjumeau produced 1885, still presented on the stage. 

ADAM, Alexander, ll.d. : eminent Scottish scholar 
and teacher: 1741, June 24—1809, Dec. 18; b. near Forres, 
Elginshire; of a family in humble circumstances. With 
great struggles and under much deprivation through 
poverty, he pursued his studies; entered Edinburgh Univ. 
1757; and from 1768, for nearly 40 years, was rector of 
the High School of Edinburgh, gaining a distinguished 
reputation. Among his pupils were Scott and Jeffrey. 
He introduced reforms in teaching in the face of an op¬ 
position that now seems incredible. His Roman Antiqui¬ 
ties (1791) was long the best manual of its kind. Among 
his works were Summary of Geography and History (1794); 
Classical Biography (1800); and an abridged Latin Dic¬ 
tionary (1805). This teacher’s last words w r ere: “But it 
grows dark, boys; you may go.” 

ADAM, Juliette (L amber): French author and editor: 
b. Verberie, France, 1836. She was married first to M. 
La Messine; and after his death to Edmond Adam, deputy 
for the dept, of the Seine, and a life senator (d. 1877). 
She has published many works of fiction, essays, etc.; and 
founded the Nouvelle Revue 1879, of which she continued 
editor till 1886, when she retired in failing health. Mme. 
A. is a writer of marked ability, especially on politics. 
Her salon was a feature of Parisian life—reminiscence of 
those of the first empire. 

ADAM, Robert; 1728-92; b. Edinburgh: a distinguished 
architect: son of William Adam of Maryburgh, Fifeshire, 
also an architect. After receiving a university education, A. 
went, 1754, to Italy, and thence to Dalmatia, where he ex¬ 
plored and made drawings of the ruins of Diocletian’s palace 


• ADAMANT—ADAMITES. 

at Spalatro. On his return to Britain he rapidly rose ta 
distinction, was appointed architect to the king, and ob¬ 
tained extensive employment. In opposition to the heavy 
style of architecture prevalent, A. introduced a taste for 
lightness and decoration, which, however, tended to the 
opposite extreme of weakness and triviality. Yet those 
who form the lowest estimate of the general character of his 
designs, grant him the merit of having effected great and 
general reforms in British domestic architecture. In 1768 
A. was elected M.P. for the county of Kinross. During 
upwards of twenty-five years his practice, in partnership 
with his brother James, was more extensive than that of 
any other architect of the time. In 1773 the brothers began 
to publish a series of engravings of their chief designs, which 
w r as continued for some years. A. was buried in West¬ 
minster Abbey. The most generally admired of his works 
is the Register House, Edinburgh. Kedleston Hall, near 
Derby, is regarded by some as his greatest work. Among 
his other principal works are the University buildings and 
St. George’s Church, Edinburgh (both altered from the 
original design), the Glasgow Infirmary, the Adelphi build¬ 
ings, London; the screen to the Admiralty, Caen Wood 
House, Luton House (altered), Lansdowne House, etc. 

ADAMANT, n. dd ' d-mdnt [OF. adamant —from L. ad - 
amds or addman ' tem , a hard stone—from Gr. addmas — 
from a , not; damdo , I subdue]: what cannot be broken, 
tamed, or subdued; a stone or metal of impenetrable hard¬ 
ness; the diamond. Adamantine, a. dd ' d - mdn ' tin , exceed¬ 
ingly hard; hard-hearted; not to be broken or subdued; also 
Ad'amante'an, - tedn , hard as adamant. 

ADAMANTINE SPAR: see Corundum. 

ADAMBULACRAL, a. dd - am ' bit - id ' krdl [L. ad , to; am ¬ 
bulacrum , a walk or path]: in zool ., applied to the small 
bones which bound the ambulacral grooves in the star¬ 
fishes. See Ossicle. 

♦ 

ADAMITES: a sect of fanatics who spread themselves in 
Bohemia and Moravia in the 15th and 16th centuries, but 
had no connection with the Hussites. One Picard is said 
to have been the founder of the sect about 1400. He styled 
himself Adam, the son of God, rejected the sacrament of 
the supper and the priesthood, and advocated the com¬ 
munity of women. After his death his followers spread 
themselves in Bohemia under several leaders. They even 
fortified themselves on an island in a tributary of the 
Moklau, and committed depredations around. They were 
detested as much by the followers of Huss as by tke Roman 
Catholics. Ziska (q.v.) made war against them, and slew 
great numbers; but they were never entirely rooted out. 
Even as recently as 1849, when the Austrian government 
declared religious liberty for all its subjects, certain mem¬ 
bers of this sect appeared and endeavored to gain pros¬ 
elytes. The official investigation into their character which 
took place at that time represents their creed as a mixture 
of freethinking, quietism, and communism. The members 
belong to the peasant or laboring class; and both men and 


ADAMNAN. 

ivomen are generally industrious, temperate, and discreet in 
their ordinary course of life; but at their nightly meetings, 
at which they dispense with clothes, the utmost licentious¬ 
ness is said to prevail.—As early as the 2d c , there was a 
sect of Gnostic tendency, called Adamites , who sought, by 
abstaining from all indulgence of the senses, to recall the 
state of innocence men were in before the fall. They there¬ 
fore rejected marriage, and in order to exercise the virtue of 
continence, went naked. They held that for those who had 
once attained the state of innocence, all actions were alike 
indifferent—neither good nor evil. This doctrine led 
directly to the greatest licentiousness. Aberrations of this 
kind, under various disguises and modifications, have made 
their appearance from time to time in all ages of the world 
ADAMNAN, ad'am-nan' , Saint: b. abt. 625 in the county 
of Donegal; d. 704: a member of the early Irish Church, to 
whom the world is deeply indebted for the information 
which he left about that remarkable community. His 
name was properly Adam, of which Adamnan is a dimin¬ 
utive. It is one of the peculiarities of that early church 
that the genealogies of its eminent members have been 
preserved with a minuteness scarcely rivalled in the days of 
peerages. In the words of Dr. Reeves concerning A..-. 

‘ His father, Ronan, was sixth in descent from Conall Gul- 
ban, the head of one of the two great races of the Northern 
Hy Neill, and in virtue of his birth, claimed kin to St 
Columba and many of the sovereigns of Ireland. The 
father of Ronan was Tinne, from whom came the patro¬ 
nymic Ua Tinne , or grandson of Tinne, an appellative which 
is occasionally found coupled with A.’s name. Ronnat, the 
mother of A., was descended from Enna, a son of Niall, 
whose race, the Cincl Enna, possessed themselves of the 
tract lying between the channels of the Foyle and Swilly, 
which was called the Tir Enna, or land of Enna, and an¬ 
swers to the modern barony of Raphoe. He was, like many 
of the eminent Irish clergy, a statesman as well as an 
ecclesiastic, and we hear of his being sent on missions from 
his own people to Alfred, king of Northumbria. In 679, he 
was elected Abbott of Iona. His rule over that community 
was not, however, peaceful and fortune/a. The views held 
by the Irish Church about the holding of Easter and the 
form of the tonsure are now known as a chapter in the 
history of the church However little their own importance 
might be, they are significant as the object of a bitter con¬ 
test in which that church resisted the rules promulgated 
from Rome. In his intercourse with the Saxon Church, A. 
had adopted the Roman or orthodox views, as they are 
termed, and endeavored to put them in practice in his own 
community. He was thwarted in this object, and it is said 
that mortification at the failure caused his death. Sept. 23, 
the date of his death, is the day of his translation in the 
calendar. He left an account of the Holy Land, containing 
matters which he says were communicated by Arculfus, a 
French ecclesiastic who had lived in Jerusalem. It ir 
valuable as the earliest information we possess of Palestine 
in the early ages of Christianity. But far more valuable i* 


ADAMS. 

his Vita Sancti Columbce, his Life of St. Columba, the con¬ 
verter of the Piets, and founder of Iona. With accounts of 
miracles and many other stories palpably incredible, this 
book reveals a great deal of distinct and minute matter con¬ 
cerning the remarkable body to which both the author and 
his hero belonged. The standard edition of the book is that 
of Dr. Reeves, edited in 1857 for the Bannatyne Society of 
Edinburgh, and the Irish Archaeological Society, which 
(with an English trans.) forms the 6th vol. (1875) of 
Scottish Historians. Nearly all the information to be had 
about the early Scoto-Irish Church is comprised in that 
volume. 

ADAMS: town in Berkshire co.. Mass., on the Hoosick 
river, and on the Boston and Albany railroad, about 10 
m. n. n.w. of Pittsfield. There are four villages; North 
A., South A., Maple Grove, and Blackinton. At North 
A. is the west end of the Hoosac tunnel. A. is a thriving 
manufacturing town. It is overlooked by Greylock Mt., 
3,500 ft. high. Pop. (1890) 9,213; (1900) 11,134. 

ADAMS, Charles Francis, ll.d.: 1807-86; b. Boston; 
son of John Quincy. His boyhood was passed mostly in the 
European capitals, but he returned to the United States in 
1817; studied at the Boston Latin schools, and in 1825 grad¬ 
uated from Harvard Univ. He studied law, and was called 
to the Boston bar, but never practiced. In 1830 he was 
elected to the legislature of Massachusetts as a representative 
from Boston, and was afterwards returned to the state sen¬ 
ate. He became a ‘ free-soiler ’ in politics, and was nomi¬ 
nated by that party in 1848 for vice-president on the Van 
Buren ticket, but Taylor and Fillmore were elected, and on 
the formation of the republican party, a combination of the 
free-soilers and old-line whigs, Mr. A. attached himself to 
the new organization, and in 1859 was sent to congress. In 
1861 president Lincoln appointed Mr. A. minister to England, 
and there his hitherto untried diplomatic talents had oppor¬ 
tunity, and gained for him the highest respect of the states¬ 
men of Europe and of his own country. It was largely due 
to the judicious conduct of Mr. A. that the difficult questions 
of the Mason and Slidell capture, of the building in English 
ship-yards of blockade runners, and those connected with the 
Lancashire cotton famine, were settled or successfully tided 
over. He held his post in London till 1868, when, at his 
own request, he was recalled. On the ratification, 1871, of 
the treaty of Washington, A. was appointed by Pres. 
Grant the American arbitrator for the settlement of the 
claims under that treaty. Here, again, his remarkable dip¬ 
lomatic skill was exercised to the advantage of his country, 
in securing the Geneva award. A. was a candidate for 
nomination for the presidency by the liberal republicans in 
1872, but was defeated in the convention by Horace Greeley. 
He afterwards retired from the republican party, and in 1876 
was nominated by the democrats for the governorship of 
Massac husetts, but was defeated. A. was the author of 
biographies of his grandfather and of his father. 


ADAMS. 

ADAMS, Charles Francis, (2d): railroad pres, and 
writer: b. Boston, 1835, May 27; son of Charles Francis 
A. (1st). After studying at Harvard College, and gradu¬ 
ating 1856, he gave two years to legal study, and was ad¬ 
mitted to the bar 1858. He served through the civil war, 
being col. 5th Mass, (colored) cav., which he commanded 
when the city of Richmond capitulated, entering at the 
head of his regt. with the federal army. He was mus¬ 
tered out 1865, July, with the rank of brevet brig.gen. 
Appointed a member of the railroad commission of Mass. 
1889, he became widely known as an expert writer on 
transportation. He interested himself also in public 
questions generally, especially education. He was a 
member of the board of overseers of Harvard Univ. 1882. 
In 1890 he was elected pres, of the Union Pacific railroad. 
In collaboration with his brother, Prof. Henry Brooks 
A., he is author of Chapters of Erie , and other Essays, 
pub. 1871; also of a vol. on Railroad Accidents. 

ADAMS, Charles Kendall, ll.d. : educator and his¬ 
torical scholar: 1835, Jan. 24—1902, July 27; b. Derby, Vt. 
He removed to Iowa, afterward to Mich., and graduated at 
the Univ. of Michigan 1861. He was asst. prof, of history 
and Latin in that univ. 1862-67; prof, of history 1867-85; 
and was appointed non-resident prof, of history at Cornell 
Univ. 1881. He succeeded Andrew D. White in the presi¬ 
dency of Cornell 1885, after a canvass whose excitement 
called forth a charge of plagiarism against A.—a charge 
which, on thorough investigation, entirely failed of sup¬ 
port. He received the degree ll.d. from Harvard 1886. 
In 1892 he resigned the presidency of Cornell, and became 
pres, of the Univ. of Wisconsin; also editor-in-chief of 
Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia. Dr. A. was made pres, of 
the American History Association 1890. He published 
Democracy and Monarchy in France (3d ed. 1877); Manual 
of Historical Literature (3d ed. 1889); Representative Brit¬ 
ish Orations (3 vols. 1883); Christopher Columbus (1892). 
His contributions were numerous in American and Euro¬ 
pean magazines and reviews. 

ADAMS, Henry: author: b. Boston, 1838, Feb. 16; 
third son of Charles Francis A. (1st). He studied at 
Harvard College, graduating 1858. On his father’s 
appointment as U. S. minister to the Court of St. James, 
he accompanied him to England, acting as his private 
sec. 1861-68; after his return, became asst. prof, of his¬ 
tory at Harvard, which position he held 1870-77, being 
editor of the North American Review during the latter 
portion of that period. He is author of Essays in Anglo 
Saxon Law (1876); Documents Relating to New England 
Federalism, 1800-1815, (1877); Life of Albert Gallatin 
(1879); Writings of Albert Gallatin, edited 3 vols. (1879); 
John Randolph (1882); and History of the U. S. During 
Administrations of Jefferson and Madison, 


ADAMS. 

ADAMS, Herbert Baxter, ph.d.: educator: b. Am¬ 
herst, Mass.. 1850, Apr. 16. He studied iu the schools at 
Amherst, at Phillips Exeter Acad., graduated at Amherst 
College 1872, and took the degree ph.d., at Heidelberg 
1876. He entered Johns Hopkins Univ. 1876, as fellow 
iu history; and rose to be full prof. 1883. He wrote The 
Germanic Origin of the New England Towns; Saxon Tithing- 
Men in America ; Norman Constables in America ; Village 
Communities, etc. He died 1901, July 30. 

ADAMS, John, second president oi the United States: 
1735-1826: b. Braintree, Mass., in that portion of the town¬ 
ship which afterwards became the town of Quincy. His 
great grandfather was Henry Adams, a Puritan, who emi¬ 
grated from Devonshire, Eng., 1632, with his six sons all 
married. At the age of fifteen, John was offered his choice 
of a vocation in life, and chose a college education, with 
the understanding that that portion of the estate which 
would be his at the death of his father should instead be 
expended on his education. He entered Harvard College, 
1751, and graduating, four veajs later, went to Worcester, 
where he became a tutor in a grammar school, at the same 
time studying law in the office of Israel Putnam. In 1764 
A. married Abigail Smith, daughter of the minister of 
Weymouth. He soon began to be prominent in politics, 
particularly among those who vehemently opposed the op¬ 
eration of the ‘ Stamp Act.’ In 1768 he settled in Boston, 
and began to write political articles for the newspapers. 
So highly were the abilities of A. esteemed, even at this 
early period of his life, that the royalist, Governor Bar¬ 
nard, desiring to gain him over to the king’s party, offered 
him the important office of advocate-general in the Admi¬ 
ralty court. This proposition he declined, but was soon 
after chosen a representative in the provincial congress, 
and in 1774 was one of the five members from Massachu 
setts in the general congress. In a letter written at the age 
of nineteen, A. foreshadowed with wonderful prophetic 
power the political conditions in which he afterwards held 
so important a part. He said: ‘ Soon after the Reforma¬ 
tion, a few people came to this new world for conscience 
sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer 
the great seat of empire to America. It looks likely to me; 
for if we can remove the turbulent Gallic (the French in 
Canada), our people, according to the exactest computation, 
will in another century become more numerous than Eng¬ 
land itself. Should this be the case, it will be easy to obtain 
the mastery of the seas, and then the united force of all 
Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep 
us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us.’ The 
organization of the Continental Congress was the crucial test 
of the patriotism of John Adams. Besought by his nearest 
friend and closest associate, Jonathan Sewall, to alter his 
determination to be a member of the congress, he gave ut¬ 
terance to the following thrilling expression of his patriotic 
opinions: ‘ I know that Great Britain has determined upon 
her system, and that very fact determines me on mine. You 
know I have been constant and uniform in opposition to her 
Vol. 1 — 6 


ADAMS. 

measures; the die is now cast; I have passed the Rubicon; 
to swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish with my coun¬ 
try, is my unalterable determination.’ He joined the con¬ 
gress and became at once one of its most active and earnest 
leaders. He was a member of the committee which framed 
the Declaration of Independence, and Mr. Jefferson said of 
him: ‘ The great pillar of support to the Declaration of In¬ 
dependence, and its ablest advocate and champion on the 
Moor of the house, was John Adams.’ The selection of 
Washington for the chief command was largely the work 
of A., and he was particularly useful in the Naval com¬ 
mittee of congress, and our present naval code is founded 
upon the rules which he then prepared. In 1775 A. was 
appointed chief justice of Massachusetts, but declined the 
office. In congress he recommended local self government 
for the colonies, and succeeded in carrying a measure to that 
effect 1776, May 13; from this grew the succeeding confed¬ 
eration, with its adoption and application of the treaty¬ 
making power, and so, essentially, the general powers and 
limitations of the government. Being made chairman of 
the congressional board of war, A. was practically secretary 
of war, and created the war department that conducted the 
military movements of the Revolution. In 1777 he was ap¬ 
pointed a commissioner to France, to replace Silas Deane, 
and in 1779 was commissioned to England to negotiate a 
peace, and was empowered to form a commercial treaty 
with Great Britain. Trouble with Count de Yergennes, the 
French minister, interfered with his mission, and he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated a loan of $2,000,000 and a 
treaty of commerce 

When peace was declared. A. was appointed the first 
ambassador to London, and remained there until 1787, when 
he returned to America, to receive the thanks of his coun¬ 
trymen, and the office of vice-president with Washington. 
In the mean time A. had published his Defense of the 
American Constitution and his Discourses on Davila which 
made a profound impression upon the leading minds of 
Europe for their fearless expression of new and unpopular 
views of government. A. was retained as vice-president 
during the second administration of Washington, though 
he had by this time separated in opinion from Jefferson on 
the question of the French revolution, and the latter’s great 
influence and popularity were used to defeat him. On the 
retirement of Washington, A. was chosen president, against 
Jefferson, Jay, Hamilton, and Thomas Pinckney, as rival 
candidates, and by only two votes in the electoral college 
more than Jefferson, who under the then existing law be¬ 
came vice-president. Adams’ administration was beset with 
difficulties from the beginning. He had quarrelled with 
Hamilton on the question of the antagonisms raised during 
the election, and the federal party was in its last days. Com¬ 
plications arose, with France, which were still further en¬ 
tangled by the impolitic conduct of James Monroe, minis¬ 
ter to that country, who was no match for Talleyrand, the 
French minister of state. The slave power was also begin¬ 
ning to be a factor in domestic politics, under the leadership 


ADAMS. 

of Jefferson, and so on the election of his rival to the prefil 
dential chair, A. vacated the office without even waiting to 
see his successor take his seat. He retired with dignity to 
his native place, and thereafter took no further active in¬ 
terest in public life. He w'as not, however, suffered to rest 
in peace, after his arduous and patriotic endeavors in the 
service of his country, but was hounded by the mischievous 
and the time-serving of both parties, whose frivolous and 
baseless charges the old man answered in able defense of 
his public career in the press. In his 86th year he was hon¬ 
ored by the citizens of his own state by liis election as a 
delegate to the convention to revise the constitution of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, in which body be showed a degree of liberality 
of opinion which had been hitherto foreign to his habit of 
mind. On the 4th of July, 1826, the semi-centennial anni¬ 
versary of American independence, Thomas Jefferson, at 
his home in Monticello, and John Adams at the family man¬ 
sion, in Quincy, Mass., died almost at the same hour—an 
impressive coincidence. During the later years of their life 
the two great statesmen had renewed the friendship which 
political differences had temporarily broken, and corres¬ 
ponded frequently. 

A. w r as of rather more than the average stature, with 
a fine head, and genial, kindly expression His manner 
was dignified and manly, and made a favorable impression 
abroad. He w r as a cultivated scholar, and a forcible, and 
at the same time elegant writer, a brilliant conversationalist 
and admired in society. His temper was hot, but he never 
bore malice, though he was always impatient of opposition. 
Few figures of the revolutionary period of our history out¬ 
ranked him in the public esteem—until fierce faction strug¬ 
gles blinded his political adversaries to his many high quali¬ 
ties as a man and as a statesman. 

ADAMS, John Couch:1819, June 15—1892, Jan. 24; b. 
Eng., discoverer, simultaneously with Le Verrier, of the 
planet Neptune. He early showed aptitude for mathematics; 
and after the usual school-training, he was sent to St. John’s 
college, Cambridge, where he attained the honor of senior 
wrangler, and became a mathematical tutor. In 1841, he 
undertook to find out the cause of the irregularities in the 
motion of Uranus, anticipating, indeed, his own and 
Le Verrier’s discovery—namely, that they are. due to the 
influence of a planet then unknown. Le Verrier did not 
commence his researches till the summer of 1845; but pub¬ 
lished the results of his calculations, Nov. 10., demonstrating 
the existence of an unknown planet, declaring it to be the 
cause of the known disturbance, and assigning to it almost 
the same place as A. had done in a paper which he left w ith 
the Astronomer Royal at Greenwich Observatory in the 
previous October, but which he had neglected to publish. 
Le Verrier has thus acquired, naturally, the whole honor of 
the discovery; but the merit of A., is not less. The re 
searches of the latter began earlier; his discovery, too, was 
earlier; he w^as behind only in publication. The council of 
the Royal Astronomical Society showed that they appre¬ 
ciated A.’s labors, by awarding equal honors to both. In 


ADAMS. 

1858, A. was appointed to the chair of mathematics in St 
Andrew’s, which, however, he vacated in a few months, on 
being nominated to the Lowndean professorship of Astron¬ 
omy, Cambridge. 

ADAMS, John Quincy : 1767, July 11—1848, Feb. 23; 
b. Braintree, Mass.; eldest son of John. He accompanied 
his father to Paris, when he was 11 years old, and during 
the latter’s negotiations with the Dutch at the Hague, at¬ 
tended the Uuiv. of Leyden. Returning to America, he 
graduated at Harvard Univ., 1788; studied law in the office 
of Thcophilus Parsons three years, and was admitted to 
the bar, 1791. In the mean time, he had travelled somewhat 
extensively in Europe, having been officially attached to the 
mission of Francis Dana to St. Petersburg, and resided also 
in London and Paris. After his admission to the bar he 
contributed a number of political letters to a Boston news¬ 
paper, which brought him prominently before the public as 
an able and thoughtful writer. In 1794, Washington ap 
pointed him minister to the Hague, and on his father’s 
succession to the presidency, he was appointed minister 
to Berlin, from which post he was recalled on the election 
of Jefferson. While in Berlin, Mr. A. learned German, 
and translated Wieland’s Oberon into English. On his 
return to this country, he resumed the practice of law in 
Bostou, and in 1802 was elected to the state senate from 
Suffolk co. In 1803, he was elected to the United States 
senate by the Federalists, but eventually parted from them 
on Jefferson’s ‘ embargo ’ proposition, for which he voted— 
a course of conduct which brought him into much con 
troversy, and resulted in his resigning from the senate. 
From 1806 to 1809, Mr. A. was prof, of rhetoric and belles- 
lettres in Harvard Univ., where his lectures—the first iu 
that department ever read in an American univ., attracted 
much attention. On retiring from his professorship, Mr. 
Adams visited Washington, where he denounced the fed¬ 
eral leaders to Jefferson, accusing them of a design to sub¬ 
vert the government and erect a northern confederacy. 
This charge was very seriously made and sustained, and 
for a long time lowered the standing and influence of 
those who, it was alleged, were affected by it. In 1809, 
Madison on assuming the presidency, appointed Mr. A. 
minister to St. Petersburg, a position which the latter ac¬ 
cepted against the wish of his father, and which he con¬ 
tinued to hold, declining the office of associate justice of the 
supreme court of the United States, which was offered him 
while he was in Russia. On the outbreak of the war of 
1812 between Great Britain and the United States, his influ¬ 
ence at the court of the Czar enabled him to induce that 
monarch to offer his services as a mediator, but they were 
declined by England. In 1813, with Henry Clay, Albert 
Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell, Mr. Adams was appointed 
a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of peace, and this was 
satisfactorily accomplished at Ghent, where the signatures 
were affixed, 1814, Dec. 24. During the next two years, Mr. 
Adams served as Minister to England, being recalled in 
1817 to take the place of secretary of state in Mr. Monroe’s 


ADAMS. 

cabinet. His most important act in this position was the 
conclusion of a treaty with Spain settling all disputes regard¬ 
ing Florida and Louisiana. During his incumbency of the 
secretaryship, he made an elaborate report on weights and 
measures which was highly esteemed by scientific men, and 
is still constantly referred to as an authority. The presiden¬ 
tial election of 1824 was thrown into the house, the candi¬ 
dates being Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and 
William H. Crawford, when Mr. A. received the votes of 
thirteen states, Jackson of seven, and Crawford of four; 
and A. was accordingly declared elected. His administra¬ 
tion was marked chiefly by the bitterness of his political 
enemies, of which there were many, and the fact, that before 
its close, he had both houses of congress arrayed against 
him. It was at this period that the system of high tariff 
was begun, and also that the first of the many fruitless at¬ 
tempts to gain possession of Cuba by purchase was made. 
A. vainly sought re-election in 1828; he was defeated by 
Andrew Jackson by 178 votes to 88, and on the latter’s in¬ 
auguration, he retired to Quincy. But so far was he from 
now closing his political life, that, although sixty-three years 
of age, he accepted the nomination for congress, was elected, 
and retained his seat during seventeen years. In 1884, he 
was a candidate for goyernor of Massachusetts, and again 
for senator, and both times was defeated by John Davis, 
In congress, Mr. Adams became noted as the friend of the 
people, and especially as the determined champion of the 
right of petition. This right he asserted, and battled for, 
in season and out of season, even to the extent, on one oc¬ 
casion, of presenting a petition from slaves—and, not only 
that, but forcing its acceptance. He secured the repeal of 
the outrageous ‘gag-rule’ denying the privilege of peti¬ 
tion on the subject of slavery, after having fought the ques¬ 
tion for nine years. It was this strenuous advocacy of free- 
speech which eventually drove him nto the ranks of the 
abolitionists. On Nov. 20, 1846, wnile on his way from 
Boston to attend congress, Mr. Adams was seized with an 
attack of paralysis, and was unable to be in his seat for four 
months, though he afterwards returned to it, but spoke in¬ 
frequently. On Feb. 21, 1848, he was seized with a second 
paralytic stroke while in his seat in the house of representa¬ 
tives. He was removed to the speaker’s room, and lingered 
until the second day afterwards, when he expired; his last 
words were—‘ This is the last of earth: I am content.’ Mr. 
A. married in 1797 the daughter of Joshua Johnson, a re¬ 
tired merchant of Nantes. He was, in religious belief, a 
Unitarian of the earlier or moderate type, as his father had 
been. Pie left voluminous writings upon a multitude of 
topics, political and others, published after his death in 
complete form, edited by his son, Charles Francis. He 
ranked higher as diplomatist than as statesman; in the latter 
capacity his judgment sometimes suffered from the strength 
'ff his prejudices. 


ADAMS. 

ADAMS, John Quincy, 2d: lawyer: b. Boston, 183d, 
Sep. 22; eldest son of Charles Francis A. (1st). He at* 
tended Harvard College, graduating 1853; studid law and 
was admitted to practice at the Suffolk bar 1855. He 
was engaged in the civil war, being a member of Gov. 
Andrew’s staff. The town of Quincy, elected him to the 
legislature 1866, but having declared his approval of the 
policy of Pres. Andrew Johnson, he failed of re-election. 
He was again a member of the legislature, however, in 
1869-70. He was defeated as the democratic candidate 
for gov. of Mass. 1867 and 71. He was chosen a member 
of the corporation of Harvard 1877; and has not since 
been prominent in public life, having applied himself to 
the practice of his profession. 

ADAMS, Samuel: 1722, Sept. 27—1802, Oct. 2; b. Bos¬ 
ton: one of the most renowned patriots of the American 
Revolution: great-grandson of Henry, an English emigrant, 
ancestor also of Pres. John Adams. He received hia 
education at Harvard College, and took the degree of a.m. 
in 1740. He made various attempts at the choice of a voca 
tion, having first studied for tha bar, and not liking that 
profession, made an effort in mercantile business, but found 
his true sphere in politics, and soon became prominent in 
the discussion of the important questions then beginning to 
interest the colonial mind. He was a member of the Mas¬ 
sachusetts legislature 1766-1774, and as early as 1764 had 
raised his voice in public protest against the practice of tax¬ 
ation without representation. In 1774, he was sent to the 
first congress of the confederation, and so important was his 
action while in that body, in its influence in bringing about 
the final separation of the colonies from the mother country, 
that, with John Hancock, he was named as an exception to 
the free offer of pardon made by Gen. Gage to those rebels 
who should return to their allegiance He was one of the 
warmest advocates of the adoption of the declaration of in¬ 
dependence, of which he was also one of the signers. In 
1781, A. retired from congress, and was active in the con¬ 
vention which framed the constitution of Massachusetts. 
Being elected to the state senate, he presided over the delib¬ 
erations of that body for several years. In 1789, he was 
elected lieut. gov., which office he continued to hold till 
1794, when, on the death of John Hancock, he was elected 
gov., and annually re-elected till 1797, when he retired from 
public life. In a work by a Mr. Galloway (London, 1780) 
on ‘The American Rebellion,’ Mr. Adams is thus described: 
‘He eats little, drinks little, sleeps little, thinks much, and 
is most indefatigable in the pursuit of his object. It was 
this man, who, by his superior application, managed at once 
the factions in congress at Philadelphia, and the factions in 
New England.’ A. was a natural democrat, and even ac¬ 
cused his countrymen of aristocratic tendencies, because 
of their confidence in Washington, whom he persistently 
underrated, both rs a general and as a statesman. He was 
narrow in his views and dogmatic in the expression of them, 
impatient of opposition, and self-opinionated; but a man of 
rare integrity, lofty principle g’’e^ pouraae and determina* 


ADAMS. 

tion, and splendid fidelity to Lis convictions. He opposed 
the federal constitution, and, in politics, was a stanch ad¬ 
herent of Jefferson and of Jeffersonian democracy. In per¬ 
son, A. is described as of medium height, with light complex¬ 
ion and blue eyes, possessing an erect and dignified carriage, 
his usual costume being a red cloak, tie-wig, and cocked 
hat. He was twice married, and it is related that in his 
early days of wedded life, when he pursued the unprofitable 
path of politics, his wife supported both him and herself by 
her own labor. He was never even in comfortable circum¬ 
stances until the death of a son, in the latter part of his life, 
brought him a bequest, sufficient in amount to sustain him. 
He wrote numerous state papers of recognized merit, and 
contributed political articles to the newspaper literature of 
the day. He left one daughter, but none of his blood to 
transmit his name to posterity. 

ADAMS, William Taylor (pen-name Oliver Optic): 
author of books for boys. b. Medway, Mass., 1822. July 
30 For 20 years a teacher in the public schools of Bos¬ 
ton, he gave his leisure to writing, and eventually gained 
wide popularity as author of works of fiction, especially 
for the young. He was a contributor to periodical litera¬ 
ture, and founded and edited Oliver Optic's Magazine for 
Boys and Girls. He wrote Army and Navy, The Boat 
Club, Great Western, Lake Shore, Woodville, Young Amer¬ 
ica Abroad, The Starry Flag, Onward and Upward, Yacht 
Club, River dale Story Books, In Doors and Out, The Way 
of the World, Living too Fast, and other series and single 
books. He died 1897, March 27. 


ADAM’S BRIDGE—ADANSON. 

ADAM’S BRIDGE: a chain of shoals extending across 
the gulf of Manaar, between Ceylon and the peninsula 
of Hindustan; a great obstruction to vessels. 

ADAM’S PEAK: name of a mountain summit in the s. 
after them by Europeans, to a mountain summit in the s. 
of Ceylon, 7,420 ft. high (not, however, the highest of the 
group). The native name is Samanhela. The cone form¬ 
ing the summit is a naked mass of granite, terminating 
in a narrow platform, in the middle of which is a hollow, 
5 ft. long, having a rude resemblance to a human footstep 
Mohammedan tradition makes this the scene of Adam’s 
penitence, after his expulsion from Paradise; he stood 1,000 
years on one foot, and hence the mark. To the Buddhists, 
the impression is the Sri-pada, or sacred footmark, left by 
Buddha on his departure from Ceylon, while the Hindoos 
claim it as the footprint of their god Siva. Over the sacred 
spot stands a wooden canopy, and multitudes of devotees, 
Buddhist, Hindu, and Mohammedan, frequent it. 

ADANA, d-dd'nd: a Turkish ejalet or province in s. e. 
Asia Minor, derives its name from its chief city Adana, con¬ 
taining 23,000 inhabitants. The city is almost 30 m. from 
Tarsus, on the way to Aleppo, commands the pass of the 
Taurus mountains, and carries on a considerable trade be¬ 
tween S}Tia and Asia Minor. Pompey peopled the territory 
of A. with pirates. The Syrian kings made the place a city, 
under the name of Antiochia ad Sarum, and on the mins of 
Antiochia the caliph Haroun al Raschid built A. The pres¬ 
ent inhabitants are mostly Turks, mixed with some Greeks 
and Armenians. 

AD ANSON, d-don-son' Michel : 1727-1806; b. Aix: 
celebrated French botanist. He soon left the clerical pro¬ 
fession, for which he had been educated, and devoted him¬ 
self to the study of natural history. In his early career, he 
had the ambition of superseding the Linnsean system by a 
clearer and more comprehensive method of arrangement. 
When about twenty-one years old, he went to Senegal in 
Africa, and, fearless of the unwholesome climate, stayed there 
five years, returning to France, with a large collection of 
specimens. Soon after his return, he laid before the French 
East India Company his plan of a colony on the African coast, 
in which all colonial produce was to be raised without slave- 
labor; but his plan was neglected. He published, 1757, his 
Histoire Naturelle da Senegal; and, 1703, his Families des 
Plantes, in which he endeavored to give a new form to bot¬ 
any; but he could not prevail against the established Lin- 
naean system. His next undertaking was on a vast scale— 
nothing less than a complete Encyclopedia, for which he 
hoped to gain the patronage of Louis XV. and the Academy; 
but though his bold plan was regarded with admiration, he 
received little substantial encouragement. This, however, 
did not check his enthusiasm; he proceeded with the work 
until he exhausted his means. During the Revolution he fell 
into very indigent circumstances. When invited to become 
a member of the National Institute, he answered that he was 
unable to attend for want of a pair of shoes. Afterwards, 
he received a pension, and until the time of his death he was 


ADANSONIA—ADD. 

ijarnest fn the prosecution of his plan, too vast to he carried 
out by an individual. 

ADANSONIA, dd-dn-sb'ni-d [named by Linnaeus in 
honor of the botanist Adanson (q.v.)J: a genus of the nat 
ural order Sterculiaceoe (q.v.), sub-order Bombacece, distin¬ 
guished by a simple deciduous calyx, a very long style, with 
numerous stigmas, and a woody capsule containing a fari¬ 
naceous pulp. The only known species, A. digitata, the 
Baobab, also called the Monkey-bread Tree, is a native of 
the tropical parts of w. Africa, but now T introduced into 
the East and West Indies. It is one of the very largest 
rees—not rising to a great height, but exceeding almost all 
>ther trees in the thickness of its trunk (20-30 feet). Even 
zts branches (60-70 feet long) are often as thick as the stems 
of large trees, and they form a hemispherical head of 120- 
150 feet in diameter; their outermost boughs drooping to 
the ground. The leaves are digitate or 7-fid; the flowers are 
white and extremely large, on drooping peduncles a yard in 
length. The fruit ( Monkey-bread) is of the size of a citron. 
The bruised leaves ( Lola ) are mixed with the daily food of 
the inhabitants of tropical Africa; and Europeans in that 
country use them as a remedy for diarrhoea, fevers, and dis¬ 
eases of the urinary organs. The pulp of the fruit, which 
is slightly acid and pleasant to the taste, is eaten with or with¬ 
out sugar; and the expressed juice mixed with sugar is much 
esteemed as a beverage, being very refreshing, effectual in 
quenching thirst, and regarded as a specific in putrid and 
pestilential fevers. The bark is said to be powerfully feb¬ 
rifugal. 

ADAPT, v. d-ddpt’ [F. adapter, to fit to, to adapt—from 
L. addptdre— from ad, to; apto, I fit— lit., to fit to a thing]: 
to fit; to make to suit. Adapting, imp. Adapted, pp. 
Adaptable, a. d-ddpt'd-bl, that may be suited. Adapta¬ 
bility, n. a-ddpt'a-bil'i-ti, also Adapt'ableness, n. -di-bl- 
nes, the being fitted or suited for. Adaptation, n. ad dp- 
ta'shun [F. adaptation —from L. adaptdtionem] : the act of 
making suitable; fitness, as of one thing to another. Adapt - 
edness, n. state of being adapted. 

AD AY/, v. a-ddw' [AS. a, intensive: dagian, to become 
day, to dawn]: in OE., to wake out of sleep, or out of a 
swoon. Ad aw', v. [Goth, thahan; M.H. Ger. dagen; Icel. 
thagga, to be silent, to silence, to hushl: to reduce to silence; 
to still or subdue. Abaw'ing, imp. Adaw t ed, pp. d-dawd'. 

AD AYS, ad. d-ddz' [AS. a, on, and days]: in the day¬ 
time; every day. Nowadays, ad. at the present time; in 
this age. 

ADD, v. ad [L. addere, to put to or unite with—from ad, 
to; do, I give— lit. , to put to or near another]: to put to¬ 
gether; to join; to unite. Adding, imp Added, pp. ad¬ 
ded. Addible, a. dd'dl-bl, also Additive, a. dd'di tlv, that 
may be added. Ad'dibil'ity, n. the state, or possibility of 
being added. Addition, n. ad-dish'un, an increase; unit¬ 
ing two or more numbers into one sum; something put to. 
Additional, a. dd-dish'i a-dl, something more. Addi ¬ 
tionally, ad. in a manner to addto.'-SYN. of ‘ add : tc 


ADDA—ADDISON. 

annex; append; join; unite; coalesce;—of ‘ addition ac¬ 
cession; augmentation; increase; adjunct; appendage. 

ADDA, ad!da, the Latin Addua, a river of Lombardy, 
rising in the Rhmtian Alps above Bormio. It flows into the 
Lake of Como, issuing from which, below Lecco, it trav¬ 
erses the plain of Lombardy in a direction s.s.e., passing 
Lodi and Pizzighetone, and falls into the Po about 8 miles 
above Cremona. 

ADDAMS, Jane, philanthropist; b. in Cedarville, Ill., 
1809, Sept. 6. She became an active social reformer; in¬ 
augurated the establishment known as Hull blouse in 1889; 
and lectured on the condition of the poor. 

ADDER, n. adder [AS. nazddre or cettr; Ger. natter; 
Low Ger. adder; W . neidr; Icel. nadr; Goth. nadrs\ : a 
poisonous serpent; a viper; the Pellas berus. Adder-fly 
or Adder-bolt, n. dragon-fly. Adder’s tongue, a genus 
of small ferns, whose seeds are produced on a single- spike, 
supposed to resemble a serpent’s tongue; the ophioglossum, 
which see. ADDER: n. machine for adding tigures. 

ADDER: common English name of the viper (q.v.), but 
also often more vaguely used for poisonous serpents of the 
family Viperidce. Where the name occurs in the English 
version of the Scriptures, it appears to be in this vague 
sense; for although the four Hebrew words rendered Adder 
doubtless had some precise distinction from each other, the 
distinctions cannot now be traced with certainty. A very 
venomous serpent of New South Wales ( Acanthopis tortor) is 
sometimes called the Death or Black A. 

A D PICT, v. ad-dikt [L. addictus, adjudged, assigned: 
mid L. addictdre for indictare, to accuse—from ad, dictus, 
said, named—from dicere, to say, to proclaim]: to give 
one’s self up to, as to a custom or habit—usually in an ill 
sense. Addict ing, imp. Addict ed, pp. Addict'ed- 
ness, the quality of being addicted. Addiction, n. dd- 
dlk'shim, the state of being addicted.— Syn. of * addict’: to 
devote; apply; dedicate; consecrate. 

ADDISCOMBE: see Cadet. 

ADDISON, ddl-son Joseph: 1672, May 1—1719: b. 
Milston, near Amesbury, Wiltshire: son of an eminent cler¬ 
gyman of the Church of England. He entered the univer¬ 
sity of Oxford when only fifteen years of age. where he 
greatly distinguished himself, especially by the facility with 
which he wrote Latin verse. He was originally intended 
for the church, but various circumstances conspired to draw 
him aside into literature and politics, the principal of which 
were his acquaintance with Dryden, who honored the young 
poet with his patronage, and his intimacy with Lord Som¬ 
ers. whose favor he gained by dedicating a poem to him on 
one of King William’s campaigns. In 1699 he received a 
pension of £300 a year, and then set out on a continental 
tour. While in France, he perfected himself in the lan¬ 
guage of the country. On the outbreak of the Spanish war 
of succession, he departed to Italy, where he penned his 
charming Letter to Lord Halifax. Towards the end of 


ADDISON. 

1703; he returned home by way ot Switzerland and Ger* 
many ; but his expectations of a ‘ place’ were disappointed 
for the Whigs were out of office. The battle of Blenheim, 
however, in the next year, presented a brilliant opportunity 
to him. The ministry wished the victory commemorated in 
verse, and A. was appointed to do it. Lord Godolphin, the 
treasurer, was so excessively delighted with the first half of 
the triumphal poem, that before the rest was finished he 
made A. a commissioner of appeals. The poet was now 
fairly involved in politics. He accompanied Halifax to 
Hanover; became under secretary of state, 1706, and in 1709 
went to Ireland as secretary to the lord-lieutenant, where he 
also obtained the office of keeper of the records, worth £300 
a year. In the same year, his friend Steele commenced 
The Tattler, to which A. soon became a frequent contribu¬ 
tor. He also wrote political articles in the Whig Examiner. 
On the 1st of March, 1711, appeared The Spectator, the most 
popular and elegant miscellany in English literature then 
and for a long time subsequent. With an interruption from 
1712, Dec. 6, to 1714, June 15, during part of which time 
The Guardian, a similar periodical, took its piuce, The 
Spectator was continued to 1714, Dec. 20. A.’s fame is in¬ 
separably associated with this periodical. The quality of 
his genius is now determined by it, rather than by the arti¬ 
ficial rhetoric of his Cato. He was the animating spirit of 
the magazine, and by far the most exquisite essays which 
appeared in it are by him. In 1713 appeared The Tragedy 
of Cato, the popularity of which, considering its total want 
of dramatic power, was amazing. It was generally under¬ 
stood to have a political as well as a poetical inspiration; 
but so prudently had A. expressed himself, that both par¬ 
ties, whig and tory, received its frigid declamation with 
rapture. It was translated into various European languages ; 
and even the monarch of French criticism, Voltaire, held 
Shakespeare a barbarian in tragedycompared with our author. 

‘ All the laurels of Europe,’ says Thackeray, ‘ were scarcely 
sufficient for the author of this “ prodigious” poem.’ Every 
one in England praised it except Dennis. A. was called the 
‘ great Mr. A. ’ after that wonderful night in the theatre, when, 
as Pope says, ‘ the numerous and violent claps of the whig 
party on the one side were echoed back by the tories on the 
other.’ This enthusiasm was a delusion wffiich time has ef¬ 
fectually dispfcLed. In 1716, A. married the dowager count¬ 
ess of Warwick, and in the following year was appointed 
secretary of state. For neither of his new situations was he 
at all suited. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, in a letter to 
Pope, expressed her fear that ‘ a day might come when he 
would be heartily glad to resign both.’ He was so extremely 
timid and awkward in large companies, that it was out of 
the question for him to attempt debating in parliament—a 
thing indispensable to one in his position. He consequently 
resigned, 1718. Then as to the other matter, Dr. Johnson 
sarcastically remarks, that * the lady was persuaded to marry 
him on terms much like those on which a Turkish princes* 
is espoused—to whom the sultan is reported to pronounce 
“ Daughter, I give thee this man for thy slave.” ’ No on* 


ADDISON’S DISEASE—ADDLE. 

can doubt that this marriage was a mistake on the part of A. 
His health had been for some time very precarious ; and at 
length, after an illness of a few months, he died at Holland 
House, Kensington, 1719, June 17, three years after what 
Thackeray calls ‘ his splendid but dismal union.’ A. had 
appointed Mr. Tickell his literary executor, who published 
his works shortly afterwards in 4 vols. quarto. Besides his 
writings above alluded to, A. wrote A Treatise on the Useful¬ 
ness of Ancient Medals, Especially inrelation to the Latin and 
Greek Poets, which, however, excited little interest. He 
also left an unfinished work on The Evidences of the Chris¬ 
tian Beligion . But the most delightful and original of all 
his productions is that series of sketches in The Spectator of 
which Sir Roger de Coverley is the central figure, and Sir 
Andrew Freeport and Will Honeycomb the side ones. Sir 
Roger himself is an absolute creation; the gentle yet vivid 
imagination, the gay and cheerful spirit of humor, the keen, 
shrewd observation, and fine raillery of foibles which A. has 
displayed in this felicitous characterization, render it a work 
of pure genius. But A. in prose is always excellent. He 
has given a delicacy to English sentiment, and a modesty to 
English wit which it never knew before. Elegance, which 
in his predecessors had been the companion of immorality, 
now appeared as the advocate of virtue. Every grace was 
enlisted in the cause of a benign and beautiful piety. His 
style, too, is perfect after its fashion. There are many no¬ 
bler and grander forms of expression in English literature 
than A.’s, but there are none comparable to it in sweetness, 
propriety, and natural dignity. ‘ Whoever wishes,’ says Dr. 
Johnson, ‘to attain an English style, familiar but not 
coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days 
and nights to the volumes of A.’ His various writings, but 
especially his essaj's, fully realized the purpose which he 
constantly had in view, ‘ to enliven morality with wit, and 
to temper wit with morality.’ They materially helped to 
reform the manners of their time, and created, in addition, 
that class of readers which has now become so prodigious 
in numbers, and on which all literature now depends for its 
support—the middle class. It must, however, be admitted 
that since the beginning of the present century, their popu¬ 
larity has had considerable decline. The chief cause of this is, 
that much in them relates to temporary fashions, vices, rude¬ 
nesses, and absurdities, now out of date. Yet, after making 
every abatement, it is certain that there are in the collected 
works of A. so many admirably written essays on subjects of 
abiding interest and importance, on characters, virtues, vices 
and manners, which will chequer society while the human 
race endures, that a judicious selection can never fail to pre¬ 
sent indescribable charms to the man of taste, piety, philam 
thropy, and refinement. See Courthope’s Life (1884). 
ADDISON'S DISEASE: see Suprarenal Capsules. 

ADDLE, v. ad'dl [AS. adl, disease: prov. Sw. add. 
urine]: to make corrupt. Addle or Addled, a. ad'dlu. 
diseased; putrid; rotten—applied to eggs; barren. Add'- 
lend, imp. Addled, pp. ad did. Ad'dle-head'ed, a. ot 
weak intellect; also Ad'dle-pa'ted, a. -pd'ted. 


ADDRESS—ADELAIDE. 

ADDRESS, v. dd-dres' [F. adresser, to direct—from dres¬ 
ser, to arrange—from L. directus, directed, made straight— 
lit., to arrange or make ready for immediate use]: to speak 
to; to write a direction on a letter; to pay court to, as a 
lover. Addressing, imp. Addressed, pp. dd-drest '. 
Address', n. a speaking to; direction on a letter; place 
where to be found; skill or dexterity; manner or mode of 
behavior; a speech; a written message, as of respect or con¬ 
gratulation. Addresses, n. plu. dd-dres'ez, courtship paid 
to a woman. Address'er, n. one who.— Syn. of ‘ address, 
n.’: speech; discourse; oration; harangue; dexterity; tact; 
management; skill; readiness; adroitness. 

ADDRESS, FORMS OF: see Forms of Address. 

ADDUCE, v. ad-dus [L. adducere, to lead or bring to— 
from ad, ducd, I lead or bring]: to bring to or forward; to 
offer; to cite; to name. Addu'cing, imp. Adduced, pp. 
dd-dust'. Addu'cer, n. -ser, one who. Addu'cible, a. 
-si-bl, capable of being adduced. Adduction, n. dd-diik'- 
shun [L. adductus, led or brought to: mid. L. adcluctionem: 
F. adduction ]: the act of bringing forward or towards. Ad¬ 
ducent, a. dd-dusent, bringing forward or together. Ad- 
ductive, a. dd-duk'tiv, that adduces; that brings forward. 
Adduc'tively, ad. - tiv-li . Adduc tor, n. in anat., a muscle 
that draws one part towards another.— Syn. of ‘adduce’: 
to allege; assign; advance; offer; present; cite; quote; men¬ 
tion; name. 

ADEEM, d-dem v. [from L. ad, to; ems, I buy]: in law » 
to revoke as in the case of a legacy: Ademption, n. de¬ 
notes a legal satisfaction, viz.: that a legacy to a creditor 
extinguishes the debt. 

ADEL AAR, a'del er. Cord Siversen: 1622-75; b. Bre- 
vig, Norway; great naval commander. In his 20th year, 
in the naval service of Venice against the Turks he broke 
through a line of 67 Turkish galleys around his ship, sank 
15 and burned several others. Frederic III. engaged him 
as admiral of the Danish fleet. In 1675, in command, 
under Christian V., of the whole Danish naval force 
against Sweden, he died suddenly at Copenhagen. 

ADELAIDE, dd'e-ldd: capital of the state of South 
Australia; on the Torrens, 7 miles from Port Adelaide, with 
which it is connected by railway. .The first settlement 
was made in 1836, but already a university has been estab¬ 
lished at A., and liberally endowed. The Torrens, which 
is spanned by several bridges, divides the town into North 
and South Adelaide. The streets of A. are broad and 
regularly laid out, especially in A. proper, to the south of 
the river, where they all cross each other at right angles. 
Among the public buildings are the post-office, the govern¬ 
ment offices, the governor’s house, and the town-hall. It 
is the seat of an Episcopal and of a Roman Catholic bishop, 
and has an unusual number of churches. A. also has a 
large botanical garden, covering more than 120 acres of 
ground. The town is surrounded by a belt of permanently 
reserved land, half a mile in width, called the Park Lands, 
and beyond this are the suburbs. A. is abundantly sup 


ADELARTIIROSOMATA—ADEN. 

plied with water from two reservoirs G or 7 m. distant, 
The chief manufactures are w-xnen, leather, iron, and 
earthenware goods ; but the chid importance of A. depends 
on its being the great emporium for South Australia. Port 
Adelaide, its haven, has a safe and commodious harbor; 
and in 1882, an ocean dock of 30 acres iu extent was begun, 
capable of admitting the largest ships. A. is the terminus 
of the direct telegraph line to London across Australia, and 
has telegraphic communication with the other colonies. 
The port of A. is the nearest port of call for vessels arriving 
from Europe either round the Cape or by the Suez Canal; 
and when the railway connection with Melbourne now 
being pushed on is complete, passengers and mails for all 
parts of Australia may be landed here. Tramways for 
street cars were introduced in 1878. Among other edu¬ 
cational institutions are: St. Peter’s (Episcopal) College; 
St. Barnabas Theological College, opened 1881; and Prince 
Alfred (Wesleyan) College. Besides the chief religious de¬ 
nominations, here are represented Swedenborgians, Friends, 
Unitarians and Jews. A. has daily and weekly news¬ 
papers. Pop. (1891) 133,252; (1901) 103,430. 

ADELARTHROSOMATA, n. plu. ad'e-ldr-thro-so'ma-ta 
[Gr. adelos, hidden; arthros. a joint; soma , body, somata, 
bodies]: an order of the Arachnida, comprising the harvest- 
spiders, book-scorpions, etc.; same as Pedipalpi (q.v.) 

ADELBERT COLLEGE: see Westerm Reserve Uni¬ 
versity. 

ADELPHOUS, a. d-delf'us [Gr. adelplios, a brother, a 
blood relation 1: related; in hot. , having a union of filaments. 

ADELSBERG, adels-berg': district and market-town in 
Carniola. Near the t., 22 m. n.e. of Trieste, is a large 
stalactite cavern, the A. Grotto , through which flows a 
rapid stream. This cavern, the largest in Europe, is 
divided into the Old and the New Grotto; the former is 
858 ft. in length; the latter, 8,550 ft. in length, contains 
some most remarkable stalactites. 

ADELUNG, adeh-loong, Jon. Christoph, 1732-1806; b. 
Pomerania; d. Dresden, distinguished linguist and lexico¬ 
grapher. At Dresden he had held the office of chief-librarian. 
His chief works are his Worterbuch der Uochdeutschen 
Mundart (Dictionary of High German), in which he took 
Dr. Johnson as his model; and his Mithridates Oder allge- 
meine Sprachenkunde, a work on general philology. 

ADEN, a den or a den: peninsula and town on the s.w. 
coast of Arabia, about 100 miles e. of the strait of Bab-el- 
Mandeb. This peninsula is doubtless of volcanic origin, and 
consists chiefly of a range of hills not exceeding 1,776 feet in 
height. It is joined to the mainland by a narrow, level, and 
sandy isthmus. In a valley which forms the crater of a 
submarine.volcano stands the town of A. The area of the 
peninsula is about 5 sq m.; but to provide for the growing 
population, an area of 34 square miles on the mainland has 
since 1880 been added. The town of A. is in an indescriba¬ 
bly barren district; the heat is intense. A. suffers from 
want of water; and though it is sometimes called ‘ healthy 


ADENITIS. 

oil the whole, other accounts make it a very hot-bed of 
disease. Pliny knew of the place, whose name he writes 
‘ Atliana.’ It was known also by the name of ‘ Emporium 
Romanum. Up to the time of the circumnavigation of 
Africa, A., so favorably situated at the entrance of the Red 
Sea, was the chief mart of all Asiatic produce and manu¬ 
factures, and even the Chinese traded here. Marco Polo 
and other voyagers of the middle ages told wonders of the 
riches and splendor of the place. In the course of time, 
however, it was reduced to a small village, which, 1838, 
contained only about 600 inhabitants, including some 250 
Jews and about 50 Indian merchants. The increasing im¬ 
portance of the Red Sea route to India gave great value to 
A. as a station for England to hold; and in 1838 the Arab 
sultan was persuaded to cede the peninsula to England. He 
afterwards repented of the bargain, but was held to his 
contract by force of arms; and 1839, Jan. 11, after a few 
hours’ contest, A. fell into the hands of the British. Here 
they have now a strong garrison and fortifications. In its 
mediaeval prosperity, A. had had a magnificent system of 
cisterns for collecting the rain-water from the circle of hills 
that surround it. Who built them is unknown; but it is 
conjectured that they had been begun about the 6th or 7th c. 
They had been allowed to fall into disuse, and were filled 
with rubbish, and in ruins; but recently a considerable num¬ 
ber have been excavated and restored by the British govern¬ 
ment. If all restored, they seem capable of containing 30,- 
000,000 gallons. A is of great importance in a mercantile 
and nautical point of view, having a position between Asia 
and Africa like that of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa. 
The population and resources of the place have rapidly in¬ 
creased sinee 1838, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 
1869 gave it a great impetus. The annual values of its im¬ 
ports and of its exports range from below to a little above 
$5,000,000. A. is a telegraphic station on the cable be¬ 
tween Suez and Bombay, laid down in 1870. Pop. (1891) 
41,910, of whom about 30,000 are Mohammedans. 

ADENITIS, ad'e-nl'tis (see Adenology) and ANGEIO- 
LEUCI'TIS: terms employed in medicine to indicate inflam¬ 
mation of the lymphatic glands and inflammation of the 
lymphatic vessels respectively. In most instances of inflam¬ 
mation in the absorbent or lymphatic system, the vessels and 
glands are simultaneously involved. Although there is 
plenty of evidence, from the examination of the dead body, 
that inflammation of the lymphatics may occur internally, it 
is observed in the living subject in connection only with the 
skin or an ulcerated surface. The disease originates usually 
in an open wound of almost any form, as a puncture, a cut, 
or a blister. This wound is directly infected by some mor¬ 
bid matter, as, for example, some local inflammatory prod¬ 
uct, such as the putrid secretion of a sore; but more com¬ 
monly by some irritating or poisonous matter from without, 
or some gaseous matter. The inflammation that is thus set 
up in the lymphatics always extends upwards from the 
wound, and may be traced by lines of redness following the 
course of these vessels, and not of the veins, and terminating 


ADENITIS. 

where the inflamed vessels enter a gland. In the arm, for 
example, they never pass the armpit, in which the axillary 
glands lie. The tenderness along these inflamed tracts is 
excessive, and extends to the next gland, which appears to 
arrest the further progress of the poisoned lymph, by be¬ 
coming itself inflamed. The degree of inflammation of the 
gland may vary from slight enlargement with tenderness on 
pressure, to profuse suppuration. The suppuration may not 
take place till a week or more after the inflammation of the 
vessels has subsided, and may excite no rigors or other con 
stitutional symptoms; and a patient may be quite uncon¬ 
scious of any serious ailment, when half a pint or more of 
matter may be collecting in and around a gland in the 
armpit. The constitutional symptoms attending an attack 
of acute inflammation of the lymphatic vessels ( angeiolev- 
citis) are often severe including rigors, nausea, heat of 
skin, thirst, dryness and coating of tongue, with constipa¬ 
tion, sleeplessness, and languor.—For prevention of A., 
arising from a cut or sore, timely application of collodion 
or of court-plaster may often suffice. When syptoms of 
this form of inflammation have supervened, the wound 
should be thoroughly cleansed by being laid more open 
if all its parts are not freely exposed, and then put under 
a stream of water, or soaked in a hot bath. If recent or 
punctured, it should be sucked, and then freely touched 
with a pencil of nitrate of silver. A warm poultice of lin¬ 
seed meal or the like will be beneficial by its soothing 
effect. Attention must be given to the condition of the 
bowels. Entire rest should be enjoined. 

ADENOCLE, n. a-de'no-sel: same as Adenoma (q.v.). 

ADENOGRAPHY, n. a-den-dg' ra-fi [Gr. aden or adena y 
a gland; grapho, I write]: treatise on the glands. Aden- 
ology, n. that part of anatomy which treats of the 
glands, their nature and uses. Adenoid, a. occurring in 
in, or connected with glands. Adenoma, or Adenocele, 
Adenous, tumor (q.v.) originating in a gland and deriv¬ 
ing its characteristics therefrom, a. gland-like. Adeni- 
form, a. formed or shaped like a gland. Adenitis (see 
above). 

ADEPHAGIA, n. dd'-ef-d'ji-a [Gr. adephcigos, glutton¬ 
ous]: voracious appetite. Adeph' agous, a. gluttonous. 

ADEPS, n. ad'-eps [L.J: animal fat; lard; contents of the 
adipose tissue (q.v.). Inphar., tallow. 

ADEPT, a. ad'-ept' [L. adeptus, obtained]: skilful, well- 
trained. N. one who is skilled or proficient. Adeptness, 
n. the quality of skilfulness, proficiency. 


ADEQUATE—ADERSBACH ROCKS. 

ADEQUATE, a. dd'e-kwdl [L. admqudtus, made equal to 
or level with—from ad, cequdtus , made equal or like—from 
(vquus , even, equal— lit., made equal to]: fully sufficient 
for; equal to. Ad equately, ad. -li, in an adequate man 
ner. Adequacy, n. dd'e-kwd-si , the being equal to; suffi¬ 
ciency for an end. Ad equateness, n. the state of being 
adequate.—S yn. of ‘adequate’: sufficient; competent; pro¬ 
portionate; commensurate; equal to; enough. 

ADERNO, d-ddr'no (ancient Adranum ): town of Sicily, 
17 m. n.w. from Catania; at the base of Mount Etna, close 
to the Simeto, on which are some remarkable cascades neai 
the town. It is surrounded by walls, is a very clean town, 
and is full of convents and nunneries, mostly founded by the 
Normans, so that bare walls of lava and grated windows 
appear everywhere, and the sound of bells is almost inces¬ 
santly heard. Pop. 19,600. 

ADERSBACH ROCKS, d'ders-bdk-: a remarkable laby¬ 
rinthine group of sandstone rocks near the village of Aders- 
bach, Bohemia. The aspect of some parts of the group has 
been compared to that of a city ruined by a conflagration. 
One of the pinnacles rises to a height of 218 feet. The 
structure of the rocks has been produced, not by any com¬ 
motion of the earth, but by the influences of rain, frost, and 
other atmospheric changes, wearing down the soft sandstone 
into many fantastic forms. During the Thirty Years’ War, 
the miserable people of Bohemia often found refuge here. 


ADESMY—ADHESION. 

ADESMY, n. ddes-mi [Gr. a, not; desmos, skin]: in boi. t 
the division or splitting of an organ usually entire. Ade& 
m^cious, dd' es-md' sluts, in zool ., having the shell not coven 
mg all the body, while the mantle is completely closed and 
bibulous. 

ADFECTED, a. ad-fekt’ed [L. ad, factus, done]: in alg. % 
consisting of different powers of the unknown quantity. 

ADHERE, v. dd-her' [F. adherer, to adhere—from L. 
adhcerere, to stick or hang on—from ad, hcereo, I stick]: to 
stick to; to cleave to; to hold to, as an opinion. Adhe ring, 
imp. Adhered, pp. dd-herd'. Adherence, n. dd-he'rem 
[F. adherence ]: attachment to. Adhe'rency, n. - ren-sl, 
the act of sticking or adhering to. Adherent, n. adherent 
[F adherent ]: one who adheres to; a follower. Adj. 
sticking; adhering; united with; in hot., denoting the union 
of parts that are normally separate and in different verticils. 
Adhe rently, ad. -li. Adhe rer, n. -rer, one who 
adheres. Adhesion, n. dd-he'zhun [L. adhmus, clung to, 
adhered to: F. adhesion, adhesion]: applied to matter —the 
act of sticking to; a union of parts of any body by means of 
cement, glue, growth, etc.; in surg., the reunion of parts 
that have been severed; steady attachment. Adhesive, a. 
dd-hesiv, that will stick; gluey; sticky. Adhesively, ad. 
-li. Adhe siveness, n. the quality of sticking or adhering; 
tenacity.— Syn. of ‘adhere’: to cleave to; stick to; attach 
to; cling to; fix on; hold to;—of ‘adherent, n.’: follower; 
adherer; partisan; disciple; supporter; upholder; dependent. 

ADHESION (see Adhere): the species of attraction 
manifested between two separate bodies when their surfaces 
are brought to a considerable extent into close contact. It 
is nearly allied to cohesion (q.v.). Adhesion is seen in the 
ease of two solid bodies when their polished surfaces are 
laid on one another; but it acts more powerfully between 
solids and fluids, owing to their intimate contact. We have 
instances of this in the film of water adhering to any body 
dipped n that fluid, and in water running down the side of 
an inclined vessel from which it is being poured. All solids 
and liquids do not exhibit this mutual attraction. Thus, 
though bright metals are wetted by mercury, glass and wood 
are not; nor does water adhere to fat. Capillary attraction 
'q.v.) is a special manifestation of adhesion.—The adhesion 
of gases to the surface of solids is described by Liebig as 
acting an important part in many processes. "A more or 
Jess condensed atmosphere of gases surrounds every body, 
and every particle of a powdered or porous body; and gases, 
such as oxygen, have in this condition an intensified chemi¬ 
cal action. Platinum in the state of powder condenses 800 
times its volume of oxygen; and when hydrogen comes in 
contact with the oxygen "in this state, the two gases combine, 
though, when free, they require the application of flame be¬ 
fore they will combine. 

Adhesion, in Pathology, is when two surfaces of a living 
body become united. If they have been separated by the 
cut of a sharp instrument, and are immediately and accu¬ 
rately placed in apposition to each other, they may adhere at 


ADHIBIT—ADIGfr 

once without any apparent bond of union. But, usually, 
the blood vessels of the part pour out, between the surfaces, 
a fluid, consisting of the watery part of the blood holding 
fibrine in solution. The liquid part of this is reabsorbed or 
escapes from the wound, leaving the fibrine, in which first 
cells are developed, and then blood vessels: it is now a 
living tissue, and forms a uniting medium between the 
sides of the wound. 

Serous membranes, as the pleura, pcur out this fluid when 
inflamed; and hence the adhesions so often the result of 
pleurisies.—If two granulating surfaces be kept in contact, 
the opposite granulations may fuse together,and the wound 
unite by secondary adhesion. See Granulation. 

ADHIBIT, v. dd-hib'it [L. adhibitus, added to—from ad, 
haded, I have or hold— lit ., to hold or apply to, as to some 
other object]: to put to; to use or apply. Adhib'iting, 
imp. Adhib ited, pp. Adhibition, n. ad'hi-bish'un, 
application; use. 

ADIANTITES, n. plu. ad'i-dn'tits or -ti'tez [Gr. adiantos, 
unmoistened]: a genus of fossil ferns found in the coal- 
measures, so called from their resemblance to the existing 
udiantum, or maidenhair. 

ADIANTUM, n. dd'i-dn'tum [Gr. adidnton, the herb 
maiden-hair—from adiantos, not moistened; so called from 
the belief that they will remain drv, though plunged among 
water]: maidenhair (q.v.), beautiful genus of ferns. 

ADIAPHORA, dd-i-af o-rd, n. things indifferent; act¬ 
ions which one may either do or omit without sin. 

ADIAPHOROUS, a. dd'i-df o-riis [Gr. adidphdros, indif¬ 
ferent, common—from a, not; diaplierd, I carry through]: 
in O.E., indifferent; neutral. Adiaph'orist, n. one who is 
indifferent; a neutral. 

ADIEU, n. ad. interj. d-du [F. d, to; Dieu, God—a 
contracted form of the OF. a Dieu soyez, may you be with 
God]: I commend you to God; a farewell; an expression of 
regard or kind wishes on parting. 

ADIGE, ad'i-je: the most important river in Italy after the 
Po; rises in the Rhsetian Alps. Various streamlets descend 
from these mountains, and, uniting at Glarus, form the Etsch, 
'which is, properly speaking, the beginning of the A., and 
the name by which the entire river is known in Germany. 
From Glarus it flows e. into the Tyrol; then, after a slight 
detour to the se., it flows due s. past Trent and Roveredo, 
into Lombardy, and, passing Verona, takes a s.e. sweep, 
discharging its waters into the Adriatic, between the mouths 
of the Po and the Brenta. In ancient times (when it was 
called the A thesis), it had a more northerly embouchure. It 
is very rapid, and subject to sudden swellings and over¬ 
flowings, which cause great damage to the surrounding 
country. The two most remarkable inundations on record 
are those in 1721 and 1724. During the Italian wars, its 
banks were repeatedly the scenes of bloody engagements. 
Its length is about 250 m.; its breadth in the plain of Lom¬ 
bardy ,^650 ft.; its depth, from 10 to 16 feet. It is navigable 


ADIPIC-AD 11 {ON I) ACKS. 


as far as Trent, but the navigation is extremely arduous, on 
account of the swiftness of the current. The A. is a transit- 
river for the trade oi Germany and Italy. 

ADIPIC, a. ad-ip'ik [ h. adeps , gen. adipis, fat]: of or be¬ 
longing to fat. Adipic acid, C 4 H 8 (C001I)2, an organic 
diatomic dibasic acid produced by the oxidation of oleic 
acid, suet, spermaceti, and other fatty bodies by nitric 
acid. It is obtained in the form of soft, white, opaque 
hemispherical nodules, which have the appearance of ag¬ 
gregations of small crystals. Its salts are termed adi¬ 
pates. 

ADIPOCERE, n. ad'i-pd-ser' [L. adeps, fat; cerd, wax]: 
a soft, unctuous, or waxy substance, of a whitish-gray or 
a light-brown color, into which the muscular fibres of 
dead animal bodies are converted when buried in soil of a 
certain kind, and there subjected to the action of running 
water, or otherwise brought in contact with moisture. In 
such circumstances, the soft parts of the animal structures, 
instead of decaying, may become transformed into A. 
Lean beef kept under running water for three weeks was 
found reduced to a fatty substance. A piece of liver that 
has suffered fatty degeneration, if immersed for sometime 
in water is said to become exactly like A. A notable dis¬ 
covery of adipocerated bodies was made in a Paris burying- 
ground in 1787. Adipocerous, a. dd'i-pos-er-us, pertain¬ 
ing to. Adipocerite, n. dd'i-pos' er-it, or Adipocere min¬ 
eral, a fatty matter found in some peat-mosses, and in 
the argillaceous iron-ore of Merthyr in Wales. When cold 
it is inodorous, but when heated it emits a slightly bitu¬ 
minous odor. 


ADIPOSE, a. dd'i-pos [L. adiposus, fatty—from adeps, 
fat]: denoting the fatty tissue which exists more or less 
throughout the body. Adiposis, n. dd'i-pos'is , great fatness 
or obesity of the human body. 

ADIPOSE TISSUE: a peculiar kind of animal membrane 
or tissue, consisting of an aggregation of minutes pherical 
pouches or vesicles filled with fat or 
oil. The tissue itself is organic and 
vital, the vesicles secreting "the fatty 
matter from the capillary blood-vessels 
with which they are surrounded; the 
secreted product, or fat (q.v.), is in¬ 
organic, and devoid of vitality. The 
adipose tissue differs from cellular or 
filamentous tissue in ha ving the vesicles 
closed, so that the fat does not escape 
even when fluid. A dropsical effusion, 
which infiltrates the filamentous tissues, does not affect the 
adipose tissue. There is a considerable layer of adipose 
tissue immediately under the skin; also around the large 
vessels and nerves, in the omentum and mesentery, around 
the kidneys, joints, etc. 

ADIRONDACK®, dd-i-ron'dales: a mountainous region 
situated in the northern part of the state of New York 



Adipose Tissue, 

magnified. 


ADIT—ADJACENT. 

having Lakes George and Champlain on the e., Canada on 
the n., and the St. Lawrence river on the n.w., while on the 
s. it reaches nearly to the Mohawk river. In its midst an 
elevated plateau, 2,000 ft. above the level of the sea, 
extends over an area 150 m. by 100, and five ranges of 
mountains, running nearly parallel with each other, traverse 
this plateau from s.w. to n.e., terminating at Lake Cham¬ 
plain. The most westerly of these ranges is the Adirondack, 
or Clinton Range, which begins at Little Falls and terminates 
at Lake Champlain. The highest peaks of the region are 
found in this range, including Mt. Marcy, 5,337 ft. high; 
and Mts. Seward, McIntyre, and McMartin, Snowy Moun¬ 
tain, Mt. Pharaoh, Whiteface, Dix Peak, Santanoni, and 
Colden are each nearly 5,000 ft. in height—the general 
elevation of the range being greater than that of any other 
east of the Rocky Mountains. There are supposed to be in 
all as many as 500 separate mountains in the Adirondacks, 
very few of which have distinctive names. They all are 
densely wooded, except the summits of the loftiest, which 
are rocky with only a scattered growth of moss and shrub 
pines. The valleys of the region are dotted with lakes, 
large and small, to the number of perhaps 1,000, the 
highest elevation reached by any of these being that of Lake 
Perkins, nearly 4,500 ft. above the level of the sea. Some 
of these lakes are 20 m. or more in length, while many 
others have an extent of only a few acres each. The 
largest are Long Lake, the Upper and Lower Saranac, 
Tupper, the Fulton Lakes, Pleasant, Raquette, Forked, 
Newcomb, Colden, Blue Mountain, Eckford, Sanford, and 
Henderson. This series of lakes is connected by a system of 
rivers and small streams, of which the Saranac and Ausable 
are among the most important, emptying into Lake Cham¬ 
plain, after a general n.e. course. The largest is the 
Raquette, which rises in Raquette Lake in the w. part of 
Hamilton county, is 12 m. long, and discharges its waters 
into the St. Lawrence. 

ADIRONDACK PARK, a large district, principally 
forest land, set apart by the State of New York in 1892. 
It was established in order to preserve the great northern 
forests of the State and thus protect the watersheds which 
supply the rivers and canals, for public recreation, and 
for the practical study of forestry. It includes Hamilton 
co., the town of Wilmurt in Herkimer co., the western 
half of Essex, the western part of Franklin, and the south¬ 
ern part of St. Lawrence co. The park abounds in beau¬ 
tiful scenery and contains many mountains, lakes, rivers 
and forests. After setting apart this reservation the New 
York Legislature chartered the State School of Forestry, 
whose practical w r ork is carried on here. 

ADIT, n. ad'it [L. aditus, an approach or entrance—from 
ad, to; Itus, gone—lit. a going to, an approach or entrance]: 
an under-ground gallery or tunnel into a mine for carrying 
off water or for extracting the ore. 

ADJACENT, a. dd-jasent [L. adjdcens or adjacen'tem, 
adjacent or contiguous—from ad, jdceo, I lie]: lying near; 
bordering upon; contiguous. Adja cently, ad. -li. Adja* 


ADJECT-ADJUDGE. 

cency, n. dd-jd! sen-si, the state of being adjacent or con 
tiguous. 

ADJECT, y. did-jekt' [L. adjectus, added, cast to—from 
ad, jactus, cast]: to add or put to. Adjecting, imp. 
Adjected, pp. dd-jekted. Adjection, n. dd-jek' shim, the 
act of adding. Adjectitious, a. dd'jek-tish' iis, added to or 
on. Adjective, n. ddjek-tw, a word put to a noun to 
modify its meaning: Adj qualifying; depending on an¬ 
other. Adjectival, dd'jek-ti' vdl, a. pertaining to; having 
the import or construction of an adjective. Ad'jective'ly, 
ad. tiv'li. 

ADJECTIVE: name of one of the classes into which 
grammarians have divided words; so called, not so much 
from its being added to a substantive, as because it adds to 
the meaning, or more exactly describes the object, than the 
simple substantive or general name does. The effect of an 
A. is also to limit the application of the name to which it is 
joined. Thus, when tall is joined to man, there is more 
meaning conveyed; there are more properties suggested to 
the mind by the compound name tall man, than by the 
simple name man; but tall man is not applicable to so many 
individuals as man, for all men that are not tall are ex¬ 
cluded.—Nouns, or names of things, are often used in 
English as adjectives; thus, we say a silver chain, a stone 
wall. In such expressions as ‘ Income Tax Assessment 
Bill,’ Income plays the part of an A. to Tax, which is, in 
the first place, a noun; the two together then form a sort of 
compound A. to Assessment; and the three, taken together, 
a still more compound A. to Bill, which, syntactically, is 
the only noun in the expression.—Languages differ much in 
their way of using adjectives. In English, the usual place 
of the A. is before the noun. This is the case in German 
also; but in French and Italian, the A. comes after. 
In these languages again, the A. is varied for gender, 
number, and, in the German, for case. In English it is in¬ 
variable; and in this simplicity there is a decided superior¬ 
ity; for in modern languages these changes in the A. serve 
no purpose. The only modification the Eng. A. is capable 
of is for degrees of comparison. 

ADJOIN, v. dd-joyn' [F. adjoindre, to assign as a col¬ 
league—from L. adjun'gere, to bind or join to a thing— 
from ad, jungo, I join— lit., to bind or join to]: to "lie 
next to; to lie close to. Adjoin ing, imp. Adjoined, pp. 
dd-joynd'. 

ADJOURN, v. dd-jern' [OF. adjourner, to cite one to 
appear on a certain day—from mid. L. adjorndre, to fix 
the day—from L. ad, to; F .jour, a day: mid. L . jornus, a 
day, or the labors of a daj r : L. dies, a day— lit., to fix a day 
which is named]: to put off from one day to another; to 
delay. Adjourning, imp. Adjourned", pp. dd-jernd'. 
Adjournment, n. the putting off to another day; the time 
or interval during which the business is suspended.— Syn. 
of ‘adjourn’: to prorogue; postpone; delay; defer; put off. 

ADJUDGE, v. dd-jdj' [F. adjuger —from L. adjudicdre, 
to adjudge, to grant—from ad, judicd, I judge]: to determine, 
to decide; to award sentence. Adjudging, imp. Ad- 


ADJUDICATE—ADJUTANT. 

judged, pp. ddjujd. Adjudg ment, n. the act of ad¬ 
judging; a sentence.—S yn. of ‘adjudge’: to adjudicate; 
award; determine; decree. 

ADJUDICATE, v. ad-jo di-hat [L. adjudicatus, awarded, 
adjudged—from judico, I judge— lit. , to give sentence in be¬ 
half of]; to pronounce judgment upon, to try or determine, 
as a court does. Adju dicat ing, imp. Adju dicat ed, 
pp. Adjudication, n. dd-jd di-kd' shun, the pronouncing 
judgment upon; the decision or award of a court. Ad¬ 
ju dica'tor, n. -kd'ter, one who. 

ADJUDICATION: see Bankruptcy. 

ADJUNCT, n. ddjunkt [L. adjunctus, joined or fastened 
on to—from ad, to, jungo, I join]: something added or 
joined on; something added to another, generally to modify 
or qualify: Adj assisting. Adjunct'ly, ad. -It. Adjunc¬ 
tion, n. ddjunkshun, the act of joining; the thing joined. 
Adjunc tive, a. -tiv, joining; tending to join. N. that 
which is joined. Adjunc'tively, ad. -II. 

ADJURE, v. dd-jor' [F. adjurer, to adjure — from L. 
adjurdre, to swear solemnly—from ad, juro, I swear— lit., 
to swear to, that is, on oath]: to charge solemnly; to bind on 
oath. Adju'ring, imp. Adjured, pp. ddjdrd. Adjura¬ 
tion, n. dd'joo-rd'shun, the act of solemnly charging on oath; 
a solemn charge on oath; the form of an oath. Adjurer, 
n. one who. 

ADJUST, v. adjust' [OF. adjuster, to make, to meet— 
from mid. L. ddjustare, to make right—from L. ad, justus, 
just or proper]: to make right or fit; to fit to; to make to 
correspond; to put in order; to settle. Adjusting, imp. 
Adjust ed, pp. Adjust able, a. -d-bl, that may be ad¬ 
justed. Adjustment, n. adjustment, the act of settling; 
a settlement; brought to an agreement; in mech., an ap¬ 
paratus for regulating the movement of machinery. Ad¬ 
just ive, a. -iv. Note .— Adjust may also come from OF. 
ajouster, to arrange—from mid. L. adjuxtare, to put side by 
side—from ad, to, and juxta, near— lit. , to put side by side: 
see Brachet and Skeat.— Syn. of ‘adjust’: to arrange; ac¬ 
commodate ; ask ; set right; rectify ; settle ; adapt; suit; 
regulate. 

ADJUSTMENT, in the Law of Insurance: the ascertain¬ 
ing the exact amount of indemnity which the party insured 
is entitled to receive under the policy, and fixing the pro¬ 
portion of the loss to be borne by each underwriter. The 
nature and amount of damage being ascertained, an endorse¬ 
ment is made on the back of the policy, declaring the pro¬ 
portion of loss falling on each underwriter; and on this en¬ 
dorsement being signed by the latter (unless under a seri¬ 
ous mistake as to facts) the loss is said to have been ad* 
justed. After an A. it is usual for the underwriter at 
once to pay the loss. In the United States, an A. is bind¬ 
ing only when intended by the parties to be absolute and 
final. No specific form is requisite. Fraud vitiates an 
A.; also a mistake of fact into which one party is led 
through the fault of the other. See Average, in law. 

ADJUTANT, n. dd'joo-tdnt [L. adjutans or adjutan tern. 


ADJUTANT. 

helping, assisting—from ad, juvcire , to assist; jiitus, as¬ 
sisted] : staff officer of a battalion of infantry, a regiment of 
cavalry, or a brigade of artillery; in a regiment, one who 
assists the field-officers, and superintends the drill and office 
work; a very large species of stork. Adjutancy, n. dd'~ 
jo-tan'si, the office of the adjutant. Adjutor, n. ad-jo Ur, 
any one who assists. Adjutrix, n. dd-jutriks, a woman- 
helper. Adjuvant, a. helping. N. an assistant; an in¬ 
gredient in a recipe which assists the operation of the prin¬ 
cipal drug. Adjutant-general, one of the chief staff 
officers of an army whose duties comprise all matters 
relating to discipline, and the general efficiency of the army. 

ADJUTANT; an officer who assists the commanding- 
officer of a garrison or regiment in all the details of duty. 
He receives orders, and promulgates them to the several com 
panies; he inspects escorts and guards before proceeding on 
their duty; attends to the drill of recruits, is accountable for 
the keeping of the regimental books, and ought to note 
every infraction of established rules. An adjutant-general 
performs analogous duties for the general of an army. He 
keeps an account of the strength of each regiment, distributes 
the orders of the day to the brigade-majors, and sees the 
troops drawn up for action. In the United States the 
Adjutant-general is the principal military officer of the 
war dept.; he has charge of the army correspondence, the 
army records, the business of recruiting, of issuing com¬ 
missions, of granting furloughs, or leave of absence, and 
the like. Each of the states also maintains a general 
staff for the militia, with an adjutant-general at its head. 

ADJUTANT ( Giconia Argala) , a bird closely allied to 
the Stork, made by some naturalists the type of a separate 
genus, Argala. A. is a popular name given to it by the 
English in India— Argala the native name. It is a native 

cf the warmer parts of 
India. It is of large size, 
and has very long legs; 
in its erect attitude, it is 
about five feet high; 
its extended wings 
measure fourteen or 
fifteen feet from tip to 
tip; its head and neck 
are nearly bare; a 
sausage - like pouch 
hangs from the under 
part of the neck; the bill 
is of enormous size. It 
is very voracious, swal¬ 
lows a cat or a leg of 
mutton quite readily, 
and is of great use in 
devouring snakes, liz¬ 
ards, and all sorts of 
offal. It sometimes 
catches birds upon the 
wing. The beautiful 
Marabou feathers are obtained from the under side of the 
















ADJYGURH—ADMINISTER. 

wings of this bird, and of another very similar species 
which inhabits Senegal. 

ADJYGURH, did-ji-ger': .town of British India, in the 
n.w. Provinces, province of Allahabad, 69 m. w.n.w. from 
Rewah. It has a fortress on a steep hill, 1,340 ft. above 
the sea, accessible only by well-defended paths. Within 
it are great ruins of temples, resembling those of s. In¬ 
dia, and covered with elaborate sculptures. Pop. 5,000. 

ADLER, ad'ler, Felix : an American author, lecturer, 
and educator; b. Alzey, Germany, 1851, Aug. 13; son of 
a Hebrew rabbi. He came to the United States, and en¬ 
tered Columbia College, where he graduated 1870, after¬ 
ward studying in the universities of Heidelberg and Ber¬ 
lin. Returning to the United States, he was made prof, of 
Oriental literature and the Hebrew language at Cornell 
Univ. He tilled this chair 1874-76, when complaints of 
his teachings, as opposed to Christianity, resulted in his 
resignation, and he removed to New York. Here he or¬ 
ganized the Society for Ethical Culture. In 1902 he was 
appointed Prof, of Social and Political Ethics in Columbia 
University, a chair created for him. 

AD LIBITUM, ad lib'i-tum (in Ital., a piacere, or a piaci- 
mento): a musical term which implies that the part so marked 
may be performed according to the taste of the performer, 
and not necessarily in strict time. When there is an ac¬ 
companiment to the music thus marked, it must strictly 
follow the ad libitum time of the principal performer. 
Sometimes the words colla parte, meaning with the leading 
part, are written over the accompanying parts. Ad Libitum 
also frequently means, that a part for a particular instru¬ 
ment or instruments, in instrumental scores or pianoforte ar¬ 
rangements, may either be played or entirely left out. 

ADMEASUREMENT, n. dd-mezh'oor-ment [L. ad; and 
Eng. measure ]: adjustment of proportions; art or practice 
of measuring according to rule. 

ADMINICULAR, a. dd’min-ik'ulev [L. adminic'ulum, a 
prop, a support—from ad, mineo, I jut, I project]: helping, 
as a support; giving help; subordinate to. 

ADMINISTER, v. dd-minis-ter [F._ administrer —from 
L. administrdre, to administer—from ad, mmislro, I serve 
or assist— lit. , to serve or attend upon]: to give or tender, as 
an oath; to direct the application of laws, as a king or 
judge; to manage; to dispense, as justice; to add to; to 
bring aid or supplies to. Administering, imp. dd-min'is- 
tring. Administered, pp. dd-min'is terd. Administra¬ 
tion, n. dd'min-is-trd'shun, the act of carrying into effect; 
direction; the government of a country; the act of organiz¬ 
ing, supplying, and equipping the military forces of a 
country. Administrable, a. dd-min'is trd-bl, capable 
of being administered. Administe'rial, a. -te'ri-al, minis¬ 
terial. Ad'ministe'rially, ad. -li. Administrative, a. 
ad'min-is tra'tiv, able to carry into effect. Ad'ministra'- 
tor, n. ter, the man who carries into effect; one who directs. 
Administratrix, n. dd’min-is-trd'triks, the woman who 
carries into effect or directs. Ad ministra torship, n. the 
office of an administrator.—S yn. of ‘ administer to min- 


ADMINISTRATION—ADMIRAL. 

ister; supply; manage; contribute; conduct; apply; dis¬ 
pense;—of * administration charge; care; management; 
control; government; conduct; regulation; direction; dis¬ 
tribution; dispensation; execution. 

ADMINISTRATION, in Politics: in its widest sense, the 
executive govt, of a nation or state as distinguished from 
its permanent constitution; the executive functions as dis¬ 
tinguished from the legislative and judicial; also the whole 
body of executive officials. In a restricted sense, in Eng¬ 
land, the privy-council (q.v.), especially that select com¬ 
mittee of it known as the cabinet, or ministry (q.v.).—In 
the United States, in restricted sense, it denotes the presi¬ 
dent (q.v.) and his cabinet with their chief assistants, 
specially during' one presidential term: see Executive 
Department: Secretaries of Executive Departments: 
Ministry, in Executive Government. 

ADMINISTRATION, ADMINISTRATIVE, ADMIN¬ 
ISTRATOR, etc.: see Administer: also Administrator. 

ADMINISTRATOR, in Law: one commissioned from 
the proper court to manage and distribute the estate of a 
person deceased without leaving a will, or whose will 
designates no executor competent. The nearest friend 
the next of kin, or a creditor of the decedent, or any other 
person competent to make contracts, may be commissioned. 
Usually an A. is obliged to give a bond for faithful per¬ 
formance of his trust. It is the duty of an A. to file an in¬ 
ventory of the property, to collect debts due the estate, 
and to pay all legal claims upon it—including funeral ex¬ 
penses; and to distribute the residue under direction of the 
proper court. As the distinction between the terms A. and 
executor, though still maintained in law, is not always 
strictly observed, the term Administration often denotes 
the action also of an executor. See Executor of a Will. 

ADMIRAL, n. del' mi-rdl [mid. L. admiral'lus, command¬ 
er, prefect: F. arniral, from Ar. al , the; emir or amir, lord, 
noble, or chief in command: early Eng. arniral, amyrail , 
etc.: Sp. admirante]-. commander of a navy, or of a fleet; 
a flag officer: also one recognized as chief commander in a 
mercantile, fishing, or pleasure fleet: also, the admiral’s 
ship; a great ship. Admiralty, n. dd'mi-ral-ti, depart¬ 
ment of law pertaining to maritime affairs (see Admiral¬ 
ty Jurisdiction: Admiralty Court. —In Great Britain, 
the administrative function of the body of govt, officials 
which controls the navy: the officials themselves as con¬ 
stituting a govt. dept, known as the Board of Admiralty 
(see Admiralty, Board of): also the building in London 
in which the board sits.— Admiral is the title of the high¬ 
est rank of naval officers, commanding the navy or a fleet. 
The term, introduced into Europe during the Crusades, 
seems to have been used in a definite sense first by the 
Sicilians, then by the Genoese. About the end of the 13th 
c. it came into use in France and England. The first Eng. 
A. of the Seas ( Arniral de la Mer du Roy d’ Ane/leterre) on 
record was William de Leybourne, 1286; his office, how- 


ADMIRALTY—ADMIRALTY DROITS. 

ever, was not that of commander, but comprised those 
general and extensive powers afterward exercised by the 
lord high A. of England; i.e., both the administrative 
functions now vested in the lords commissioners of the 
admiralty (see Admiralty, Board of), and the judicial 
authority now vested in the admiralty division of the 
high court of justice. The office of lord high admiral 
was filled last "by the Duke of Clarence, afterward Will¬ 
iam IY.—British admirals are in three grades, A., vice-A., 
and rear-A.; Put the former division of each of the three 
grades into mree sections—of the Red, of the White, and 
of the Bh .<3 — has been abolished. A. of the fleet is a higher 
*ank conferred at the will of the sovereign; it corresponds 
with field marshal in the army. 

In the United States navy the rank of A. was estab¬ 
lished by congress, in the three grades of A. (established 
1866), vice-A. (1864), rear-A. (1862). An A. carried his 
distinctive flag at the mainmast, a vice-A. at the fore¬ 
mast, a rear-A. at the mizzenmast The two first were 
created for civil war rewards, and were abolished by the 
creating act on the death of Admiral Porter in 1891. The 
rank of A. was revived in 1898 and conferred on Com. 
Dew r ey. In 1899 congress abolished the rank of commo¬ 
dore, increased the number of rear-admirals to 18, com¬ 
prising two classes of nine each, the first nine rankiug with 
major-generals in the army; the second nine to brigadier- 
generals. The pay of the A. is $18,000 a year. In peace, 
vacancies in the grade of rear-A are filled by regular pro¬ 
motion from the list of captains, subject to examination 
according to law. During war, rear-admirals must be 
selected from officers on the active list not below com¬ 
mander, who shall have eminently distinguished them¬ 
selves by courage, skill, and genius in their profession, and 
shall have received the thanks of congress for distinguished 
service. Rear-admirals on the retired list may be recalled 
to active service in war. 

ADMIRALTY, Board of; department of the Brit, 
govt, which has charge of the entire administration of 
the navy. It comprises 6 lords-commisssioners, who act 
in some cases collectively, in others individually. Of 
these lords, 2 are civil or political, and 4 naval or sea 
lords; and the head of the dept, is the first lord of the 
admiralty, who is always a cabinet minister, exercising a 
general control of all admiralty administration. 

ADMIRALTY COURT; in England, formerly a court 
created to try and to decide maritime causes: its civil 
functions are (since 1875) exercised by the probate, 
divorce, and admiralty division of the high court of jus¬ 
tice; and its criminal jurisdiction is obsolete.—For A. C. 
in the United States, see Admiralty Jurisdiction. 

ADMIRALTY DROITS, droyts: in Great Britain, vari¬ 
ous perquisites (the right to goods taken from pirates, or 
to an enemy’s ships seized at the outbreak of hostilities, 
etc.) formerly attached to tne office of admiral or to the 
admiralty revenues. They are not, as such, recognized 
in United S totes law; and "in Britain the proceeds of droits 


ADMIRALTY ISLAND. 

of A. are now paid into the exchequer for the public 
use. 

ADMIRALTY ISLAND: on the n.w. coast of N. 
America, between 57° 2' and 58’ 24' lat. n., and 184° 52’ 
and 135° 30' long. w. It is about 80 m. long, well wooded 
and watered. It is inhabited, and belongs to the United 
States. 

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: a group of about 40 islands, 
to the n.e. of New Guinea, between 2° and 3° lat. s., and 
146° 18' and 147° 46' long. e. They were discovered by the 
Dutch in 1616. The largest is about 50 m. long from e. to 
w. They abound in cocoanut trees, and are inhabited by a 
race of tawny, frizzle-headed savages. 

ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION: a judicial cognizance 
of a certain class of cases arising under the constitution of the 
United States, by act of congress. The constitution has dele¬ 
gated to the courts of the national government cognizance 
‘of all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction,’and 
congress has given to the U. S. district courts * cognizance 
of all civil causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, 
including all seizures under laws of imposts, navigation, or 
trade, of the United States, where the seizures are made on 
waters navigable from the sea, by vessels of ten or more tons 
burden, within their respective districts, as well as upon the 
high seas.’ The district court has jurisdiction, as a court of 
admiralty, over all torts and injuries committed on the high 
seas, and in ports or harbors within the ebb and flow of 
the tide. It has jurisdiction to redress personal wrongs com¬ 
mitted on a passenger, on the high seas, by the master of a 
vessel, whether these wrongs be by the exercise of direct 
force, or be consequential injuries. This court may decree 
damages for an unlawful capture of an American vessel, 
e.g. by a French privateer, and may proceed by attach¬ 
ment. It has jurisdiction in cases of maritime torts, per¬ 
sonal or otherwise. It has jurisdiction of suits to reinstate 
owners of vessels who have been displaced from their pos¬ 
session. And, in the case of a father, whose minor son has 
been abducted and seduced on a vo} r age on the high seas, he 
ma3 r sue in this court, as well for the tort as for wages 
earned by such son in maritime service. This court has, 
also, as a court of admiralty, jurisdiction concurrent with 
the courts of common law over all maritime contracts, 
wheresoever the same may be made or executed, or ■whatso¬ 
ever be the form of the contract It may enforce the per¬ 
formance of charter-parties for foreign voyages, and a lien 
for freight under them. It has jurisdiction over contracts 
for the hire of seamen, when the service is substantially per¬ 
formed on the sea, or on waters within the flow and reflow 
of the tide, but unless the services be essentially maritime 
the jurisdiction does not attach. The master of a vessel 
may sue in the admiralty for his wages, and the mate, who 
on his death succeeds him, has the same right. Seamen 
employed on board of steamboats and lighters engaged in 
trade or commerce on tide-water are within the admiralty 
jurisdiction, but those on ferry boats are not so. Wages 


ADMIRE—ADMONISH. 

may be recovered in the admiralty by the pilot, deck-hands, 
engineer, and firemen on board of a steamboat. But unless 
the service of those employed contribute in navigating the 
vessel, or to its preservation, they cannot sue for their wages 
in the admiralty; musicians on board of a vessel, who are 
hired and employed as such, cannot, therefore, enforce a 
payment of their wages by a suit in the admiralty. The 
admiralty jurisdiction, expressly vested in the district court, 
embraces also captures made within the jurisdictional limits 
of the United States. The civil jurisdiction extends to cases 
of seizure on land, under the laws of the United States, 
and in suits for penalties and forfeiture incurred under the 
laws of the United States. The civil jurisdiction extends 
also to cases in which an alien sues for a tort, in violation 
of the law of nations, or a treaty of the United States. 
This court has also jurisdiction of actions by and against 
consuls and vice-consuls. 

ADMIRE, v. ad-mlr' [F. admirer —from L. admlrdrl, to 
admire—from L. ad, mlror , I wonder: Sp. admirar — lit., 
to regard with wonder or surprise]: to look upon with 
pleasure; to love or esteem greatly. Admiring, imp. 
Admired, pp. dd-mird'. Admirable, a. ddmi-rd-bl [F.]: 
worthy of esteem or praise; of a quality to excite wonder or 
esteem. Admirably, ad. dd'mi-rd-bli , in an admirable 
manner. Admiringly, ad. dd-mi'ring-li, in a manner to 
excite wonder; with esteem; with admiration. Admirable¬ 
ness, n. ad'mi-rd-bl-nes, and Admirability, n. ddmi-rd- 
bil'i-ti, the quality of being admirable. Admiration, n. 
dd'mi-rashun [F.—L. ]: wonder mingled with pleasure or 
slight surprise. Admirer, n. dd mi'rer, one who admires. 
—Syn. of ‘ admiration ’: surprise; wonder; astonishment; 
amazement. 

ADMIT, v. dd-mit [L. admittere, to allow or suffer to go 
to; admissus, allowed or suffered to go to—from ad, to; 
mitto , I send; missus, sent: F. admettre: It. ammettere — 
lit ., to suffer to go to]: to permit to enter; to receive as true; 
to allow. Admit ting, imp. Admit ted, pp: Adj. con¬ 
ceded, as in an argument; recognized. Admit'table, a. 
-bl, capable of being admitted. Admit'ter, n. one who 
Admittance, n dd-mit'tans, permission to enter; power of 
entering. Admission, n. dd-mish' un, entrance; power or 
permission to enter. Admissible, a. ad-mis'si-bl, that may 
be allowed or admitted. Admis sibly, ad. -bit. Admis¬ 
sibility, n. bil'i-ti, the quality of being admissible.— Syn. 
of ‘admit’: to receive; allow; grant; permit; suffer; tole¬ 
rate;—of ‘ admission and admittance ’: access; entrance; con¬ 
cession; initiation. 

ADMIX, v. dd-miks' [L. admixtus, mingled in addition— 
from ad, mixtus, mingled]: to mingle with something else. 
Admix ing, imp. Admixed, pp. -mikst'. Admixture, n. 
dd-miks'tur, a substance formed by mingling one substance 
with another; also Admixtion, n. dd miks'tyun. 

ADMONISH, v. dd-mon'ish [F. admonester—imm L. ad- 
monere, to admonish—from ad, moned, I warn; monitiis, 
warned: F. admonissant, admonishing— lit., to bring to one’s 


ADNASCENT—ADONIS. 

faind]: to warn; to reprove gently; to advise. Admon ish¬ 
ing, imp. Admonished, pp. dd-mbnisht. Admon isher, 
n., or Admon itor, n. ter, one who admonishes. Admoni¬ 
tion, n. dd'mb-nish'un, gentle reproof; caution. Admon- 
itiye, a. ad-mon'i-tw, also Admonitory, a. dd-mbni-ter-i, 
that conveys caution or warning. Admon itively, ad. 
-tiv-li. — Syn. of * admonish ’: to advise; caution; warn;, re¬ 
prove; reprimand;—of ‘admonition’: reproof; warning; 
caution; reprehension. 

ADNASCENT, a. dd-nds'ent [L. ad, nascens or adnd.fr 
cen'tem, growing]: growing to or upon; also Adnate, a. 
ad-ndt' [L ad, ndtus, born]: grown to; in hot., fused to¬ 
gether, or adherent, side by side. Adnation, n. dd-nd'- 
shiin, in hot., the adhesion or consolidation of the different 
floral verticils with one another. 

ADNEXED, a. dd-nekst' [L. ad, nexus, bound or tied]: 
in hot., reaching to the stem only, as in the gills of Agarics. 

ADO, n. a do' [corruption of OE. phrase at do, to do: 
AS. a, at or on, and do: at is the sign of infinitive in Icel.]: 
fuss; trouble; bustle; difficulty. 

ADOBE, n. d-db'bd [Sp. adobe —from adobar, to dress, to 
prepare]: a mixture of chopped straw, earth, and dung, 
made into bricks and dried in the sun only. 

ADOLESCENCE, n. ad’b-les'ens, Adolescency, n. add¬ 
les'en-sl [L. addlescens or addle seen tem, increasing or grow¬ 
ing] : state of growing up from childhood to m anhood or 
womanhood; in boys from the age of 14 to 25 years, in 
girls from 12 to 21: applied sometimes to the lower ani¬ 
mals. Adolescent, a. pertaining to youth; growing. 

ADONAI, n. dd-d-nd'i or b-dbn'i: in Hebrew, one of the 
names for Deity, formed in the plural, and signifying 
‘ my Lord.’ This word served a peculiar purpose among 
the Hebrews. Wherever in the scriptures they found 
the holy and awful name Jehovah—* the ineffable name ’ 
—(written without its vowels. JHVH), they pronounced 
Adonai instead: hence the Eng. word Jehovah, whose 
Ileb. vowels (and therefore its pronunciation) are unknown, 
arose by a combination of the consonants of Jehovah w 7 ith 
the vowel-points of Adonai: see Jehovah. 

ADONIA, n. plu. dd-b'ni-d [Gr.]: festival, strictly, the 
rites of a festival, celebrated by the Phoenician and Greek 
women, commemorating the mythical death and return 
to life of Adonis (q.v.), symbolic of the returning spring. 
Ado'nian, or Adon'ic, a. pertaining to Adonis; e.g., Ado- 
nian Games (see Game—Ancient Games). 

ADONIS, d-dd'nls: mythical personage, whose beauty as 
a child caused Venus and Proserpine to quarrel for 
possession of him, till Jupiter decided that A. should spend 
part of the year with Venus, and part with Proserpine, 
so that he lived 8 months in the upper world and 4 in the 
under. A., while hunting, was killed by a boar; and Ve¬ 
nus, coming too late to his rescue, changed his blood into 
flowers.—A yearly festival in his honor had two parts— 
a mourning for his departure to the under world, and a 


ADONIS—ADOPTIAN CONTROVERSY. 

rejoicing for his return to Venus. This festival, widely 
spread among the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, 
was celebrated with peculiar pomp at Alexandria. Con¬ 
nected therewith were the Gardens of A., as they were 
called. Before the festival, w T heat, fennel, and lettuce were 
sown in earthen, and even in silver pots, and forced by heat; 
intended to indicate, doubtless, by their brief bloom, the 
transitoriness of earthly joy. The myths connected with 
A. belong originally to the east. They display a worship of 
the powers of nature conjoined with that of the heavenly 
bodies, and A. himself appears to be the god of the solar 
year. The similarity of the name to the Phoenician Adon , 
which signified ‘ lord,’is unmistakable; and this word Adon 
was specially applied to the king of heaven, the sun —In 
reference to the brilliant beauty ascribed to A., a beautiful 
man is called ‘ an Adonis.’ 

ADONIS: a genus of plants of the natural order Ranun- 
culacecE (q.v.), in which the flower 
has 5 sepals and 5-10 petals with¬ 
out scales at the base, and the fruit 
consists of awnless pericarps. The 
species are all herbaceous—some 
of them annual and some peren¬ 
nial. Several are natives of Europe, 
but only one, A. autumnalis, some¬ 
times called Pheasant’s Eye, is a 
doubtful native of Britain. Its 
bright scarlet petals have obtained 
for it the name of Flos Adonis , 
their color having been fancifully 
ascribed to their being stained with 
the blood of Adonis. It is a well- 
known ornament of gardens; in 
which also A. cestiialis fiequently Adonis autumnalis. 
appears, and A vernalis, a peren¬ 
nial species common upon the lower hills of the middle and 
south of Germany, with early and beautiful flowers. 

ADOPT, v. d-dbpt [F. adopter —from L. adoptare, to 
adopt—from ad, opto, I wish, I choose: Sp. adoptar] : to 
choose for one’s self; to take or receive as one’s own what is 
not naturally so—as a person, a thing, an opinion; to 
choose. Adopting, imp. Adopt ed, pp.: Adj. taken up 
as one’s own. Adoption, n. d-dbp'shun [F.—L. ]: state of 
being adopted; the taking as one’s own that which is not so 
naturally. Adopt'ive, a. -iv, that adopts. Adopt ed, n. 
one who. Adopt'edly, ad. -li. 

ADOPTIAN CONTROVERSY, a-dop'shi-an-, Tiie: an 
echo of the Arian controversy; originated about the end of 
the 8th c. in Spain, the country in which the doctrine of 
Arius had longest held out against the theology of the gen¬ 
eral church. Elipandus, Archbishop of Toledo, and Felix, 
the learned Bishop of Urgel, advanced the opinion that 
Christ, in respect of his divine nature, was doubtless by 
nature and generation the Son of God; but that as to his 
human nature, he must be considered as only declared and 




ADOPTION—ADORE. 

adopted, through the divine grace, to be the first born Son 
of God (Rom. viii. 29), as all holy men, although in a less 
lofty sense, are to be adopted as sons of God. The flame of 
controversy thus kindled, spread into the Frankish empire, 
the special domain of ‘ Catholic 5 Christianity, and gave 
occasion to two synods, one held at Ratisbon, 792, and an¬ 
other at Frankfort, 794, in which Charlemagne took part in 
person, and which condemned Adoptianism as heresy. The 
Catholic doctrine of the unity of the two natures of Christ 
in one divine person, and the consequent impossibility of 
there being a twofold Son—an original and an adopted— 
was upheld by Alcuin and the other learned men of Charle¬ 
magne’s court. At a subsequent synod at Aix-la-Chapejde, 
Felix, yielding to compulsion, recanted his opinions, with¬ 
out, as it seems, being convinced. Elipandus adhered 
fanatically to his views, which were, in after times, defended 
by Folmar, 1160, Duns Scotus (d. 1308), Durandus (d. 1322), 
the Jesuit Yasquez, 1606, and the Protestant divine Calix- 
tus, 1643. 

ADOPTION: a legal institution of much importance in 
both of the classical nations of antiquity. A., in the stricter 
sense, in the Roman law, applied only to the case in which 
a person in the power of his father or grandfather was trans¬ 
ferred to that of the person adopting him. Where the per¬ 
son adopted was already emancipated from the paternal 
power ( patria potestas), and was regarded by the law as his 
own master (sui juris), the proceeding was called adrogation 
(i adrogatio ). A., however, was also used as a generic term 

comprehending the two species; and in Greece, where there 
was nothing corresponding to the paternal power of the 
Romans, this distinction did not obtain. Adoption was 
effected under the authority of a magistrate, the prsetor at 
Rome, or the governor ( prases) in the provinces. Adroga¬ 
tion originally required a vote of the people in the Comitia 
Curiata; but under the emperors, it became the practice to 
effect it by an imperial rescript. A. was unknown to the 
iaw of the Teutonic nations; and though most of the states 
of the continent have borrowed it from the Roman law, it 
has never been an institution in Great Britain, though its 
patrimonial benefits may be given by deed.—In the United 
States, A. is regulated by state laws, and is effected through 
prescribed forms of obligations mutually assumed—bind¬ 
ing the adopting party to be as a parent toward the other, 
and the adopted party to be as a child toward the adopting 
parent. 

ADORE, v. d-dor' [F. adorer , to adore: L. adorare, to 
worship—from L. ad, oro, I pray to, I entreat—from os or 
orem, the mouth: Sp. adorar: It. adorare] : to speak to or 
address in worship; to pay divine honor to; to worship sol¬ 
emnly; to regard with esteem; to love highly. Ador ing, 
imp. Adored', pp. d-dord' . Ador er, n. one who. Ador¬ 
able, a. a-dor'a-bl , worthy of worship; that ought to be 
loved or respected. Ador ably, ad. -bli. Ador'ableness, 
n. -bl-nes, the quality of being adorable. Adoringly, ad. 
d-ddr'ing-li. Adoration, n. ddo-ra'shun, the worship of 


ADORN—ADRA. 

God; the act of praying.— Syn. of ‘adore’: to worship; rev 
erence; revere; venerate. 

_ ADORN, v. a-dawrn' [F. culorner; Sp. adornar , to beau¬ 
tify, to adorn—from L. adorndre, to adorn—from L. ad, 
orno , I deck or beautify: It. adornare]: to deck With orna¬ 
ments; to deck; to make beautiful. Adornment, n. 
d-daicrri ment, an adorning; ornament. Adorn ing, imp. 
Adorned, pp. d-dawrnd' . Ador'ner, n. -Tier, one who. 
Adorn'ingly, ad. - 1 %. —Syn. of ‘adorn’: to decorate; em¬ 
bellish; ornament; deck; grace; beautify; garnish; exalt; 
honor; dignify. 

ADOSCULATION, n. ad-os'ku-la!shun [L. ad, osculdtus, 
kissed—from os'culum, a little mouth, a kiss—from os, a 
mouth]: in hot., the impregnation of plants; a propagation 
of plants by inserting one part of a plant into another. 

ADOUR, ad-or', a river in France: rises near Tourmalet, 
in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, w T aters in its 
course of 200 m. the department Gers, and the fertile part of 
the department Landes, and enters the Atlantic below Bay¬ 
onne. It receives several tributaries, and is navigable to the 
extent of 80 m. Bagneres-de-Bigorre, celebrated for its hot 
baths, is situated on the A. 

ADOWA, ddd-wd: a towm of Abyssinia, the capital of 
Tigre, 145 m. n.e. from Gondar. It is situated partly on 
the slope, and partly at the base of a hill, on the left bank of 
the Hasam, a feeder of the Atbara, which is a large branch 
of the Nile. The houses are of the conical form common 
in Abyssinia, regularly disposed in streets, and mingled 
with gardens and trees. A. is the chief entrepot of trade 
between the interior of Tigre and the coast. It has an ex¬ 
tensive transit trade, in which, gold, ivory, and slaves are 
articles of importance. It has also manufactures of cotton 
fabrics, and iron and brass wares. Pop. estimated at about 
8 , 000 . 

ADOWN, prep, and ad. d-doion [AS. adune— from a, for; 
of, off or from; dun, a hill]: downward; from a higher to 
a lower situation. 

ADPRESSED, a. ad-prest' [L. ad, to; pressvs, pressed, 
squeezed]: in hot., closely pressed to a surface, as some hairs, 
or as leaves to a stem; pressed close to anything; also spelt 
Appressed. 

ADRA, a'drd, (ancient Abderd), a seaport town of Spain, 
in the province of Almeria, and 49 m. s.e. from Granada. 
It is situated on the shore of the Mediterranean, at the mouth 
of the Adra. The ancient Abdera, founded by the Phoeni¬ 
cians, was on a hill, at the base of which the modern town 
stands, in a situation unhealthy on account of swamps. The 
port is not good, being much exposed to the west. The 
houses are generally of one story. There is one tolerably 
wide street, the rest are narrow and ill paved. From the 
watch tower of A., in former times, a tocsin sounded the 
alarm on the approach of African pirates. Lead mines in 
the neighborhood give employment to many of the inhabi¬ 
tants, and trade to the port. Among the other exports are 

Vol. 1 — 7 


ADRENAL—ADRIAN COLLEGE. 

grapes, wheat, and sugar. Fishing and the distillation of 
brandy are carried on. Pop. 12,000. 

ADRENAL, a. dd-re'ndl [L. ad, renes, the kidneys]: con¬ 
nected with the kidneys. N, The Suprarenal Capsules (q. v.). 

ADRIA, d'dre-d: city in the province of Rovigo, n. Italy, 
between the river Po and the Adige: remarkable chiefly as 
one of the oldest cities in Europe. According to tradition, 
it was founded by the Pelasgi, b.c. 1376. In the time of 
the Romans, A. was one of the most frequented harbors in 
the Adriatic Sea; but by the continual deposition of alluvium 
on the e. coast of Italy, it has been gradually separated from 
the sea, from which it is now almost ten m. distant. It still 
retains several interesting remains of Etruscan and Roman 
antiquity; but its wine, formerly so celebrated, is now bad. 
Pop. about 7,500. 

ADRIAN, a'dri-an: city, cap of Lenawee co., Mich.; 
at the junction of Beaver creek and Raisin river (which 
also bisects it and furnishes excellent water-power); on the 
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad; 30 m. w of 
Toledo, 74 m. w.s.w. of Detroit. A. is the active business 
centre of a producti ve region, and is a town of pleasant 
residences. It is the seat of Adrian College (q.v.); and 
contains 12 churches, several public schools. Central pub¬ 
lic-school building (cost $100,000), Masonic temple ($100,- 
000), opera-house, car shops, and several state and private 
banks. Pop. (1890) 8,756; (1900) 9,654. 

ADRIAN, a'dri-an: name of six popes, none of them 
very remarkable. A. IV. was by birth an Englishman, 
the only one of that nation that ever sat in the papal chair. 
His name was Nicolas Breakspeare. He was a native of 
Langley, near St. Albans, became first a lay-brother or 
servant in the monastery of St. Rufus, near Avignon, was 
elected abbot 1137, appointed cardinal-bp. of Albano 1146, 
and chosen pope 1154. He was at first on friendly terms, 
with Emperor Frederick I., but his conception of papal 
supremacy led him to enter on the long contest against the 
house of llohenstaufen; and he was about to excommuni¬ 
cate Frederick, when he died 1159. 

ADRIAN: Roman emperor: see Hadkian. 

ADRIAN COLLEGE: institution at Adrian, Mich.,under 
the control of the Meth. Prot. Church; founded, with the 
election of 12 trustees, by a meeting of subscribers for 
that purpose 1859, Mar. 22. The institution was under 
control of the Wesleyan Meth. Church—six of the trustees 
being members of that denomination, the other six being 
citizens of Adrian. The board of trustees was a self-per¬ 
petuating board. 

By reason of increasing financial difficulties, the insti¬ 
tution passed, 1867, Feb. 28, into the possession of the 
Meth. Prot. Church. The number of trustees was 
changed from 20 to 30: of these, 24 are elected by the 
gen. conference of the Meth. Prot. Church—12 at each 


ADRIANOPLE. 

quadrennial session; and the remaining 0 are chosen by 
the Alumni Assoc.—2 at each annual meeting. 

The college has several distinct schools, each with its 
own faculty and course of study, leading to appropriate 
degrees; among them the College of Literature and Arts; 
School of Theology; School of Music; Normal School; 
School of Commerce; Preparatory School. All the schools 
and classes are open to both sexes.—The library contains 
about 7,000 vols.; also there are in the libraries of the 
three literary socs. several hundred vols. There is ample 
supply of apparatus for illustration and practice in phys¬ 
ics and chemistry. 

The group of buildings of brick are on a plot of 20 
acres. In the rear are grounds and grove for recrea¬ 
tions; in front is the campus, regularly laid out and con¬ 
taining class memorials. Funds are now being secured 
for a gymnasium, which, it is expected, will soon be built 
and ready for use. The grounds and buildings, includ¬ 
ing the steam-lieating apparatus, are valued at $125,000. 
The cabinet of natural history, wdiich is quite full, musical 
instruments, and similar property, have estimated value 
of $30,000. The amount of the endowment fund now 
productive is $85,000; annual income from it exceeds 
$5,000. Though the college has no fund for aid of 
needy students, the regular term bills are so low that its 
privileges are within the reach of any one not in absolute 
indigence. The board of ministerial education of the Meth. 
Prot. Church, however, furnishes (in the form of a loan 
without interest) aid sufficient to cover all expenses to a 
limited number of young men preparing for the ministiy. 

The number of professors and instructors is 11; average 
yearly attendance in the history of the college about 150; 
number of graduates over 450.—The first pres. w r as Asa 
Mahan, d.d. Subsequent presidents have been : John Me- 
Eldowney, d.d.; George B. McElroy, d.d., ph.d.; David 
S. Stephens, d.d.; Joseph F. McCulloch, a.m., ph.b. ; and 
Rev. T. H. Lewis, d.d. 

ADRIANOPLE, ad-ri-an-d'pl second city in the Turkish 
empire: founded by the emperor Hadrian on the left bank 
of the navigable river Hebrus (now Maritza). Here the sul¬ 
tans ruled, 1366 to 1453, when Constantinople was made the 
capital. Two palaces, 40 mosques, 24 public schools, 22 
baths, and the numerous gardens laid out on the banks of 
the Maritza, are the principal features of A. Its trade con¬ 
sists in opium, oil of roses, with silk and other manufactures. 
—The Russian-Turkish yar was here concluded 1829, Sept. 
19, by the Peace of A., which gave both countries impor¬ 
tant territory; and Russian troops occupied the city after 
capturing the Turkish army defending the Shipka Pass 
1878, Jan. Pop. 81,000. 


ADRIATIC SEA—ADULE. 

ADRIATIC SEA, ad're-dt'ik-: a large arm of the Medi¬ 
terranean, extending in a n.w. direction, between the e. coast 
of Italy and the w. coast of the opposite continent; con¬ 
nected with the Ionian Sea by the strait of Otranto. In the 
n., it forms the Gulf of Venice, and in the n.e. the Gulf of 
Trieste; while, on the Italian side, it forms the bays of Ra¬ 
venna and Tremiti, and the narrower and deeper Gulf of 
Manfredonia. On the other side, the coasts of Illyria, Cro¬ 
atia, Dalmatia and Albania are steep, rocky, and barren, and 
begirt with a chain of almost innumerable small rocky 
islands. The chief bay in this side is that of Quarnero, s. of 
the peninsula of Istria. The most considerable rivers flow¬ 
ing into the A. S. are the Adige and the Po, w'hich are 
continually depositing soil on the coast, so that places once 
on the shore are now inland. The extreme saltness of the 
A. is probably owing to the comparatively small quantity 
of fresh water poured into it by rivers. Navigation in the 
A. is safe and pleasant in summer, but in winter the n.w. 
gales are formidable, on account of the rocky and dangerous 
coasts on the east. Trieste, Ancona, and Sinigaglia are the 
chief places of commerce. 

ADRIFT, ad. a-drifi !' [AS. a, on, and drift; adrifan, to 
drive away, to expel]: floating about at random; driven. 

ADROIT, a. a-droyt' [F. adroit, to the right, dexterous— 
from d, to; droit, right—from mid L. directum, right,justice]; 
clever in the use of the hands; ready-witted; dexterous. 
Adroitly, ad. -li, in a ready, skilful manner. Adroit'- 
ness, n. readiness; dexterity.— Syn. of ‘adroit’: clever; 
skilful; expert; dexterous; ingenious; ready. 

ADRY, a. d-dri’ [AS. a, drig, dry]; in OE., thirsty; 
athirst; in want of drink. 

' ADSCITITIOUS, a. dd'si-tish'us' [L. ad'scitus, received 
as true—from ad, sold, I know]: added; assumed; taken as 
supplemental. Adscititiously, ad. -U. 

ADSCRIPT, n. dd'skript [L. adscriptus, assigned to in a 
writing—from ad, scriptus, written]: in OE., one bound in 
service to a thing or place, without power of removal, as a 
slave or serf to the soil. 

ADSTRICTION, n. dd-strik'shun [L. adstrictus, bound 
or fastened to something—from ad, strictus, drawn together]: 
a binding fast; constipation. 

ADULARIA, n. ad'u-ld'ri-a [Gr. aduldros, sweetly fair— 
from ( h)edus, sweet; laros, pleasant: or Adula, one of the 
highest peaks of St. Gotthard, in Switzerland, where found]: 
a transparent variety of potash felspar; see Felspar. 

ADULATION, n. dd'u-ld'shun [F. adulation , flattery— 
from L. aduldtidnem, fawning like a dog—from aduldre, to 
fawn upon, to flatter]: servile flattery; praise in excess. 
Adulator, n. ad'u-la-ter, one who. Adulatory, a. dd'u- 
Id-ter'i, containing excessive praise.— Syn. of ‘ adulation ’: 
flattery; praise; compliment; obsequiousness;—of ‘ adula¬ 
tor’: flatterer; sycophant; parasite; courtier. 

ADULE, a-ddleh: ancient town on the Red Sea. It was 
the port of Axum, and is noticed chiefly on account of an 


ADULLxUIITES -ADULTERATION. 

inscription, of some importance relative to the ancient geog¬ 
raphy of those regions, the Monumentum Adulitanum, first 
published in the 6th c., in the Topographia Christiana of 
Cosmas Indicopleustes. The modern town is called Zulla. 

ADULLAMITES, d-diil’dm-lts. An attempt, in the year 
1866, by the government of Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone, 
to carry a measure which would have brought about a 
sweeping reduction of the elective franchise, gave occasion 
to a large number of the more moderate Liberals to secede 
from the Whig leaders and vote with the Conservatives. 
The designation of Adullamites was fastened on the new 
party, in consequence of Mr. Bright having, in the course of 
debate, likened them to the political outlaws who took 
refuge with David in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel, xxii. 1, 
2); a comparison taken up by Lord Elcho, who humorously 
replied that the band congregated in the cave was hourly in¬ 
creasing and would succeed in delivering the house from the 
tyranny of Saul (Mr. Gladstone) and his armor-bearer (Mr. 
Bright). 

ADULT, n. d diilti [L. adultus, grown: F. adulte, full, 
grown]: an individual of either sex supposed to be full- 
grown, as from fifteen years of age upwards; that which is 
grown to maturity: Adj. mature; grown up. Adult'ness, 
n. state of being an adult. 

ADULTERATE, v. d-diil'ter-at [L. adulterates, cor¬ 
rupted; adulter, an adulterer, a paramour]: to corrupt; to 
make impure by a base mixture. Adulterating, imp. 
Adul tera ted, pp: Adj. rendered impure or corrupt by a 
base admixture. Adulteration, n. a-dul'ter-a shim, the 
being corrupted or debased; the act of debasing by a for¬ 
eign admixture; an article not pure and genuine. Adul'- 
tera'tor, n. -ter, one who; also Adul terant, n. Adul'- 
teratelv, ad. -It. Adul'terate'ness, n. the quality or 
condition of being debased or corrupted. Adulterer, n. 
d-dul' ter-er, a man guilty of adultery; in Scrip, an idolater. 
Adul'teress, n. a woman guilty of adultery. Adulter¬ 
ous, a. d-dul ter-iis, pertaining to adultery; unclean. Adul'- 
terously, ad. -lx. Adultery, n. d-dul'ter-i, violation of 
the marriage-bed; in Scrip., idolatry. Adulterine, a. 
d-diil'ter-in, resulting from adultery; spurious: N. a child 
born from adulterous intercourse.— Syn. of ‘ adulterate ’: 
to debase; defile; vitiate; sophisticate; corrupt; contami¬ 
nate;—of ‘adulterated’: counterfeit; spurious; suppositi¬ 
tious; fictitious; sophisticated, etc. 

ADULTERATION of Drugs and Miscellaneous 
Articles: indicated in general in the following’list of chief 
articles adulterated, and of their most usual adulterants: 
see further the titles of various articles: 


DRUGS. 

Aconite. 

Animal charcoal.... 

Asafcetida. 

Bismuth subnitrate. 

Cape aloes. 

Cascara bark. 

Castor-oil. 


ADULTERATING SUBSTANCES. 

Exhausted dried root 
J Wood charcoal and earthy mat- 
j ters 

Magnesian Limestone 
Calcium phosphate 
Ship’s biscuit and tumeric 
Other barks 
Olive and lard oils 









ADULTERATION OF FOOD—ADULTERY. 


Citrate of magnesia. 

Gregory’s mixture. 

Iodine. 

Ipecacuanha . 

Licorice. 

Myrrh. 

Oil of bay rum. 

Oil of cacao. 

Oil of lavender. 

Peru balsam. 

Powdered rhubarb. 

Quinine and quinine sulphate... 

Salicylic acid. 

Sarsaparilla. 

Scammony. 

Soap. 

Spruce gum. 

Storax . 

Volatile oils (such as essential 
oil of bergamot). 


Sodium tartrate 
Magnesium carbonate 
Plumbago and sulphide of anti¬ 
mony 
Potato starch 
Sand and starch 
Various gums and resins 
Oil of clove and oil of pimento 
Tallow 
Oil of spike 

Rosin, benzoin, and castor oil 
Starch and tumeric 
Cinchonine sulphate, salicine, 
and finely-picked cotton 
Acid sulphate of potash 
Beet-root, serpentaria, podo¬ 
phyllum 
Starch and chalk 
Sand, sulphate of baryta, starch, 
etc. 

Resin 

Sawdust 

Fixed oils, chloroform,alcohol,etc. 


f 




MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 


Beeswax 


Calicoes. 

Cement .. 

Cochineal. 

Colors and dyes. 

Guano and other manures 

India-rubber. 

Isinglass. 

Linen . 

Oil. 

Paper . 

Seeds. 

Snuff. 

Tobacco. 

White-lead. 

Woolen cloth. 


ADULTERATING SUBSTANCES. 

'Mineral matters) gypsum, sul- 
J phate of baryta, and yellow 
ochre), starch, resinous bodies, 
[ and paraffin 
Size, China clay 
Sand 

White lead or talc 
Cheaper colors and diluents 
Sand, oxide of iron, ochre, etc. 
Rubber substitute, etc. 

Gelatine 

Cotton 

Cheaper varieties 
China clay, etc. 

Inferior and cheaper seeds 
Carbonate of soda and moisture 
Nitre, glycerine, and moisture 
.Sulphate of baryta and chalk 
Cotton fibre and shoddy 


ADULTERATION of Food: see Food and Drink: 
also the titles of various articles of food and drink. 

ADULTERY: has been well defined as ‘ the voluntary 
sexual intercourse of a married person with a person other 
than the offender’s husband or wife.’ (Bishop on Marriage 
and Divorce, § 415.) By the Roman law there was no A. 
unless the woman was married, and the same was the rule 
in Athens. It was in this limited form also that A. was 
recognized by the Mosaic law. By the canon law the hus¬ 
band and wife were placed on the same footing; and this 
dew has been adopted by all the nations of modern Europe. 
In New Jersey it has been decided that a married man does 
not commit this crime in having connection with an unmar¬ 
ried woman. (Bishop, ibid.) But this has not been the 
prevalent doctrine in the United States; and it has never 
been doubted that the offense necessary to found the sen¬ 
tence of divorce is committed by unlawful sexual inter¬ 
course equally whether the particeps criminis were married 
or single. A. was recognized as a crime even before Moses 
(Gen. xxxviii. 24), and it is probable that in affixing to it the 
punishment of death (Lev. xx. 10), he followed the prevail- 






































ADUMBRATE—AD UNUM OMNES. 

mg custom. In Rome, the Julian law (b.c. 17) imposed for¬ 
feiture of goods and banishment on both adultress and 
paramour. The husband in certain cases was permitted to 
kill the latter, and the father might sometimes kill both. 
In Athens the laws concerning A. resembled < the earlier 
Roman legislation. In mauy European countries A. is 
still treated as a criminal offense, punishable with impris¬ 
onment, frequently accompanied with a fine. Lord Coke 
says that by the law of England in early times, A. was 
punished by fine and imprisonment (3 Inst. 306). During 
the Commonwealth it was made a capital offense ( Scobel’s 
Acts, part ii., p. 121); but this law was not confirmed at 
the Restoration. In Scotland, capital punishment was 
frequently inflicted. At the present day it is punishable in 
Great Britain only by ecclesiastical censure; and even this 
may be regarded as in desuetude. But when committed by 
the wife it has been regarded as a civil injury. 

The essentials to the offense are: (1) That there shall be 
unlawful carnal connection; (2) that the guilty party shall 
at the time be married; (3) that he or she shall willingly 
commit the offense. A. in one of a married pair is held to 
be good cause for obtaining divorce by the innocent part¬ 
ner. The punishment for A. differs in the different states: 
in some jurisdictions the law deals with it as a crime, in 
others as only a civil injury. See Separation: Divorce, 

ADUMBRATE, v. dd-fam'brdt [L. adUmbratus, shad¬ 
owed forth, delineated—from ad, umbra, shadow]: to cast 
a faint shadow; to sketch faintly. Adumbrating, imp. 
Adumbrated, pp. Adumbral, a. shady. Adumbrant, a. 
casting a faint shadow. Adumbration, n. act of shadow¬ 
ing forth; a faint sketch; an outline; an imperfect por¬ 
trayal or representation; in her., a figure on a coat of arms 
traced in outline only, or painted in a darker shade, as the 
field or background. Adumbrative, a. faintly represent¬ 
ing; typical. 

ADUNCATE, a. ad-fank'dt, also Adunc, Adcncous 
[ mid. L. aduncatus — from L. aduncus, hooked—from ad, 
uncus, a hook]: crooked; bent in the form of a hook.e.g., 
the bill of a parrot. Aduncity, n. crookedness, like a 
hook; a hooked form. 

AD UNGUEM, phrase, ad fan guem [L. to the nail] : 
exactly; nicely; thoroughly. The Romans, after social 
drinking, inverted the cup and suffered a drop of wine to 
rest upon the thumb-nail, which drop they afterward ab¬ 
sorbed with their lips in token of fealty. 

AD UNUM OMNES, phrase, ad fa'nfam dm’nes |L.]: 
all, to a man. 


ADURE—ADVANTAGE. 

ADURE, v.t. d-dur' [from L. adurese, to burn]: to 
burn up. 

ADUST, a. a-diist' : dusty. 

ADUST, a. a-dust' [L. adustus, scorched; burnt up— 
from ad, urd, I burn]: scorched; very dry, as if by heat, 
fiery; looking as if scorched; sunburnt. Adusted, a. 
scorched, dried, as by heat. Adustible, a. a-dus ti-bl, 
capable of being scorched. Adustion, n. act of scorching 
or drying; state of being scorched or dried. 

ADVAITA, n. dd-m'td [Sanscrit]: term (equivalent to 
Monism) employed by Hindoo philosophers to convey the 
idea of oneness—an idea allied to the doctrine that Brahma 
is the only absolute existence; and that human souls are a 
part of the being of Brahma, and are absorbed by it at death. 
The Vedas are in direct conflict with the idea of a separate 
personal existence. The enunciation of the A. doctrine 
began with the Veda hymns; was further developed in the 
Vedanta system, and was especially elaborated by Sankara, 
a commentator reputed to have lived in the 8th c. after 
Christ. 

AD VALOREM, ad vd-lo’rem [ L. according to value]: 
applied to a duty charged on goods according to their 
value at place of shipment as sworn to by the owner and 
certified by customs appraisers: applied also to legal fees 
regulated by value of property concerned. 

ADVANCE, v. ad-vans' [F. avancer; Sp. avanzar, to 
advance: F. avant; mid. L. abante, before, forward]; to 
put forward or before; to move or bring forward; to raise 
to a higher rank; to propose; to pay beforehand; to be pro¬ 
moted; to make improvement: N. a moving or bringing 
forward; promotion; a rise in value or price; a giving be¬ 
forehand; a proposal. Ad van cing, imp. Advanced, pp. 
dd-vdnst' . Advancer, n. -ser, one "who puts forward. 
Advancement, n. the act of moving or being moved for¬ 
ward; a step or rise in rank or promotion. Advancive, a. 
ad van'siv, tending to advance. In advance, before; in 
front; beforehand. Advanced-guard, n. in mil., the de¬ 
tachment of troops which precedes the main body of an 
army or division. Advanced posts, small bodies of troops 
placed in front to watch and guard, as against surprises, or 
the approaches to the camp. Advanced works, those 
formed beyond the glacis of a fortification, and under the 
protection of its guns.—S yn. of ‘advance, v.’: to proceed; 
forward; promote; allege; adduce; assign; exalt; elevate; 
raise; enhance; accelerate; aggrandize; heighten;—of ‘ad¬ 
vancement ’: promotion; preferment; progression; improve¬ 
ment, etc. 

ADVANTAGE, n. dd-vdn'tdj [OF. and F. avantage, 
profit—from F. avant; It. avanti; mid. L. abante, before, 
forward— lit. , something that puts one forward]: superiority 
in any state, condition, or circumstance; gain; interest. 
Advantaged, pp. dd-vdn'tdjd, benefited; forwarded. Ad¬ 
vantageous, a. dd'vdn-tdjus, favorable; full of benefit. 
Ad vanta geously, ad. -II, conveniently; profitably. Ad - 


ADVENT. 

vanta'geousness, n. -jus-nes, the quality or condition ol 
being of advantage; profitableness. Note.—' The insertion 
of a d in advance and advantage is modern; in 0E., we 
have avarice and avantage — Syn. of ‘advantage’: benefit; 
profit; gain; interest;—of ‘ advantageousprofitable; bene¬ 
ficial; opportune; convenient; useful. 

ADVENT, n. dd'vent [L. adven'tus, arrived, reached— 
from, ad, venio, I come: OP. advent — lit., a coming to a 
person or thing]: the coming of Christ to the earth; in the 
Roman Cath., and in the Epis. and some other Prot. 
churches, the four weeks before Christmas; arrival, as 
the advent ot the empire. Ad'vent, a., also Adventual, 
a. dd-ven tu-dl, relating to the season of advent. 

ADVENT, or Advent Season: a term applied, by the 
Christian Church, to certain weeks before Christmas. In 
the Greek Church, the time of A. comprises forty days-, but 
in the Roman Church, and those Protestant churches in 
which A. is observed, only four weeks. The origin of this 
observance as a church ordinance, is not clear. The first 
notice of A., as an appointment of the church, is found in 
the Synod of Lerida, a.d. 524, at which marriages were 
interdicted from the beginning of A. until Christmas. The 
four Sundays of A., as observed in the Roman Church and 
the Church of England, were probably introduced into 
the calendar by Gregory the Great. It was common 
from an early period to speak of the coming of Christ 
as fourfold: his ‘first-coming in the flesh;’ his com¬ 
ing at the hour of death to receive his faithful fol¬ 
lowers (according to the expressions used by the 
apostle John); his coming at the fall of Jerusalem 
(Matt. xxiv. 80); and at the day of judgment. According 
to this fourfold view of A., the ‘ gospels ’ were chosen for 
the four Sundays, as was settled in the Western Church by 
the Homilarium of Charlemagne. The observance of A. is 
intended to accord in spirit with the object celebrated. As 
mankind were once called upon to prepare themselves for 
the personal coming of Christ, so, according to the idea that 
the church year should represent the life of the founder of 
the church, Christians are exhorted, during this festival, to 
look for a spiritual advent of Christ. The time of the year 
when the shortening days are hastening towards the solstice 
—which almost coincides with the festival of the Nativity— 
is thought to harmonize with the strain of sentiment proper 
during A. In opposition, possibly, to heathen festivals, 
observed by ancient Romans and Germans, which took place 
at the same season, the church ordained that the four weeks 
of A. should be kept as a time of penitence; according to 
the words of Christ: ‘ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand.’ During these weeks, therefore, public amuse 
ments, marriage-festivities, and dancing were prohibited; 
fasts were appointed, and sombre garments were used in 
religious ceremonies. The Protestant Church in Germany 
has also abstained from public recreations and celebrations 
of marriage during Advent. 


ADVENT CHRISTIANS—ADVERB. 

ADVENT CHRISTIANS: largest division of Advent¬ 
ists (see Miller, William), who expect Christ’s speedy 
coming to reign on earth. They hold to tlie annihilation 
of the wicked; and (mostly) believe that the soul is mate¬ 
rial and dies with the body—only the followers of Christ 
attaining resurrection. Members (1903) 26,500. 

ADVENTITIOUS, a. ddven-tish'us [L. adventitlus, com¬ 
ing from abroad, foreign—from adven'tus , a coming to, an 
arrival—from ad, venlb, I come]: come to accidentally; not 
forming an essential part; in hot., applied to organs pro¬ 
duced in abnormal positions, as in roots arising from aerial 
stems; unnatural, accidental, or acquired. Ad'venti'- 
tiously, ad. accidentally. Ad'venti'tiousness, n. the state 
or condition of being accidental, or not forming an essential 
part. 

ADVENTURE, n. ad-ven’tur [mid. L. adventurd, that 
which happens by chance: OF. adventure; F. aventure , an 
adventure—from L. ad, ventus, come— lit. , anything which 
happens by accident]: a hold undertaking; a chance enter¬ 
prise; a striking event: V. to risk on chance; to attempt or 
dare; to hazard. Adven'Turing, imp. Adven'tured, pp. 
-turd. Adventurer, n. ad-ven'tu-rer, one who risks a 
thing on chance; a bold unprincipled schemer. Adventu¬ 
rous, a. dd-ven' tu-rus, bold; hazardous. Adventuresome, 
a. ad-ven' tur-siim, somewhat bold; daring; inclined to risk. 
Adventurously, ad. -li, boldly; daringly. Adven' 
turousness, n. the state or condition of being adventurous. 
Syn. of ‘adventure, n.’: chance; hazard; accident; event; 
occurrence; contingency; incident;—of ‘adventurous’: en¬ 
terprising; daring; courageous; foolhardy; rash; hazardous. 

ADVERB, n. dd verb [F. adverbe— from L. adverbium — 
from ad, verbum, a word— lit., that which pertains to a 
verb]: in gram, a word used to modify the meaning of a 
verb, an adjective, an adverb, a clause, or a sentence. Ad¬ 
verbial, a. ad-verb'i-bl, pertaining to an adverb. Adverb'- 
ially, ad. li, used as an adverb. 

ADVERB: a part of speech joined to a verb, to an ad¬ 
jective, or another adverb, as an adjective, for analogous 
purposes, to a noun. From the frequency with which ad¬ 
verbs are joined to verbs they get their name. An A. can¬ 
not be the subject, the copula, or the predicate of a propo¬ 
sition; and is, therefore, a secondary part of speech, logically 
speaking. According to their signification, adverbs may be 
divided into—1. Adverbs of Place, as where, towards; 
2. of Time, as ever, immediately; 3. of Degree, as very, almost; 
4. of Manner, as thus, wisely; 5. of Belief or Doubt as, 
perhaps, no, etc. It is commonly said that ‘ some adverbs 
admit of comparison,’ as if in this respect they differed from 
adjectives. The truth is, that adverbs admit of comparison 
under the same limitations, neither more nor less, that re¬ 
strict the comparison of adjectives. Thus, soon is compared 
as naturally as hard. If now or thus cannot be compared, 
neither can wooden nor circular; and in both cases for the 
same reason—the sense forbids it. The laws of euphony 
prevent alike miserable and miserably from being compared 


ADVERSE—ADVERTISEMENT. 

grammatically, i.e., by tbe addition of er and est, but both 
admit of logical comparison by the use of more and most. 
—A large class of adverbs in English are formed from ad¬ 
jectives by annexing the syllable ly, whose meaning is that 
of the word like. Most languages have some such means of 
distinguishing the A. from the adjective, except the Ger¬ 
man, in which they are alike. Adverbs in general may be 
looked upon us abbreviations of phrases; thus, here = in 
this place, then = at that time, wisely — like a wise man. 
Combinations of words that can thus be represented by a 
single adverb, and all combinations that are analogous, 
though they may have no single word equivalent to them, 
are called adverbial expressions. 

ADVERSE, a. dd'vers [L. adversum, opposite to—from 
ad, to or against; versus, turned; F. averse and adverse , 
adverse]: opposed to; acting in contrary directions; contrary 
to; unfortunate; calamitous; in hot., opposite. Ad versely, 
ad. -li, in an adverse manner; unfortunately. Ad'verse- 
ness, n. state or quality of being adverse; opposition. 
Adversity, n ad-ver'si-ti, ill fortune; continued calamity. 
Adversary, n. adverser'l, one opposed to; an enemy. 
Adversative, a. dd-ver’sd-tiv, marking a difference or 
opposition.— Syn. of ‘adverse’: contrary; opposite; inimical; 
hostile; repugnant; averse; unwilling; reluctant;—of ‘ad¬ 
versary’; enemy; antagonist; opponent; foe;—of ‘ adversity 
distress; calamity; misfortune; misery; affliction. 

ADVERT, v. dd-vertf [L. advertere, to direct the mind to; 
adver'tens or adverted tern, directing the mind to—from ad, 
verto, I turn]: to turn the attention to; to refer to; to attend 
to; to consider. Adver tent, a. attentive; heedful. Ad- 
ver ting, imp. Adver ted, pp. Advertently, ad. -li. 
Advertence, n. dd-ver'tens, also Adver tency, n. -tensi, 
attention or regard to; regard.— Syn. of ‘ advert to regard; 
attend; allude; refer. 

ADVERTISE, v. adver-tiz [F. avertir, for advertir, to 
inform—from L. ad, vertere, to turn— lit., to turn the atten¬ 
tion to]: to give notice; to inform; to insert a notice in a 
newspaper. Ad verti sing, imp: Adj. giving advice, in¬ 
serting notices in a newspaper. Ad vertised, pp. -tizd'. 
Advertisement, n. dd-ver'tiz-ment [mid. L. advertissa- 
men'tum; OF. advertisement; F. avertissement, an adver¬ 
tisement]: intimation; advice; intelligence; a notice in a 
newspaper. Advertiser, n. ad'ver-ti'zer; one who adver¬ 
tises; common name of a newspaper.— Syn. of ‘ advertise’: 
to publish; announce; promulgate; proclaim; inform; ap¬ 
prise. 

ADVERTISEMENT: the public notification of a fact. 
This is now effected by means of the ordinary newspapers, 
covers and fly leaves of magazines, or of newspapers and 
publications specially devoted to the purpose. Advertise¬ 
ments, both printed and written, are still posted on church- 
doors and other places of public resort, in which case they 
are commonly called bills or placards. Public notifications 
are frequently enjoined by statute. In many ways their 
legal effects are important. Advertisements by public car- 


ADVICE. 

riers, railway companies and the like, are equivalent to offers 
whereby the advertiser will be bound to those who send 
goods on the faith, and in accordance with the terms of the 
A. By advertising a general ship for a particular voyage, 
the master places himself on the footing of a public carrier, 
and is bound to receive goods for the port to which the ves¬ 
sel is advertised to sail. A merchant in such circumstances 
can insist on his goods being received, unless the ship be 
full or the entire freight engaged. The contract of affreight¬ 
ment is completed by the A. and the shipping of the goods 
in conformity and with reference thereto. See Charter- 
party, Carrier, Advertisements are found in England 
as early as the middle of the 17th c., but advertising was not 
general till the beginning of the 18th. Most newspapers are 
rendered remunerative to their proprietors chiefly by means 
of the advertisements which they contain. The business of 
newspaper advertising in the U. S. was estimated, in 1880, to 
return a sum aggregating $39,136,306, divided in the propor¬ 
tion of fifty-live per cent to the daily newspapers and forty- 
five to the weeklies, etc. The states whose newspapers re¬ 
ceived the largest sums for advertising were in the following 
order: New York, $8,674,173; Pennsylvania, $4,218,770; Illi¬ 
nois,$3,179,954; Massachusetts,$2,5l2,522; Ohio, $2,460,642; 
California, $2,150,917; Missouri, $1,710,241; Iowa, $1,150,- 
806; Indiana, $1,057,688; Michigan, $1,002,092; all others 
were under a million dollars each. In 1880, the largest 
number of columns of advertisements recorded in a single 
issue was returned by the New York Herald, and amounted 
to 92.. The Herald has fince largely exceeded 100 columns 
in a single issue, while the New York World, at lower rates, 
has printed 157 columns of advertisements on a single Sun¬ 
day. The charges for advertising vary from 10 cents a line 
in the cheaper papers to 75 cents in the dearer, while 
in some of the trade papers it is not unusual to 
charge from $1 to $2.50 in favored positions next to 
or facing reading matter. While in the better class of 
metropolitan dailies the advertising business is conducted 
directly with the main or branch office, and at schedule rates, 
in the case of other papers it is largely worked through 
agents. This is particularly so with the weekly papers, in 
which the agents sometimes purchase space by the year, 
and take the responsibility and risk of filling it, and at other 
times take the advertising on commission. Very heavy ad¬ 
vertising is also done by large business houses in the leading 
newspapers on yearly or half-yearly contracts, at consider¬ 
able discount from the schedule rates. See Sampson’s His¬ 
tory of Advertising (1874). See Newspaper. 

ADVICE, n. ad-vis' [OF. avis, and advis, advice, opinion 
—from mid. L. advisum, advice, opinion—from L. ad, viso, 
I go to see: It. avviso — lit. , opinion given to]: a speaking 
to, as to conduct; admonition; counsel; intelligence; due 
notice given. Advise, v. ad-viz! [OF. adviser, to advise, to 
consider]: to speak to, as to conduct; to give counsel to; to 
inform; to consult: in OH., to consider. Ad vi' sing, imp. 
Advised, pp. ad-vizd': Ad«t. informed; cautious; prudent; 
counselled. Advi sedly, ad. - li . thoughtfully; with de- 


ADVICE—ADVOCATE. 

liberation. Advi'sedness, n. state of being advised 
deliberation. Advi ser, n. one who counsels. Advisory' 
a. dd-vi'zer-i, containing advice. Advisable, a. ad-m'zd-bl 
that may be done; prudent; open to advice. Advisable’ 
ness, n., and Advi sabil ity, n. -bil'i-ti, the quality of 
being advisable. Advi'sably, ad. -bli. Advise ment n 
Advi sing, n., and Advi so, n. in OE., counsel; advice- 
consideration. Advice-boat, a vessel specially employed 
in carrying advices or dispatches.—S yn. of ‘advice’: in¬ 
formation; notice; counsel; deliberation; admonition; con¬ 
sultation;—of ‘advise’: to apprise; acquaint; admonish; 
counsel; inform. 

ADVICE: see Bill of Exchange. 

ADVOCATE, n. ad'm-Mt [OF. adwcat; F. avocat, an 
advocate, a pleader—from L. advocdtus, one who pleads— 
from ad, toco, I call, one called on or summoned for aid; 
one who pleads the cause of another in a court of law; one 
who defends: V. to plead the cause of another. Ad'voca- 
ting, imp. Ad voca'ted, pp. Advocacy, n. dd-vd-M'si, 
the act of pleading for or defending another in a court of 
law. Ad vocate ship, n. the office of an advocate. Ad¬ 
vocation, n. ad'vo-ka shun, a pleading for. Lord Advo¬ 
cate, in Scot., the principal law officer of the crown and 
public prosecutor, who is virtually secretary of stale for 
Scotland, and occupies a position similar to the attorney- 
general in England. Queen’s Advocate, a lawyer ap¬ 
pointed by the crown to advise and act as counsel for it, in 
questions of civil, canon, and international law; the 
principal law officer in crown colonies. Faculty of 
Advocates, the bar of the supreme courts of Scotland 
incorporated as a society. Judge Advocate, in courts- 
martial, one who conducts the prosecution. 

ADVOCATE: generally defined as ‘the patron of a 
cause,’ though it does not appear that the ‘patrons’ who, in 
ancient Rome, assisted their clients with advice and pleaded 
their causes, were ever called by that name. Even in the 
time of Cicero the term adrocatus was not applied to the 
patron or orator who pleaded in public, but rather, in strict 
accordance with the etymology of the word, to any one who 
in any piece of business was called in to assist another. 
There can be no doubt, however, that the forensic orators 
and jurisconsults of the later period of the republic, who 
followed law as a profession, and received fees ( honoraria ) 
for their services, occupied a position closely analogous to 
that of the A. of modern times, and thus it has been said 
that the profession is older than the name. The occupations 
of a jurisconsult and a forensic orator seem to have differed 
much as those of a consulting and a practising counsel now 
do. They might be exercised separately, but were gener¬ 
ally combined; thus Cicero speaks of his master, Scsevola. 
as ‘ the most eloquent of the learned, and the most learned 
of the eloquent’ (jurisperitorum eloquentissimus, eloquen 
tium jurisperitissimus, Be Or., i. 89) Ulpian defined an A. 
to be any person who aids another in the conduct of a suit 
or action {Big. 50, tit. 13), and in other parts of the digest it 


ADVOCATES’ LIBRARY—ADYTUM. . 

is used as equivalent to an orator (seealso Tacit. Annal. x. 
6), so that the word seems gradually to have assumed its 
modern meaning. The office of the A. or barrister who 
conducted the cause in public w r as, in Rome, as in Britain, 
altogether distinct from that of the procurator, or, as we 
should say, attorney or agent who represented the person of 
the client in the litigation, and furnished the A. with infor¬ 
mation regarding the facts of the case. The British dis¬ 
tinction between these two occupations does not prevail in 
many of the states of Germany, in Geneva, in the United 
States, and in some British colonies; in these countries 
they are united in the same person. In England and Ire¬ 
land advocates are called barristers (q.v.—see also Attor¬ 
ney: etc ). In Scotland, as in France, the more ancient 
name has been retained. The bar of the supreme courts 
of Scotland is incorporated as a society known as the 
Faculty of Advocates- see Advocates’ Library. 

In France th eavocat and avoue correspond very nearly to 
the barrister and attorney in England. The advocates do 
not form a corporation, in a technical sense, but are a free 
society or association ( ordre ), which has the power of pro¬ 
tecting and of disciplining its members. 

ADVOCATES’ LIBRARY: belonging to the Faculty of 
Advocates in Edinburgh (see Advocate); established 
1682. The number of volumes is estimated at about 250,- 
000, the catalogue (7 vols. 4to.) w r as printed between 1867 
and 1878. It is rich in law, in Scottish history, and anti¬ 
quities, in the works of the fathers and schoolmen, and 
theology generally, also in Spanish literature. Under the 
liberal management of the Faculty of Advocates, it has in 
a great degree the character of a public institution. 

ADVOCATUS DIABOLI, dd-vo-kd'tus di-a'bdll, the Dev¬ 
il’s Advocate: name applied in the Roman Church to an ac¬ 
cuser of one who is proposed for canonization. When it is 
proposed that a deceased person shall be canonized, an ex¬ 
amination is had of his past life. In this process one party 
holds the office of accuser, or advocatus diaboli ; and it is his 
duty to bring forward all possible objections against the pro¬ 
posed canonization; while on the other side the Advocatus Dei 
(God’s advocate) undertakes the defense. Hence the term 
A.D. has been applied to designate any person who brings 
forward malicious accusations. 

ADVOWSON, n. dd-vow'siin [L. advoedtibnem, legal 
assistance, then a protector or defender: mid. L. advoatio; 
OF. advoeson and advouson, the right of presentation to a 
benefice: OF. advoue; old law Eng. advowee , the patron of 
a living]: right of perpetual presentation to a benefice. 
Advower or Advowee, n. ad-vow'e , one who has the right 
of advowson. 

ADYNAMIC, a. dd'i-ndm'vk [Gr. a, without; dundmis , 
power]: without strength. 

ADT TUM, n. dd'i-tum or d-di'tum [L. ad'ytum —from Gr. 
ad'uton, not to be entered, holy]: the most sacred place in 
ancient heathen temples. 


ADZE—REGINA. 

ADZE or ADZ, n. adz [AS. adesa or adese, an ax or 
hatcliet: Goth, akicisi; mid. L. and It. azza, an ax]: an 
edge-tool for reducing the surface of wood; a kind of ax 
^see Ax), of which it may only be a double. 

e: many words formerly beginning with ce are now 
spelt with e. When the word in a is not found, turn to e: 
the L. (e represents the Gr. ai; the AS. ce is now represented 
by an e, ai, or ea; and the L. ce is now generally though 
not uniformly represented by e —that is, sounded as ee in 
see. 

iECIDIUM, n. e-sid'i-um [Gr. aikion, a wheel; eidos, 
resemblance]: a small fungus attacking grasses and other 
plants,—one species is the red gum of agriculturists. 

iEDILE, n. e'dil [cedilis, an gedile—from cedes, a house]: 
an anc. Roman magistrate, who had the care of public 
buildings and works, etc. 

iEDILES: Roman magistrates who had the care of public 
buildings (cedes), especially the temples, and also attended to 
the cleansing and repairing of the streets, the preparations 
for funerals, public games and spectacles, the inspection of 
weights and measures, the regulation of markets, etc.—At 
first there were only two M., who were chosen from the 
plebeians, and styled ^E. plebis; afterwards two others, 
styled JE. curules were chosen from the patricians (366 b.c.), 
and Julius Caesar appointed a new order of ^E. cereales to 
take charge of the public granaries. 

ZEGEAN SEA, e-je'an-: old name of the gulf between 
Asia Minor and Greece, now usually called Archipelago 
(q.v.). It was named from ^Egeus, legendary king of 
Athens, whose son Theseus (q.v.) had sailed to Crete on 
his venturesome expedition to free-Athens from its dread¬ 
ful tribute to the Minotaur (q.v.). Theseus returning', for¬ 
got in the joy of his victory to hoist the white sails which 
were to signal his success; and according to one form of 
the legend, his father, anxiously w r atching, saw the dark 
sails, and in his grief cast himself into the sea. 

iEGINA, or Egina, e-ji'nd: a Greek island about forty 
sq. m. in area, in the ancient Saronicus Sinus, now the Gulf 
of Egina. It is mountainous, with deep valleys and chasms. 
The modern town of Egina stands on the site of the ancient 
town, at the n.w. end of the island. There are considerable 
remains of the ancient city, and the ruins of solidly built 
w r alls and harbor moles still attest its size and importance. 
Pop. of the island about 7,000. The climate is mild, and 
from the absence of marshes, is specially healthy. The 
stony but fertile western plains produce almonds, wine, oil, 
cotton and corn. The most ancient name of the island was 
(Enone, and, according to tradition, the Myrmidons dwelt in 
its valleys and caverns. In ancient times, the people of M. 
had considerable importance in Greece, and their fleet dis¬ 
tinguished itself in the battle of Salamis. Their prosperity 
excited the envy of the Athenians, who expelled the original 
inhabitants. The language, manners, and style of art among 
the ancient people of M.- were Dorian. 


^EGINETAN SCULPTURES. 

^BGINETAN SCULPTURES: The small island of 
iEgina is important in the history of Grecian art, A 
severely natural character belongs to its works of sculpture, 



Ruins of Temple of iEgina. 


*)f which several have been discovered in modern times. 
On an eminence in the e. part of the island stand the ruins 
of a temple, usually called the temple of Jupiter Panhelle- 



nius, but now believed to have been a temple of Pallas or 
Minerva. Among these ruins a series of statues were ex¬ 
cavated by a company of Germans. Danes, and Englishmen, 













































































































































































iEGIS—xELFRIC. 

which, in 1811, were purchased by Louis, then crown-princc 
of Bavaria, and are now the most remarkable ornaments of 
the Glyptothek at Munich. They are of various heights, 
and were evidently intended to decorate the tympana of the 
temple beside which they were found. The group that 
seems to have been designed for the rear tympanum is su¬ 
perior in preservation, and represents a combat of Greeks 
and Trojans for the body of a fallen 
hero. The other group is the contest 
of Telamon with Laomedon. The 
figures are true to nature, as in the 
old Greek style, with the structure of 
bones, muscles, and even veins, dis 
tinctly marked; but the faces have 
that unpleasant, forced smile which 
is characteristic of all sculpture be¬ 
fore the time of Phidias. 

MCGIS, n. e'jis [Gr. aigis, goat-skin, 
or a shield covered with it: L. a>gis \: 
the shield of Jupiter, or of Minerva; 
a shield. In mythology, it was re¬ 
lated that the shield of Jupiter was 
fashioned by Hephaestus (Vulcan). 

When Jupiter was angry, he waved 
and shook the iE., making a sound 
like that of a tempest, by which the Minerva, with iEgis. 
nations were overawed. The HE. was From an ancient statue, 
the symbol of divine protection, and 
became, in course of time, the attribute exclusively of Jupiter 
and Minerva. 

HEGLE, e'gle: a genus of plants of the natural order 
Aurantiacem (q.v.), distinguished by a five-toothed calyx, 
linear elongate mucronate anthers, and a many-celled fruit. 
yE. Marmelos, the tree which produces the bhel fruit of 
India, has ternate petiolate, ovato oblong leaves, and the 
flowers in panicles It is found from the s. of India to the 
base of the Himalaya Mountains. The fruit is delicious, 
fragrant, and nutritious. In an imperfectly ripened state 
it is an astringent of great effect in cases of diarrhoea and 
dysentery, and as such has lately been introduced into Eng¬ 
lish medical practice. The root, bark, and leaves are also 
used as medicinal. The Dutch in Ceylon prepare a per¬ 
fume from the rind of the fruit, and the mucus of the 
seed is employed as a cement for many purposes. 

MEGOSPOTAMI, e'gos-pot'a-ml, or HEgospotamos (Gr. 
Goat-river), in the Thracian Chersonese, is famous for the 
defeat of the Athenian fleet by the Lacedaemonians under 
Lysander, which put an end to the Peloponnesian war and 
to the predominance of Athens in Greece, 405 b.c. 

HEGYPTUS: see Danaus. 

MELFRIC, or Alfric, alfrik: a Saxon ecclesiastic of the 
10th c., regarding whose age, writings, and personality 
even, there has been a great difference of opinion among 
antiquaries. He appears to have been the son of the Ealdor- 
man, or Earl of Kent; but early manifesting a devotional 












iELIA CAPITOLINA—^ENEAS. 

spirit, he entered the monastery of Abingdon, the members 
of which belonged to the Benedictine order. Towards the 
close of the 10th c , he became a priest in the cathedral of 
Winchester. Pie was next appointed abbot of St. Albans, 
then bishop of Wilton, and finally archbishop of York, 
although others appear to think him that iE. who was arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury. iE., archbishop of York, died 1050; 
M., archbishop of Canterbury, in 1005. The writer vE., 
whether of York or of Canterbury, was a man of superior 
attainments for his time, of excellent character, and one 
whose religious convictions were less disfigured by super- 
stition than those of his contemporaries. The principal 
works ascribed to are—1. A Latin and Saxon glossary, 

printed at Oxford in 1659; 2. A Saxon version of most of 
the historical books of the Old Testament; 3. A charge to 
his clergy; 4. Two volumes of Saxon homilies; 5. A 
Saxon grammar in Latin. 

iELIA CAPITOLINA: see Jerusalem. 

iEMILIAN PROVINCES: see Emilian Provinces. 

iEMILIUS PAULUS, e-mile-us paw'his. The most re¬ 
markable of this name was the son of the consul M. P., 
who fell in the battle of Cannae, 210 b.c. Young iEmilius 
inherited his father’s valor, and enjoyed an unwonted degree 
of public esteem and confidence. In b.c. 168 he was 
elected consul for the second time, and intrusted with the 
war against Perseus, king of Macedon, whom he defeated 
in the battle of Pydna. During the war his two younger 
sons died, and M. is said to have thanked the gods that they 
had been chosen as victims to avert calamity from the 
Roman people. 

jENEAS, e-ne'as: the hero of Virgil’s JEneid, was, ac¬ 
cording to Homer, the son of Anchises and Venus, and 
was ranked next to Hector among the Trojan heroes. The 
traditions of his adventures before and after the fall of Troy 
are various and discordant. Virgil gives the following 
version: Hlneas, though warned by Priam in the night 
when the Greeks entered Troy, to take his household gods 
and flee from the city, remained in the contest until Priam 
fell, when, taking with him his family, he escaped from 
the Greeks, but in the confusion of his hasty flight lost his 
wife Creusa. Having collected a fleet of twenty vessels he 
sailed to Thrace, where he began building the city of AEnos, 
but was terrified by an unfavorable omen, and abandoned 
his plan. A mistaken interpretation of the oracle of Delphi 
now led him to Crete; but from this place he was driven 
by a pestilence. Passing the promontory of Actium, he 
came to Epirus, and then continued his voyage to Italy and 
round Sicily to the promontory of Drepanum on the w., 
where his father, Anchises, died. A storm afterwards 
drove him to the coast of Africa, and landing near Carthage, 
he was hospitably received and entertained by Queen Dido. 
His marriage with Dido was prevented by Jupiter, who 
sent Mercury with a command that M. must return to Italy. 
Accordingly he sailed away, leaving the disappointed queen, 
who committed suicide. During his stay in Sicily, where 


^ENEID—JEOLIPYLE. 

he celebrated the funeral of his father, the wives or his 
companions and seamen, weary of long voyages without 
certainty of finding a home, set fire to his fleet. After 
building the city Acesta, he sailed for Italy, leaving behind 
him the women and some of the men belonging to his fleet. 
On landing in Italy, he visited the Sibyl at Cumae, and re¬ 
ceived intimations of his future destiny. Then, sailing 
along the Tiber, and landing on the east side of the river, 
he found himself in the country of Latinus, king of the 
Aborigines. Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, had been 
destined to marry a stranger, but her mother had promised 
to give her in marriage to Turnus, king of the Rutuli. A 
war ensued, which terminated in the marriage of AE. with 
Lavinia. Their son, AEneas Syitvius, as the ancestor of the 
kings of Alba Longa, and also of Romulus and Remus, was 
regarded as the founder of the Roman empire. It is hardly 
necessary to add that these statements have no historical basis 

AENEID, n. e'ne-id, the great epic poem by the anc. 
Roman, Virgil, of which ./Eneas, e-ne'ds, is the hero. 

AEOLIAN, a. e-d'li-an [L. JEblus, the god of the winds] j . 
pertaining to AEolus or the wind. 

HSO LIAN HARP: a very simple musical instrument pro¬ 
ducing harmonic sounds when placed in a current of wind. 
It is formed by stretching eight or ten strings of catgut, all 
tuned in unison, over a wooden shell or box, made gener¬ 
ally in a form sloping like a desk. The sounds produced 
by the rising and falling wind, in passing over the strings, 
are soft and lulling, and have been beautifully described by 
the poet Thomson, as supplying the most suitable kind of 
music for the Castle of Indolence . 

AEOLIAN ISLES; see Lipari Islands. 

HCOLIANS: one of the principal races of the Greek 
people, who were originally settled in Thessaly, whence 
they spread and formed numerous settlements in the n. of 
Greece and in the w. of Peloponnesus. In the 11th c. b.c., 
some part of them emigrated to Asia Minor, where they 
founded on the u.w. coast in Mysia, and the adjacent 
isles, more than thirty cities; among them, Smyrna and 
Mitylene in the island of Lesbos, where the AEolian dialect 
of the Greek language chiefly developed itself in the forms 
employed in the poetry of Alcaeus and Sappho. The 
/Eolian shared the fate of the other Grecian colonies in 
Asia Minor. First oppressed by the Lydian kings, then de¬ 
prived of their independence by the Persians, they became 
a portion of the great empire founded by Alexander, and 
were ultimately absorbed in the Roman empire. 

AEOLIC, a. e-bl’ik, of AEolia, a district of Asia Minor. 
EEo'ltan, a. pertaining to: N. an inhabitant of AEolia. 

AEOLIPYLE, or AEolipile, e-dl'i-pil, [named from 
Mains, wind, and pila, a ball]: a hollow metallic ball from 
which, when heated, steam issues by orifices in two inner 
tubes so as to turn the ball; as water issuing from orifices 
turns Barker’s Mill (q. v.). It was invented by Hero of Al¬ 
exandria (q.v.) See Steam Engine. 


iEOLOTROPY—AERATED WATERS. 

2EOLOTROPY, n. e-b-lbt'rb-pi: quality or state of not 
possessing the same properties in all directions; opposite 
of isotropy. It denotes the condition of a body with ref¬ 
erence to the action on it of light, heat, etc., or with ref¬ 
erence to its elasticity. 

iEON, n. e'bn [Gr. aion , an agej: a lengthened period, 
in the ancient Eastern philosophy (Eons were supposed 
emanations from the one self-originated Being, among 
which were zoe , life; logos, word; monogenes, only begotten; 
plerdma, fulness. See Gnosticism. 

gEPYORNIS, or ^Epiornis, n. e'pi-br'ms [Gr. aipus , 
immense; ornis, a bird]: an immense struthious or ostrich- 
like bird, now extinct, which some centuries ago inhabited 
Madagascar. It was much larger than the ostrich, and its 
eggs are the largest known. It had three toes like the 
Dinornis (q.v.). 

AERATE, v. d'er-at [Gr. or L. der, air]: to combine with 
air; to charge with carbonic acid. A'era'tesig, imp. 
Aerated, pp. a'er-a'ted, mixed with carbonic acid. Aera¬ 
tion, n. d'er-a'shun, the operation or process of mixing with 
carbonic acid. Aerial, a. d-e'ri-dl, belonging to the air; 
high; lofty. 

AERATED BREAD: bread prepared by a process which 
dispenses with yeast, and avoids fermentation. The flour 
is moistened with carbonic acid water (see Aerated 
Waters); and the carbonic acid expanding forms a light 
palatable bread. The advantages are: 1. A saving of the 
waste in fermentation. 2. The process is shortened from 
several hours to half an hour. 3. The cost is less than 
that of yeast in the old process when large quantities of 
bread are made. 4. The dough requires no handling to 
knead it and form it into loaves. 5. The bread is pure— 
merely flour, water, and salt. See Bread: Unferment¬ 
ed Bread. 

AERATED WATERS: class of refreshing, refrigerant 
beverages rendered sparkling by dissolving in them car¬ 
bonic acid under pressure. The term does not include 
champagne or cider, or fermented root-beer, or any other 
carbonated beverage in which the carbonic acid gas is pro¬ 
duced by the natural process of fermentation. Car¬ 
bonic acid dissolves readily in water, that liquid ab¬ 
sorbing at the ordinary atmospheric pressure and tem¬ 
perature about its own volume of the gas. Under 
pressure, however, as when the gas is forced into a strong 
vessel containing the water, it absorbs many times its own 
volume; and when the pressure is released, the extra 
amount of carbonic acid escapes, rendering it for a time 
sparkling or effervescent, for the water does not give off 
all the extra gas at once. All agitation, or the presence of 
particles of dust, favors the disengagement of the gas, and 
and so it is that in drawing an aerated beverage from a 
siphon (see below), the tumbler is filled with froth to an ex¬ 
tent not noticed in pouring from a bottle. In this case, 
the rapidity of discharge through a narrow tube causes inr 


AERATED WATERS. 

mediate liberation of a large volume of the gas, producing 
the froth referred to. The varying solubility of carbonic 
acid at different temperatures and pressures explains why 
siphons or bottles which have been kept in a cold place 
appear to be deficient in gas, when in reality tfie gas is 
only kept in solution by the low temperature of the water. 

It would be beyond the scope of this article to describe 
the various forms of apparatus used in the production on 
the large scale of A. W., for in no branch of industry has 
more ingenuity been expended than in this for the devising 
of labor saving apparatus. Essentially, the process con¬ 
sists in the production of Carbonic Acid (q.v.) from whit, 
ing or chalk, by the action of sulphuric acid. The refuse, 
consisting of plaster of Paris, is thrown away, while the 
gas, after being purified by washing with water, is stored 
in a copper bell or gasometer. Thence it is pumped along 
with w^ater into copper or gun-metal vessels lined with 
pure tin, being made to dissolve in the water either by 
agitation or by other appliances. When the pressure in- 
side these vessels reaches about 100 lb. per square inch, 
the water contains about seven times its volume of gas, 
and is ready to be filled into bottles. The bottling is ac¬ 
complished with great speed, an expert bottler being 
able to fill from 30 to 50 dozen of corked bottles per 
hour; while, when patent (i.e. ball-stoppered) bottles are 
used, from 40 to 70 dozen may be filled. The siphon is a 
glass bottle, fitted with a metal top, and furnished with a 
lever or handle, which enables a portion of the contents to 
be drawn off without difficulty. The head should be of 
the purest tin, to avoid contamination of the aerated 
water. Formerly there was risk of lead-poisoning by A. 
W., as they readily dissolve lead ; but all manufacturers of 
any repute now make it a point to use no lead-piping 
whatever in their machinery, pure tin-pipe being alone 
admissible. 

The better known kinds of A. W. are : (1) Potash and 
Soda waters , which, when of full mediciual strength, con¬ 
tain fifteen grains of the bi-carbonate of potash or soda in 
each bottle ; usually, however, much less is put in, and 
the amount ranges from one to seven or ten grains ; (2) 
Aerated water, which is frequently sold for soda-water, 
but is a simple solution of carbonic acid, and contains no 
admixture; (3) Seltzer water (better Sellers water, beiug 
named from Selters, in Nassau, where natural mineral 
water of this composition is obtained), which contains the 
chlorides of sodium, calcium, and magnesium, along with 
phosphate and sulphate of sodium; (4) Medicinal waters, 
containing varying proportions of chemicals, as, for in¬ 
stance, lime, carbonate of iron, citrate of lithia, or bromide 
of potassium. 

The temperance drinks, which include such favorites as 
lemonade, ginger-beer, ginger-ale, and tonic bitters, are 
all made by putting the requisite quantity of flavoring 
syrup into a bottle, and filling up with simple aerated 
water ; and the varying qualities in the market correspond 
to the variety in the receipts from which they are made. 


AERIAL NAVIGATION. 

On the small scale, and for family use, carbonic acid 
water may be conveniently prepared in the apparatus 
known as the gazogene or seltzogene. It usually consists of 
two globes, one above the other, and connected by a tube. 
Powders of bicarbonate of soda and tartaric ackl are then 
placed in the upper globe, and the apparatus is inclined 
till water from the lower globe enters by the tube, and 
fills the upper globe about one-third. The tartaric acid and 
bicarbonate of soda have no action on each other so long as 
they are dry ; but whenever water is admitted, the tartaric 
acid combines with the soda and water to form tartrate of 
soda and water, and at the same time carbonic acid is given 
off, and descending the tube into the lower globe, dissolves 
in the water contained therein. Occasionally, bisulpliate 
of potash is used instead of tartaric acid, to save the 
greater expense of the latter. Aerated fruiX-beverages are 
produced when the water charged with carbonic acid is re¬ 
ceived in a glass containing about a table-spoonful of any 
of the fruit-syrups. 

A well-known effervescing draught is made from soda- 
‘powders , composed of bicarbonate of soda and tartaric 
acid. Seidlitz-powders contain tartrate of soda and bicar¬ 
bonate of soda in one paper, and tartaric acid in the other. 
Many waters naturally aerated have important medicinal 
properties: see Mineral Waters. 

AERIAL NAVIGATION: locomotion through the 
air. The most interesting attempts thus far made to solve 
the problem of A. N. are those of Otto Lilieuthal at Berlin, 
Germany; of Hiram S. Maxim, inventor of the Maxim gun, 
at Baldwin Pa;k, near Bexley, England; and of Prof. 
Samuel P. Langley, Sec. of the Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D. C., at Quautico, Md. Lilienthal’s appara¬ 
tus consisted of a system of light and extended aeroplanes 
attached to his person, with which he could make soaring 
flights against the wind from the summit of a hill, the 
greatest horizontal distance passed being about 1000 ft. 
His experiments were ended by a fatal fall from his ma¬ 
chine, 1896, Aug. 11 

Maxim’s air-ship consists of a system of superposed aero¬ 
planes mounted on a car driven by a steam-eugine. His 
own description is as follows : ‘ The area of the main aero¬ 
plane is 2,894 sq. ft., of the small one 126, and of the bot¬ 
tom of the car 140. With the rudders and the wings added, 
the total area is about 6,000 sq. ft. The wings are ten in 
number, and superposed, five on each side, and are each 5 
ft. wide and 25 to 85 ft. in length, according to their posi¬ 
tions. The forward rudder, projecting in front from the 
main aeroplane, is 18 ' t. wide and 80 ft. long, and the aft 
rudder 18 by 23 ft. Rudders and wings, like all the other 
aeroplanes, are made of a specially woven cotton cloth, so 
fine that you cannot blow through ir, and mounted on a 
framework of hollow steel tubes. < All these aeroplanes are 
inclined at a small angle to the air, the angle which gives 
the most support combined with the least resistance to its 
forward motion.' The wings are ‘so adjusted that as any 


AERIAL NAVIGATION. 

side is depressed it presents a greater lifting surface to the 
air below, so that the machine is kept on an even keel. 
* * * The total weight of the machine, with its full com¬ 
plement of water, naphtha, and three men, is something 
over 7,100 lbs. * * * The boiler weighs 1,000 lbs. This 
small weight, considering it gives me a force of 300 horse¬ 
power, is perhaps the most valuable portion of the work, 
since it has always been known that we could fly if we 
could get a motive-power of adequate strength with suffi¬ 
cient lightness. I use a compound engine, the high-pressure 
cylinders being five inches in diameter, with a twelve-inch 
stroke, and the low-pressure eight inches in diameter with 
a twelve-inch stroke.’ The driving apparatus consists of 
two powerful screw propellers ; and steering to the right 
or left is accomplished by varying the speed of either one 
relatively to that of the other. The machine is made to 
run on a railway track, and is held down, in the present 
experimental stage, by overhead rails or guides. On 1894, 
July 31, with a steam pressure of 320 lbs., the machine was 
completely lifted oil' the lower rails, and after running a few 
hundred ft., the lifting power became so great as to bend 
the rear axles, and to break and displace the upper rails, 
when the steam was shut off, and the machine fell to the 
ground. During the trip, a surplus lifting power of 2,000 
lbs. was registered. 

Prof. Langley’s ‘aerodrome’ is the first machine that 
has made an independent flight for any considerable dis¬ 
tance. It is thus described by himself in McGlui'es Mag¬ 
azine, 1896, June: ‘In the completed form of the machine 
there are two pairs of wings, each slightly curved, each 
attached to a long steel rod which supports them both, 
and from which depends the body of the machine, in 
which are the boilers, the engines, the machinery, and 
the propeller wheels, these latter being nearly amid¬ 
ships. They are made sometimes of wood, sometimes of 
steel and canvas, and are between three and four ft. in 
diameter. 

‘ The hull itself is formed of steel tubing; the front por¬ 
tion is closed by a sheathing of metal which hides from 
view the fire-grate and apparatus for heating, but allows us 
to see a little of the coils of the boiler and all of the 
relatively large smoke stack in which it ends. The 
conical vessel in front is an empty float, whose, use is 
to keep the whole from sinking if it should fall into the 
water. 

‘ This boiler supplies steam for an engine of between one 
and one and one-half horse-power, and, with its fire-grate, 
weighs a little over five pounds. This weight is exclusive 
of that of the engine, which weighs, with all ils moving 
parts, but 26 ounces. It drives the propeller wheels at rates 
varying from 800 to 1,200, or even more, turns a minute, 
the" highest number being reached when the whole is 
speeding freely ahead. 

•The rudder, it will be noticed, is of a shape very 
unlike that of a ship, for it is adapted both for ver- 


AERIAL POISONS—AERODYNAMICS, 
tical aud horizon, al steering [which it performs auto¬ 
matically]. t . 

‘ The width of the wings from tip to tip is between 1~< and 
13 ft., and the length of the whole about 1(5 ft. The 
weight is nearly 30 pounds, of which about one-fourth is 
contained in the machinery. The engine and boilers are 
constructed with an almost single eye to economy of weight, 
not of force, aud are very wasteful of steam, of which they 
spend their own weight in hve minutes. This steam might 
ill be recondensed aud the water reused by proper con¬ 
densing apparatus, but this cannot be easily introduced in 
so small a scale of construction. With it the time of flight 
night be hours instead of minutes, but without it the 
flight (of the present aerodrome) is limited to about five 
minutes, though in that time it can go some miles; but 
owing to the danger of its leaving the surface of the 
water for that of the land, and wrecking itself on shore, 
the time of flight is limited designedly to less than two 
minutes.’ 

In 1901 Santos-Dumont, a French aeronaut, after sev¬ 
eral attempts, navigated a flying machine of his own 
invention around the Eiffel Tower, Paris, winning a prize 
of $20,000, and 1902, Jan., he made successful flights near 
Monte Carlo. He undertook to build a new dirigible bal¬ 
loon for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis. 

AERIAL POISONS: see Miasma. 

AERIE or EYRY, n. e'ri [F. aire, an eyry—from Ger. 
aren, to make one’s nest—from Ger. aar; Icel. ari, an 
eagle: mid. L. area , the nest of a bird of prey]: the nest of 
an eagle or hawk. 

AERIFY, v. d'er-i-fl [L. dvr, air; facto, I make; fid, I 
am made]: to turn into air; to combine or chai’ge with air. 
A'erify'ing, imp. Aerified, pp. d'er-lfld. Aerification, 
n a'er-i-fi-kd 1 shun, the changing solid or liquid bodies into 
air or gas; the act of combining or charging with air. 
Aeriferous, a. aer-fer-vs [L. fero, I carry]: conveying 
air; as the windpipe or bronchial tubes. Aeriform, a. 
d'er-i-fawrm [L. forma, a shape]: having the nature or form 
of air; not solid. 

AERODYNAMICS, d'ero-di-nam'-iks: the branch of 
science which treats of air and other gases in motion. It 
examines first the phenomena of air issuing from a vessel, 
which correspond in many respects with those of water. 
See Hydrodynamics. Much depends, as in the case of 
water, upon the nature of the orifice, whether a mere hole 
in the side of the vessel, or a tube or adjutage. Another 
subject of A. is the motion of air in long tubes, where the 
resistance of friction, etc., has to be ascertained. That 
resistance is found to be nearly in proportion to the square 
of the velocity, to the length of the tube, and inversely to its 
width. A. considers also the velocity of air rushing into a 
vacuum, of wind, etc. The instrument used for the latter 
purpose is called an anemometer. See Winds. Air is 
found to rush into a void space at the rate of from 1,300 to 
1,400 feet per second. One of the most important inquiries 


aerolite. 

in A is tlie resistance offered to a body moving in air, or— 
which is the same thing—the pressure exerted by air in 
motion upon a body at rest. The law may be stated, with 
sufficient accuracy for practical purposes, as follows: The 
resistance or pressure is proportional to the square of the 
velocity. We might gather this law from reason, without 
experiment; for if one body is moving through the air four 
times faster than another of the same size, not only will it 
encounter four times as many particles of air, but it will give 
each of them four times as great an impulse or shock, and 
thus encounter 4 X 4 or 16 times as much resistance. 

This resistance is greatly increased by another circum¬ 
stance, especially with great velocities. The air in front of 
the moving body becomes accumulated or condensed, and 
a partial or even entire vacuum is formed behind it. With 
a velocity of 1700 feet per second, for instance, the resistance 
(s found to be about three times as great as the simple law of 
the square of the velocity would give. By the operation of 
these laws of resistance, a heavy body let fall with a para¬ 
chute attached to it, comes, after a certain time, to move 
with a velocity approaching more and more nearly to a uni¬ 
form motion. 

AEROLITE, n. d'er d-lit [Gr. air, air; lithos, a stone], a 
body falling from space upon the surface of the earth; also 
Aerolite, n. d'er-o-lith, a meteorite. Meteoric Stones, 
Fireballs, and Shooting stars are now classed with 
al'rolites, as varieties of the same phenomenon. Aerolites 
that fall during the day are observed to be projected from a 
small dark cloud, accompanied by a noise like thunder, or 
the firing of cannon ; at night they proceed from a fireball, 
which splits into fragments with a similar sound. It is 
believed that the dark cloud that accompanies the fall of 
aerolites by day would be luminous at night; and smoking, 
exploding fireballs have sometimes been seen luminous even 
in the brightness of tropical daylight. The connection 
between aerolites and fireballs is thus established. Fireballs, 
again, cannot be separated from shooting-stars,. the two 
phenomena being sometimes blended, and also being found 
to merge into one another, both with respect to the size of 
their disks, the emanation of sparks, and the velocities of 
their motion. 

There are numerous records and stories in all ages and 
countries of the fall of stones from the sky; but until recent 
times they were treated by philosophers as instances of popu¬ 
lar credulity and superstition. It was not till the beginning 
of the 19th c. that the fact was established beyond a doubt. 
—According to Livy, a shower of stones fell on the Alban 
Mount, not far from Rome, about bc. 654. The fall of a 
great stone at iEgospotami, on the Hellespont, about b.c. 
467, is recorded in the Parian Chronicle (q.v.), and men¬ 
tioned by Plutarch and Pliny. It was still shown in the 
days of Pliny (d. a.d. 79), who describes it as of the size of 
a wagon, and of a burned color. In the year 1492, a pon¬ 
derous stone, weighing 260 lbs., fell from the sky near the 
village of Ensisheim, iu Alsace; part of it is still to be seen 
in the village church. An extraordinary shower of stones 


AEROLITE. 

fell near L’Aigle, in Normandy, 1803, Apr. 26. The cele* 
brated French philosopher, M. Biot, was deputed by gov¬ 
ernment to repair to the spot and collect the authentic facts; 
and since the date of his report the reality of such occur¬ 
rences has no longer been questioned. Nearly all the inhab¬ 
itants of a large district had seen the cloud, heard the noises, 
and observed the stones fall. Within an elliptical area of 
seven miles by three, the number of stones that had fallen 
could not be less than two or three thousand ; the largest 
were 17 lbs. in weight. These are only a few out of 
hundreds of instances on record. 

As was natural with objects of such mysterious origin, 
meteoric stones have been regarded with religious veneration. 
At Emesa, in Syria, the sun was worshipped under the form 
of a black stone, reported to have fallen from heaven. The 
holy Kaaba of Mecca and the great stone of the pyramid of 
Cholula, in Mexico, have the same history. 

The existence of such bodies once admitted led to assign¬ 
ing a meteoric character to strange ferruginous masses found 
in different countries and which had no history, or were only 
adverted to in vague tradition. Of this kind is the immense 
mass seen by Pallas in Siberia, now in the Imperial Museum 
at St. Petersburg. The largest known is one in Brazil, esti¬ 
mated at 14,000 lbs. 

One constant characteristic of meteoric stones is the fused 
black crust, like varnish, with which the surface is coated. 
From the circumstance of this coat being very thin, and 
separated from the inner mass by a sharply defined line, it 
is thought to indicate some rapid action of heat which has 
not had time to penetrate into the substance of the stone. 
This view is favored by the fact that the stones are found in 
a strongly heated, but not incandescent state, when they fall. 
Their specific gravity ranges from two to seven or even 
eight times that of water.—As to their chemical composition, 
the predominating element is iron, in a native or metallic 
state, generally combined with a small proportion of nickel. 
According to Humboldt, the aerolites that fell in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Agram, Croatia, 1751, the Siberian stone, and 
specimens brought by that philosopher from Mexico, con- 
tain 96 per cent, of iron, while in those of Sienna the iron 
scarcely amounts to 2 per cent, and, in some rare instances; 
metallic iron is altogether wanting. A writer in the Quar 
terly Review, No. CLXXXIII., thus sums up the result of 
all the chemical analyses hitherto made : ‘ We find the 
actual number of recognized elements discovered in aerolites 
to be nineteen or twenty—that is, about one third of the 
whole number of elementary substances (or what we are yet 
forced to regard as such) discovered on the earth. Further, 
all these ai'-rolitic elements actually exist in the earth, though 
never similarly combined there.' No new substance has hith¬ 
erto come to us from without; and the most abundant of our 
terrestrial metals, iron, is that which is largely predominant 
in aerolites, forming frequently, as in some of the instances 
just mentioned, upwards of 90 parts in 100 of the mass. 
Seven other metals—copper, tin, nickel, cobalt, chrome, 
manganese, and molybdena—enter variously into the com- 


AEROLITE. 

position of these stones. Cobalt and nickel are the most 
invariably present; but the proportion of all is trifling com 
pared with that of iron. Further, there have been found in 
different aerolites six alkalies and earths—namely, soda, 
potash, magnesia, lime, silica, and alumina; and, in addi¬ 
tion, carbon, sulphur, phosphorus, and hydrogen. Finally, 
oxygen is a constituent of many aerolites, entering into the 
composition of several of the substances just mentioned. As 
respects the manner of conjunction of these elements, it is 
exceedingly various in different aerolites. A few there are, 
especially examined by Berzelius and Rose, containing 
olivine, augite, hornblende, and other earthy minerals, and 
closely resembliug certain crystalline compounds which we 
find on the surface of the earth. ’ 

Beside those solid masses of considerable size, numerous 
instances are on record of showers of dust over large tracts 
of land, and it is remarkable that such dust has generally 
been found to contain small, hard angular grains resembling 
augite. Stories of the fall of gelatinous masses from the sky 
are ranked by Humboldt among the mythical fables of 
meteorology. It has been supposed that such fables may 
have originated in the very rapid growth of gelatinous algae, 
as JSfostoc (q.v.). 

Fireballs and Shooting-Stars. —From the height and appar¬ 
ent diameter, the actual diameter of the largest fireballs is 
estimated by Humboldt to vary from 500 to 2,800 feet; 
others allow a diameter of about a mile. Shooting stars are 
much smaller, their weight varying from 30 grains to 7 lbs. 
In most cases of luminous meteors a train of light many miles 
in length is left behind. One or two instances are on record 
where the train of the fireball continued shining for an hour 
after the body disappeared. The heights of shooting-stars 
are found to range from 15 to 150 m. at the points at which 
they begin and cease to be visible. Their velocities vary 
from 18 to 36 m. in a second. When it is remembered that 
the velocity of Mercury in its orbit is 26.4 m. in a second, of 
Venus 19.2, and of the Earth 16.4, we have in this fact a 
strong confirmation of the planetary nature of meteorites. 

One of the most remarkable facts connected with shooting- 
stars is that certain appearances of them are periodic. . On 
most occasions they are sporadic —that is, they appear singly 
and traverse the sky in all directions. At other times they 
appear in swarms of thousands, moving parallel; and these 
swarms are periodic, or recur on the same days of the year. 
Attention was first directed to this fact on occasion of the 
prodigious swarm which appeared in North America. 1833, 
Nov. 12 and 13, described by Professor Olmsted of Yale 
College. The stars fell on this occasion like flakes of snow 
to the number, as was estimated, of 240,000 in the space of 
nine hours, varying in size from a moving point or phos¬ 
phorescent line to globes of the moon’s diameter. The most 
important observation made was that they all appeared to 
proceed from the same quarter of the heavens—the vicinity, 
namely, of the star y, in the constellation Leo, and although 
that star had changed greatly its height and azimuth during 
the time that the phenomenon lasted, they continued to issue 


AEROLITE. 

from the same point. It was afterwards computed by Encke 
that this point was the very direction in which the earth was 
moving in her orbit at the time. Attention being directed to 
recorded appearances of the same kind, it was observed with 
surprise that several of the most remarkable had occurred 
on the same day of November, especially that seen by Hum¬ 
boldt at Cumana in 1799, and by other observers over a great 
extent of the earth. The November stream was again ob¬ 
served in the United States in 1834, on the 13th and 14th, 
though less intense. 'Though often vague, and in some 
years altogether absent, this phenomenon has recurred with 
such regularity, both in America and Europe, as to establish 
its periodic character. 

Another periodic swarm of considerable regularity is that 
appearing Aug. 9-14, noticed in ancient legends as the 
‘ fiery tears’ of St. Lawrence, whose festival is on Aug. 10. 
There are other periodic appearances; and Humboldt gives 
the following epochs as especially worthy of remark: 
Apr. 22-25; Jul. 17; Aug. 10; Nov. 12-14; Nov. 27-29; 
Dec. 6-12. 

Various opinions have been advanced as to the origin of 
aerolites, and the theory of meteors in general. The hypoth¬ 
eses in answer to the question—Whence come those solid 
masses that fall upon the earth?—are of two kinds; some 
ascribing to them a telluric origin, and others making them 
alien to the earth. Of the first kind, is the conjecture that 
they may be stones ejected from terrestrial volcanoes, revolv¬ 
ing for a time along with the earth, and at last returning to 
it. Another theory, which at cue time found considerable 
favor, supposed that the matter of which aerolites are 
composed existed in the atmosphere in the form of vapor, 
and was by some unknown cause suddenly aggregated and 
precipitated to the earth. These conjectures are untenable 
in the face of the facts of the phenomena stated above, and 
are now completely given up. 

In seeking a source beyond the earth, the moon readily 
presented itself. Olbers was the first to investigate, 1795, 
the initial velocity necessary to bring to the earth masses 
projected from the moon. This ‘ ballistic problem,’ as 
Huinboidt calls it, occupied during ten or twelve years the 
geometricians Laplace, Biot, Brandes, and Poisson. It was 
calculated that, setting aside the resistance of air, an initial 
velocity of about 8,000 ft, in a second, which is about five or 
six times that of a cannon-ball, would suffice to bring the 
stones to the earth with a velocity of 35,000 ft. But Olbers 
has shown, that to account for the actual measured velocity 
of meteoric stones, the original velocity of projection must 
be fourteen times greater than the above. It is against this 
lunar theory that we have no proof of active volcanoes now 
existing in the moon; and with the improvement of the 
telescope, the probability of the contrary is increasing. It 
is, accordingly, giving place to the planetary theory, above 
noticed—a theory which harmonizes better with the tendency 
of physical research and of speculation generally. 

The discussion of hypotheses as to the genesis of the 
recognized planets out of portions of the gradually con- 


AEROLOGY— AERO PIIYTES. 

tracting vaporous mass of the sun; the continued discovery 
of hitherto unobserved planets between the orbits of Mars 
and Jupiter; the countless multitudes of comets that are 
observed traversing our system in all directions, and under¬ 
going appreciable alteration both of consistency and orbit;—. 
all prepare us for the idea, that matter may exist in the 
inter-planetary spaces, in every variety of form and condition. 
To account for the phenomena of meteors as above de¬ 
scribed, we must suppose that there are both detached 
masses, each revolving in an independent orbit, and giving 
rise to sporadic meteors; and also connected systems, forming 
rings or zones round the sun. The intersection of the 
earth’s orbit by such zones or streams, would account for 
the periodic swarms of meteors; and if we suppose the 
asteroids composing it to be irregularly grouped, we see a 
reason why the same stream should not be always of equal 
intensity. There may even be periodicity in this respect 
too. Between 1799 and 1833—two of the most brilliant 
manifestations of the November stream on record—there 
elapsed 34 years; and the next brilliant appearances were in 
1866-67, as Olbers had predicted. See Meteors. 

AEROLOGY, n. d'er-dl'dji [Gr. der, air; logos, discourse]: 
the science that treats of the air, its nature and uses. 
Aerologist, n. d'er-dlo-jist, one who studies the nature 
and effects of the air or atmosphere. Aerological, a. 
a'er-d-lofi-kdl, pertaining to. Aeromancy, n. d'er-d-mdn'si 
[Gr. manteia , divination]: divination by means of the air 
and winds. 

AEROMETER, n. a'er-orn'e-ter [Gr. der, air; metron, a 
measure]: an instrument for ascertaining the weight of the 
atmosphere, or of gases. 

AERONAUT, n. d'er-d-nmot' [Gr. der, air; nautes, a sailor 
—from naus, a ship]: one who sails or floats in the air in a 
balloon; an aerial navigator. Aeronautic, a. d'er-o-naw'tik, 
pertaining to sailing in the air. A eronau tics, n. plu. 
■tlks, the science or art of sailing in the air by mechanical 
means. See Balloon : also Flying. 

AEROPATHY, n. d'er-bp'a-thi [Gr. der , air; pathos, 
feeling]: a process for the cure of asthma and other dis¬ 
eases by subjecting the whole body to an atmosphere of 
compressed air which has been filtrated through cotton. 

AEROPHONE, d'er-o-fbn: instrument for increasing the 
power ot sounds without impairing their distinctness. It 
consists of a vibrating diaphragm and mouthpiece, con¬ 
nected with a piston which is moved in a cylinder by a 
current of compressed air or steam. This movement causes 
t'he vibration of a large receiving diaphragm, which repro¬ 
duces in greater volume the sounds uttered in the mouth¬ 
piece. The loudness of the sound is determined by the 
size of the diaphragm and the power of the current by 
which it is moved. It was the invention of Thomas A. 
Edison. 

AEROPHYTES t n.plu. d'er-ojits' [Gr. dt'r.air; phuzon, & 


iERO PIIYTES—AEROSTATICS. 

plant]: plants which live exclusively in the air— hydrophytes 
are those living under water. 

JEROPHYTES: see Epiphytes. 

AEROSTATIC, a d'er d-stdt'ik [Gr. der, air; states , a 
standing still]: suspending in air. A'erostat'ics, n. plu. 
- Iks , the science of the equilibrium of gases. Aerostation, 
n. a'er-o-sta'shun, and Aeronau'tics, n. plu. aerial naviga^ 
tion; the art of sailing in the air by mechanical means, such 
as in balloons. Aerostat, n. d'er-d-stdt', the part of a balloon 
which contains the gas or rarefied air; a balloon, (q.v.). 

AEROSTATIC PRESS: a machine for extracting the 
coloring-matter from dye-woods and like materials. A vessel 
is divided by a horizontal partition pierced with small holes. 
Upon this the substance containing the color is laid, and a 
cover, also perforated, is placed upon it. The extracting 
liquid is then poured on the top, and the air being drawn 
from the under part of the vessel by a pump, the liquid is 
forced through the substance by the pressure of the atmos¬ 
phere. 

AEROSTAT'ICS: a branch of science treating of the 
equilibrium and pressure of air and other gases, and of the 
methods of measuring it by the barometer and other instru¬ 
ments. The expansive force or pressure of atmospheric air 
varies with time and place. In a medium condition of the 
atmosphere, and near the sea-level, barometrical observations 
give the pressure or weight equal to that of a column of 
mercury, 30 inches high, or of a column of water about 
34 ft. high. This makes the mean pressure of the atmos¬ 
phere nearly 15 lb. on every sq. inch. This mean pressure 
of the atmosphere is generally taken as the unit or measure 
of expansive or elastic forces generally; any particular pres¬ 
sure is said to be equal to so many atmospheres. Aero¬ 
statics also investigates the phenomena of the compression 
of gases; in other words, the relation between the elasticity 
and the density or volume of a gas. According to the law 
of Mariotte, the expansive force of one and the same body 
of gas is proportional to its density; or, which is the same 
thing, the expansive force of a body of gas under different 
degrees of compression, varies inversely as the space which 
it occupies. If its elastic force, at one stage, be measured 
by 50 lbs., when compressed into half the space, that force 
will be 100 lbs. Connected with this is the investigation of 
the variation of density and pressure in the several vertical 
strata of the atmosphere. It is obvious that the weight of 
the atmosphere must diminish as we ascend, as part of it 
is left below; and it results from Mariotte’s law, that at 
different distances from the earth’s surface, increasing in 
arithmetical progression, the atmospheric pressure diminishes 
in geometrical progression. This principle furnishes the 
means of measuring heights by the barometer (q.v.). 

The elastic force of air and other gases is very much in¬ 
creased by heat; and consequently, when allowed, they 
expand. It is found that a rise of temperature of 1° of 
Fahrenheit causes any gas to expand T ^ T of its own bulk; 
and this expansion is uniform. If adding 10° to the 


ERUGINOUS—ESCHYLUS. 

temperature of a body of gas increases its bulk 3 cubic 
inches, an addition of 20° will give an increase of 6 inches; 
of 50% 15 inches, and so on. This law was discovered by 
Gay-Lussac, and has been verified by subsequent investiga¬ 
tors. Both it, however, and that of Mariotte, can be locked 
upon as only nearly true, and that within certain limits. 

ERUGINOUS, a. e-roj'i nus L. cerugo or cerug'inem, rust 
of copper—from ceris, copper]: pertaining to the rust of 
copper—viz., verdigris. 

AESCHINES, es'ki-nez, b.c. 389-314: an Athenian ora¬ 
tor, second only to Demosthenes, whose contemporary and 
rival he was. Philip of Macedon was then pursuing his de¬ 
signs for the subjugation of the several Greek states; and 
while Demosthenes advocated the policy of opposing him 
before it was too late, E. was the head of the peace party. 
E. wasa member of more than one embassy sent by the 
Athenians to deal with Philip; and Demosthenes accused 
him of receiving bribes from the Macedonian monarch, and 
of betraying the cause of Athens and of her allies. There 
is no proof of such betrayal; and perhaps E. was deceived 
by the wily Philip into believing that he meant no harm to 
the liberties of Athens, and that peace was the best policy 
for his countrymen. The result justified the sagacious fears 
of Demosthenes, and condemned tbe selfish, isolating policy 
of E. When it was proposed to reward Demosthenes with 
a golden crown for his patriotic exertions in defense of his 
country E. brought an accusation of illegality against the 
proposer, Ctesiphon. Demosthenes replied, and Eschines 
being vanquished, and having thus incurred the penalty 
attached to an unfounded accusation, was obliged to retire 
from Athens. He finally established a school of eloquence 
in Rhodes, which had a high reputation. On one occasion 
be read to his audience in Rhodes his oration against Ctesi¬ 
phon; and some of them expressing their astonishment that 
he should have been defeated in spite of such a powerful 
display, he replied: ‘You would cease to be astonished if 
you had heard Demosthenes. ’ The oration against Ctesi¬ 
phon and two others are the only authentic productions of 
E. that have come down to us. He d. at Samos. 

AESCHYLUS, es'kl-lus, the father of Greek tragedy: 
b.c. 525-456: b Eleusis, in Attica. We have but scanty 
notices of his life. He fought in the battles of Marathon, 
Salamis, and Platsea, witnessed the fall of Darius and 
Xerxes, and shared in the exulting sentiments which after¬ 
wards pervaded liberated Greece. Of the 70 or 90 tragedies 
ascribed to E., only seven have been preserved— Prome - 
them Bound, the Seven against Thebes , the Persians, Ago* 
memnon, the Ghoephori, Eumenides, and the Suppliants. 
These are sufficient to prove that E. was the creator of 
the Greek drama in its higher form. He introduced action 
in place of the perpetual chorus, and dramatic dialogue to 
supersede the long narrations of his predecessors, Thespis 
and Choerilus. Scenic effects, masks, and dresses were 
other improvements introduced in the plays of E. The 
plots of his pieces are very simple, and display no ingenuity 


AESCULAPIUS. 

of construction or solution. His general tone is elevated 
and earnest, and shows a preference of strong to gentle emo¬ 
tions. Destiny is represented in its sternest aspect; gigantic 
heroes, Titans, and gods, rather than men, appear on the 
scene, and the lofty grandiloquence of the language is in 
accordance with the characters. In the choruses, the lan¬ 
guage is often turgid and obscure. For some reason, not 
well known,AE. left his native city and went to Sicily, where 
he was honorably received by King Hiero. Here he died 
at Gela, and the inhabitants of the city raised a monument 
to his memory. In the poetical translation by Blackie, the 
non-classical reader may get some notion of the grandeur 
and fire of this greatest of all ancient dramatists. 

AESCULAPIUS, es-ku-ld'pl-us': appearing in Homer as an 
excellent physician of human origin, in the later legends 
becomes the god of the healing art. The accounts given of 
his genealogy are various. According to one story, he was 
the son of Coronis and the Arcadian Ischys. Apollo, en¬ 
raged by the infidelity of Coronis, caused her to be put to 
death by Diana, but spared the boy, who was afterwards 
educated by Chiron. In the healing art, AE. soon surpassed 
his teacher, and succeeded so far as to restore the dead to 
life. This offended Pluto, who began to fear that his realm 
would not be sufficiently peopled; he therefore complained 
to Jove of the innovation, and Jove slew AE. by a flash of 
lightning. _ After this he was raised to the rank of the gods 
by the gratitude of mankind, and was especially worshipped 
at Epidaurus, on the coast of Laconica, where a temple and 
grove were consecrated to him. Here oriental elements, 
especially serpent-worship, seem to have been mingled with 
the rites and ceremonies. From Epidaurus the worship of 
the healing god extended itself over the whole of Greece, 
and even to Rome According to Homer, AE. left two sons, 
Machaon and Podalirios, who, as physicians, attended the 
Greek army. From them the race of the Asclepiades de¬ 
scended. Hygieia, Panaceia, and AEgle are represented as 
his daughters. His temples usually stood without the cities, 
in healthy situations, on hillsides, and near fountains. 
Patients that were cured of their ailments offered a cock or 
a goat to the god, and hung up a tablet in his temple, re¬ 
cording the name, the disease, and the manner of cure. 
Many of those votive tablets are still extant. The statue of 
the god at Epidaurus, formed of gold and ivory by Thrasy- 
medes, represented AE. as seated on a throne, and holding in 
one hand a staff with a snake coiled round it, the other hand 
resting on the head of a snake; a dog, as emblem of watch¬ 
fulness, at the foot of the deity. Praxiteles and other 
sculptors represented the god as an ideal of manly beauty, 
and closely resembling Jupiter; with hair thrown up from 
the brow, and falling in curls on each side. The upper 
part of the body was naked, and the lower was covered by 
a mantle falling in folds from the shoulders. He had some¬ 
times a laurel wreath on his head, and a cock or owl at his 
feet; or was attended by a dwarf figure named Telesphorus. 
—Asclepiad^e or Asclepiades, the followers of AE., who 
inherited and kept the secrets of the healing art; or, assurm 



AESCHYLUS. 

525-456 r>. c. 

FOUNDER OF THE DRAMA—FIRST GREAT TRAGIC POE1. 
Enlarged from a gem, published in Visconti. 




































HDSCULIN—HDSOP. 

iug that HD. was merely a divine symbol, the Asclepiades 
must be regarded as a medical, priestly caste who preserved 
as mysteries the doctrines of medicine. The members of 
the caste, or medical order, were bound by an oath—the 
Hippocratisjusjurandum —not to divulge the secrets of their 
profession. In Rome, b.c. 292, when a fatal pestilence 
prevailed, the Sibylline books commanded that HDsculapius 
must be brought from Epidaurus. Accordingly an embassy 
was sent to this place, and, when they had made their re¬ 
quest, a snake crept out of the temple into their ship. Re¬ 
garding this as the god HD., they sailed to Italy, and, as 
they entered the Tiber, the snake sprang out upon an island 
where, afterwards, a temple was erected to HD., and a com¬ 
pany of priests appointed to take charge of the service and 
practice the art of medicine. Hippocrates is said to have 
descended from the Asclepiades of Cos, who traced their 
descent on the mother’s side from Hercules. 

HDSCULIN, n. es'ku-lln [L. cesculus, the horse-chestnut]: 
a glucoside principle discovered in the horse-chestnut; also 
spelt esculin; CL 1 H 24 O 13 . 

HDSIR: see Scandinavian Mythology. 

HDSOP, e'sop: ancient Greek writer, whose name is at¬ 
tached to the most popular of the existing collections of 
Fables. His history is very uncertain, and some critics have 
even denied his existence. First among these is Luther, in 
his preface to th q German JEsop, 1530. We are told, how¬ 
ever, on the authority of Herodotus (ii. 184), Diog. Laertius 
(i. 72), and Plutarch {Sept. Sap. Conviv., and De Sera Num. _ 
Vinci.), that HD. lived in the latter part of the 6 th c. b.c.; 
that he was a slave at Samos; that, on receiving his free¬ 
dom, he visited Croesus and Pisistratus, by the former of 
whom he was commissioned to distribute some money 
among the citizens of Delphi, and that, on his refusal to 
pay it, in consequence of a dispute, he was thrown over a 
precipice by the infuriated mob. We are further informed 
that the Athenians erected a statue to him from the chisel of 
Lysippus. Whether this person was the author of the exist¬ 
ing HDsopean collection or not we know, from Aristophanes 
and other authorities, that fables bearing his name were 
popular in the most brilliant period of Athenian literature. 
The conjecture of Bentley, however, seems well founded, 
that these fables were transmitted entirely through oral tra¬ 
dition. Socrates {Phcedo, p. 61) turned such of them as he 
could remember into verse, of which Diog. Laertius has 
preserved a specimen; and the same was done by Demetrius 
Phalereus, b.c. 320. The only Greek version, however, of 
which any entire fables remain, and which, as shown by 
Bentley, has furnished materials to subsequent collections, 
is that of Babrius (q.v.), a writer of some mark, who is sup¬ 
posed to have lived in the age before Augustus. Of the 
fables now bearing the name of HDsop, there are three sets, 
the first from a MS. of the 13th c., published, Florence, 
1809; the second, a collection by Maximus Planudes, a monk 
of the 14th c., containing a life (supposed to have been the 
work of Planudes, till it was found*in the earlier MS.) of 

Vc!. 1 — 8 


Jgsthesodic—aesthetics. 

AEsop, full of fabulous particulars; and the third a collec 
tion published, 1610, from MSS. found at Heidelberg. All 
these are contained in the edition of Schneider, Breslau, 
1810. The resemblance between some of the fables and 
the personal peculiarities attributed in common to AEsop and 
to the Arabian fabulist Lokman have led some to conclude 
that the two men were identical. The tales seem to be all 
derived from the Jatakas or Birth-stories of Buddha. See 
Piredrus. —A Roman actor of this name, Claudius 
AEsopus, a contemporary and friend of Cicero, w r as as emi- 
nent in tragedy as Roscius was in comedy. 

AESTHESODIC, a. es'thes-od'ik [Gr. aisthesis, perception-, 
ados, awayj: transmitting sensory impulses; sensitive. 

AESTHETICS, n. plu. es-thet'iks [Gr. aisthetikos, percep¬ 
tive—from aisthesis, the act of perceiving]: the science 
which treats of the beautiful in nature, in the fine arts, 
and in literature; the philosophy of taste. .Esthetic, a 
es-thet'ik, or Esthet'ical, a. -i-kal, pertaining to the per¬ 
ception of the beautiful. 

AESTHETICS: a term invented about the middle of the 
18th c., by Baumgarten, prof, of philosophy in the univ. 
of Frankfort on-the-Oder, to denote the science of the Beau¬ 
tiful, particularly of Art, as the most perfect manifestation 
of the Beautiful. It has the merit of being at once com¬ 
prehensive and clear, and has therefore been widely 
adopted of late years by critics both in France and Eng¬ 
land. 

The Beautiful (Gr. to kalon) was a favorite subject of con¬ 
templation among the ancients. The name of Plato is in¬ 
separably associated with it, but in his philosophizings he 
nowhere separated the Beautiful from the Good. Aristotle, 
again, from the immense acquaintance which he possessed 
with objects of art, deduced the most admirable laws and 
rules ^Canons of Criticism), so that his Poetics, according to 
Schiller, constitute a true Rhadamanthine tribunal for poets. 
But the results that he arrived at are regarded by the a 
priori school of aestheticians as empiricism rather than 
science. Baumgarten they hold to be the first w T ho con¬ 
sidered the subject from the true scientific point of view, 
and therefore entitled to be called the founder of the 
philosophy of art. All sensuous apprehension, not in 
one form or manifestation only, but in every possible form 
or manifestation, w r as included in his view of the subject, 
and this conception he expressed by the word AEstlietics, 
from the Greek aisthanomai, I feel, indicating not absolute 
or objective knowledge of things, but such as is conditioned 
subjectively by the play of our sensibilities. The term is 
thus not confined to the limits of the Beautiful, though in 
fact we employ it in this partial signification. Beauty was, 
with Baumgarten, the result of the highest and purest 
aesthetic perception, to the realization of which the finer 
portion of our nature aspires; and to trace which through 
the whole sphere of art was the work of aesthetic philosophy 
(Sinnenerkenntniss). Rant subsequently, from his point of 
view, carried out the theory of the aesthetic faculty in his 


AESTHETICS. 

critical treatise on the power of the Judgment. Everything, 
he conceived, may be regarded aesthetically as well as abso¬ 
lutely, in reference to ourselves as well as in reference to 
nature. An object may be in harmony with our sensibili¬ 
ties as w T ell as in harmony with the totality of material 
phenomena; or it may not be in harmony with the former 
and yet truly accord with the latter. So, too, with the 
judgment. It may choose to apprehend things in their 
adaptation to man, or in what is called the teleological point 
of view—that is, for their final end or objective adaptation 
to each other. Hence the sesthetical judgment considers 
objects as beautiful, agreeable or useful; while the teleologi¬ 
cal judgment strives to reach their absolute design, and 
remains indifferent to personal predilections. Why certain 
objects excite in us a purely selfish interest, and others a 
purely unselfish pleasure, Kant does not venture to deter¬ 
mine, for he never investigates the objective quality of the 
Beautiful, but confines himself strictly to its influence upon 
the feelings and desires. Schelling was the first to under¬ 
take this inquiry after Schiller had paved the way for him 
in his treatise on AE. Schiller, perhaps the most lucid and 
intelligible of German sestheticians, in a note to his twentieth 
letter on AEsthetic Culture, explains his conception of the 
new science as follows: All things that can ever be objects 
of perception may be considered under four different rela¬ 
tionships. A fact that can relate directly to our sensuous 
condition—that is its physical quality; or to the understand¬ 
ing—that is its logical quality; or to the will—that is its 
moral quality; or to the entirety of our different powers 
rather than to any particular manifestation of these—that is 
its a3sthetic quality. There is a culture for the health, for 
the understanding, for morality, and for taste or beauty, the 
last of which has for its design to bring out the totality of 
our sensuous and spiritual powers in their greatest possible 
harmony. Schiller’s idea of the Beautiful is necessarily as 
comprehensive as his conception of the sphere of AE. He 
will not admit that it is the result of a mere limited ex¬ 
perience, taught us through the operation of phenomena, 
animate and inanimate, on our senses, but of pure abstract 
reflection. It is, therefore, a transcendental idea. It origi¬ 
nates in the perfect union of matter and spirit. From this 
it follows that ‘ Beauty can be exclusively neither mere life, 
as some ingenious observers have maintained, nor mere form, 
as has been decided by some speculative philosophers and 
philosophizing artists’ (for instance, Burke and Raphael 
Mengs). 

Passing over Schelling’s transcendental speculations, 
which are couched in a style not very intelligible to the 
English mind, we come to the theory of Hegel. Like that 
of Schelling, it also proceeds from the so-called metaphysics 
of the Beautiful. It is the absolute ideal realizing itself. 
Nothing is truly beautiful, except this. Nothing, therefore, 
which exists can be termed such. Out of the sphere of the 
pure reason we have only an eternal aspiration. In the finite 
mind, the absolute ideal is always striving to realize itself, 
but never completely succeeds. There is only a ceaseless 


.ESTHETICS. 

approximation. Hegel then traces the growth and develop¬ 
ment of the Beautiful, the first form of whose existence is 
natural beauty, and, as Vischer justly adds, the beauty 
unfolded in history. But this beauty, whether of nature 
or history, is rare, accidental, fugitive, and tarnished by in¬ 
termixture with the not-beautiful. This deficiency or liiiai- 
tation arises from its being unconscious of itself. The 
Beautiful is, so to speak, as yet in its infancy. It does not 
know either that it is or what it is. It first passes into self¬ 
recognition in the dawn of human intelligence, and its con¬ 
scious realization of itself increases in proportion to the 
culture of the race or the individual. The highest finite 
realization of it is Art; for though the form of art be 
material, it is matter shaped according to an idea. . The 
artist looks on the form simply as the objective embodiment 
of the idea—every remnant of rude nature being stripped 
off. Form, though springing out of matter, is thus a de¬ 
liverance from matter, and the particular arts may conse¬ 
quently be regarded as the gradual working of the mind out 
of materialism. The formative arts—Architecture, Sculp¬ 
ture, Painting—are silent, heavy, still partly material. 
Music is an advance on these. It breathes in a higher region. 
The materialism of Sound becomes all but ideal.. Poetry is 
a further advance. It is the pathway of the intellect to 
pure thought. ^Esthetics, in this point of view, is a science, 
based on a knowledge of the historic development of the 
Beautiful. It wanders through its whole kingdom, of which 
Art is only a province, though, as has been seen, the richest 
and most valuable. 

Such was the aspect in which Hegel regarded the new 
science. He fused it into his historico-transcendental meta¬ 
physics, and so stirred up regarding it the old quarrel which 
had agitated the latter. Realists made their appearance, 
who vigorously assailed the principles of Fichte, Schelling, 
and Hegel in their various applications to Philosophy, 
Theology, and ^Esthetics. The reaction was and is most 
conspicuous in the second of these, but has as certainly 
manifested itself in the others also. It is denied that the 
Ideal conceived by man is superior to the Real, as it is in 
itself. It is man who lowers it by his inadequate appre¬ 
hension of its harmony and perfection. The greatest artist 
does not strive to outshine or even to reach the beauty of 
nature, but to surpass himself in it. The whole historic 
theory of Hegel is likewise rejected, after severe and search¬ 
ing criticism, from a rationalistic point of view. Hegel 
conceives the first effort of art to have arisen from a longing 
on the part of the human spirit to emancipate itself from the 
thraldom of matter. This is the idealistic view of its be¬ 
ginning. Kugler, on the other hand, affirms that it arises 
from ‘ the necessity which man is under to bind thoughts to 
one firm spot, and to give to this memorial a form which 
may be expressive of the thought. The origin of Art is 
thus made retrospective, not prospective. This may be 
considered the realistic view of its beginning. So the ques¬ 
tion stands at present in Germany. 

In France the founder of the Eclectic School of Philoso 


AESTHETICS. 

phy, Victor Cousin, has eloquently expounded the Platonic 
view of AE. In the second part of his treatise Du Vrai, du 
Beau , et du Bien (On the True, the Beautiful and the 
Good), he has a chapter on ‘the Beautiful in Objects,’ in 
which, after discussing the principal theories of the materi¬ 
alists and geometricians, and pointing out what he con¬ 
ceives to be the errors and limitations of such theories, he 
proceeds to a consideration of physical, intellectual, and 
moral beauty, endeavors to discover the qualities in which 
they agree, from this rises to the apprehension of an ideal 
beauty whose realization he finds in God. ‘ God,’ says 
Cousin, ‘ in whom is combined absolute unity with infinite 
variety, is necessarily the realized ideal of all beauty.’ 

Speculations on this subject in English-speaking countries 
have been limited mostly to the Beautiful in form and 
color. We have not in general sought, like the Germans, 
to discover the idea of the Beautiful, but the Beautiful 
itself. Our criticism may, and indeed does seem meagre 
and unphilosophical to them, but it is at least clear, and its 
purpose obvious. We have put to ourselves this question: 
Are there, or are there not, constant qualities in certain 
objects which make them what we call beautiful? Does 
beauty arise from anything inherent in them, or does it de¬ 
pend upon accidents in us, such, for instance, as the com¬ 
plex and numberless phenomena of association ? Is it 
objective or subjective? 

The first publication on this subject of any consequence, 
except Lord Shaftesbury’s Characteristics , in which there 
is set forth a ‘rapturous Platonic doctrine’ impossible to 
criticise, because unintelligible—was Dr. Hutcheson’s In¬ 
quiry (1725). In this work, the existence of an ‘ internal 
sense,’ through which we either obtain a perception of the 
Beautiful, or are made in some way conscious of its pres¬ 
ence, was maintained. The notion of a sixth sense has been 
very severely criticised by Jeffrey in his celebrated article 
on Beauty. 

Certain explanations and modifications of this theory 
were made by the followers of Hutcheson, but nothing 
really new was brought out till Edmund Burke published 
his Treatise on the Sublime and the Beautiful (1756). There 
is no work upon the subject so popular or so worthless. 
Every one has heard of it, large numbers have read it, and 
yet the fundamental principle is weak and absurd. He 
relies mainly on physiological considerations. ‘All objects 
appear beautiful which have the power of producing, a 
peculiar relaxation of our nerves and fibres, and thus in¬ 
ducing a certain degree of bodily languor and sinking’! 

Sir ^Joshua Reynolds, a contemporary of Burke, main¬ 
tained a very remarkable theory of the Beautiful, which he 
borrowed from the celebrated Pere Butfier, and illustrated 
at great length. Beauty was conceived to be the mean 
between two extremes. *This doctrine is open to the fatal 
objection that the most ordinary is therefore the most beau¬ 
tiful, and that, consequently, the greatest poem or the 
finest landscape must be that which is the most common¬ 
place. Nevertheless, Sir Joshua does not hesitate to push 


AESTHETICS 

his theory to extremities, declaring that if what we term 
the deformed or monstrous were only more common than 
what we call the beautiful, they would exchange names 
and sensations—a statement which may safely be left to 
refute itself. 

The next work on this subject that excited any measure 
of popular attention was Alison’s Essays on the Nature an'a 
Principles of Taste (1790). The theory propounded by this 
writer is generally known as the theory of Association 
The most powerful exposition of the Association theory is 
that given by Jeffrey, in his famous article in the Encyclo¬ 
paedia Britannica, and in his critique on Alison in the 
Edinburgh Review (1811). According to Jeffrey: ‘ These emo¬ 
tions (that is, those excited by the contemplation of certain 
objects) are not original emotions, nor produced directly by 
any qualities in the objects which excite them ; but are re¬ 
flections or images of the more radical and familiar 
emotions to which we have already alluded, and are occa¬ 
sioned not by any inherent virtue in the objects before us, 
but by the accidents, if we may so express ourselves, by which 
these may have been enabled to suggest or recall to us our 
own past sensations or sympathies.’ In his defense of this 
theory, Jeffrey is obliged to consider the theories of Stewart 
and Payne Knight, the former of which is partly, and the 
latter entirely opposed to his own. So long as he confines 
his argument to association in connection with landscapes, 
it seems conclusive; but when he comes to combat Payne 
Knight’s doctrine as to the intrinsic beauty of colors, it 
ceases to be satisfactory. This writer maintains that colors 
possess a primitive and original beauty, which may be en¬ 
riched by association, but which does not depend upon it. 
Jeffrey denies this, and attempts to prove that our percep¬ 
tion of the beauty of color, instead of being ‘ a mere organic 
sensation,’arises from association alone. In the same way, 
he refuses to believe that there is any independent or in¬ 
trinsic beauty in form; and conceives that architecture 
owes its beauty not to the essential harmony of its propor¬ 
tions, but to a variety of curious considerations on our part. 
He considers Alison’s analysis of this beauty, with special 
reference to Greek architecture, ‘ perfectly satisfactory.’ It 
arises 1st, from the association of utility; 2d, of security; 
3d, of the skill of the architect; 4th, of magnificence; 5tii, 
of antiquity; 6th, of Grecian greatness. To this it may be 
replied that such associations increase but do not create our 
perception of the beauty of Greek architecture. 

Sir William Hamilton distinguishes beauty into absolute 
and relative. ‘ In the former case,’ he says, ‘ it is not neces¬ 
sary to have a notion of what the object ought to be before 
we pronounce it beautiful or not; in the latter case, such a 
previous notion is required. Flowers, shells, arabesques, 
etc., are freely or absolutely beautiful. We judge, for ex¬ 
ample, a flower to be beautiful, though unaware of its desti¬ 
nation, and that it contains a complex apparatus of organs 
all admirably adapted to the propagation of the plant. 
When we are made cognizant of this, we obtain, indeed, an 
additional gratification, but one wholly different from that 


AESTIVATION. 

’wbicn we experience in the contemplation of the flowei 
rtself apart from all consideration of its adaptations.’ In 
the case of free or absolute beauty, both the imagination 
and the understanding find occupation ; and the pleasure 
we experience from such an object is in proportion as it 
affords to these faculties the opportunity of exerting fully 
and freely their respective energies. Now, it is the princi¬ 
pal functiou of the understanding, out of the multifarious 
Resented to it, to form a 'whole. Sir William defines the 
Beautiful to be that ‘ whose form occupies the imagination 
and the understanding in a free, full, and consequently an 
agreeable activity.’ 

Ruskin has done much to awaken and extend the appre¬ 
ciation and enjoyment of art in this country, and in several 
of his works discusses aesthetic theories; especially in 
Modern Painters, he has attempted a systematic exposition of 
our ideas of beauty. Beauty is typical or vital, the former 
falling under the heads of infinity, unity, repose, symmetry, 
purity, moderation—all typical of divine attributes; while 
vital beauty is relative or generic. Ruskin’s position is 
that of an extreme spiritualist, and takes no account of the 
value of association at all. 

Bain, a prominent representative of the empirical school, 
has largely treated of aesthetics in his work of the Emotions 
and the Will, and has made an elaborate analysis of the 
elements in our perception and enjoyment of beauty (see 
Art). Herbert Spencer has endeavored to establish an 
original theory of the origin of our pleasure in beauty and 
art, based on the doctrine of evolution as developed by him: 
see Spencer, Herbert. 

Others who have contributed to the discussion of the 
problem, beside those named above, are Winckelmann, Les¬ 
sing, Goethe, Herbart, and Schopenhauer, in Germany; in 
France, Diderot, Jouffroy, and Taine; and in Britain, Reid, 
Addison, Lord Kames, and Hogarth. See Art: Associ¬ 
ation of Ideas: Emotion: Sublime: also, various of the 
writers named. Schasler, Zimmermann, Lotze and Carriere 
have written in Germany works on the history of aesthetics; 
in France, the most notable work is Leveque’s La Science 
du Beau; and in his Mental and Moral Science, Professor 
Bain discusses the principal theories. 

AESTIVATION, n. es’ti-m'shun [L. <estiva , summer quar¬ 
ters—from wstas, summer]: in hot., the disposition of the 
parts of the perianth in the flow r er-bud: the arrangement of 
the unexpanded leaves of the flow r er-bud, which burst in 
summer, as opposed to vernation , the arrangement of the 
leaves of the bud on a branch, which burst in spring; in 
zool., the sleep or dormancy of animals during the hot or 
dry season in warm climates; the analogue of hibernation 
in cold regions. A^s'tival, a. -vdl, pertaining to summer; 
produced in summer. 

AESTIVATION, or Estivation, in Botany: a term de¬ 
noting the manner in which the parts of the flower are dis¬ 
posed in the flower-bud prior to its opening. Sometimes the 
AE. is valvate or valvular, when the parts of the same verti- 


iETHELING—iETOLIA. 

cil exactly meet together by their edges, like valves. But if 
the edges are turned in, the JE. is induplicate; if they are 
turned out, it is reduplicate. In many flowers, the iE. is 
contorted or twisted; sometimes it is spirally imbricated. In 
pentamerous flowers, it is very generally quincunxial , two 
of the parts being external, two internal, and one interme¬ 
diate. In papilionaceous flowers (q.v.), the other parts of 
the corolla are generally included in the standard or vex- 
illum, and this is sometimes called mxillary M. In pop¬ 
pies, the petals are generally crumpled together before flow¬ 
ering. The M. of the calyx is frequently of a different 
kind from that of the corolla. Thus, in Geraniacece, the 
JE. of the calyx is imbricated, that of the corolla twisted. 
The manner in which the stamens and pistils are disposed 
in the bud is sometimes also noticed. 

iETHELING: see Anglo-Saxons. 

iETHIOPS, n. e'thi-ops [Gr. aitho, I burn; ops, the eye 
or countenance]: applied to certain chemical compounds 
from their black appearance. 

H2THRIOSCOPE, ethri-b-skopr: instrument for measur¬ 
ing the minute variations of temperature due to the condition 
of the sky; consists of a differential thermometer (q.v.) whose 
bulbs are both within a cup-shaped mirror, one being in the 
focus of the mirror. 

AETIOLOGY, n. e-ti-dl'djl, or Etiology: science of 
the physical causes of phenomena; specifically in med. In 
general, it is a department of Biology (q.v.): see also Dar¬ 
winian Theory. 

iETITES, n. e-tl'tez [Gr. actos, an eagle]: a variety of 
nodular ironstone; eagle-stone. 

iETIUS, a-e'shl-us: a great Roman general, born in Mcesia 
towards the end of the 4th c. See Valentinianus III. 

iETNA: see Etna. 

iETOLIA, e-toli-d: district of ancient Greece, on the n. 
coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Ancient 2E. was divided from 
Acarnania by the river Achelous, and extended as far as the 
river Euenos. On the e. it was bounded by Locris and 
Doris; on the n. by Thessaly and Epirus; on the w., by 
Acarnania; and on the s., by the Bay of Corinth. In later 
times these boundaries were considerably extended to the 
n. and e. The country had few cities, was generally wild 
and barren, and according to Herodotus and Aristotle, was 
infested by lions on the banks of the Achelous and in other 
places. Here, according to the legend, Meleager slew the 
Calydonian boar (q.v.). The ^Etolians make a great figure 
in the heroic age of Greece; but at the time of the Pelopom 
nesian war, they were rude and barbarous. The .zEtolian 
confederacy, first called into existence by the Samian war, 
b.c. 323, became more important in the time of the Achaean 
League (q.v.). The several states assembled annually in au¬ 
tumn at Thermum. This assemblage was styled the Pance- 
tolicon. At first, they called in the aid of the Romans against 
the Achaean League; but as they saw that the Romans had 
designs against the independence of JE., they next allied 
themselves with Antiochus of Syria, afterwards with Perseus 


AFAR—AFFECT. 

of Macedonia. In b.c. 189 they were compelled to share 
the fate of Macedon, and were subjugated by the Romans. 
M. now forms a governmental department, or nome, of the 
modern kingdom of Greece. The mountains in the n.e.— 
now styled Viena—form a wild offset of the Pindus chain, 
and slope steeply on the s.w. down to the central plains, 
partly covered with morasses and partly cultivated. S. of 
the lakes Apokuro (anciently Trichonis) and Zygos (Hyria) 
rises a range of mountains—the Aracynthus mountain of the 
ancients—which fall on the s.w. to abroad coast-level, occu- 
pied by morasses and lagoons; but on the s.e. side extend to 
the gulf, where the promontory of Antirrhion reaches to 
within 2,400 yards of the opposite cape Rhion, thus forming 
the Strait of Lepanto (Naupactos). The chief rivers of iE. 
are the Aspropotamo (Achelous), in the w., and the Fidaris 
(Euenos), in the e. The people in the plains are employed 
in agriculture and fishing; while in the mountain-districts 
some traces of the rude and martial character of ancient ^E. 
may still be found. The chief towns are Missolonghi and 
Lepanto (q.v.) 

AFAR, ad. a-far' [AS. on feorran: a, on, and far]: at, 
to, or from a great distance. 

AFEARD, a. d-ferd' [AS. pp. of afceran, to frighten, to 
terrify—from a, on, and freran, to frighten]: in OE., filled 
with fear; terrified; frightened. 

AFFABLE, a. dffd-bl [F. affable —from L. affdbilis, ac¬ 
cessible, courteous—from ad, fori, to speak]: that can be 
easily approached and spoken to; frank in speech and bear¬ 
ing; accessible; of easy manners in conversation. Af'- 
fably, ad. -bll, in an affable manner; courteously. Affa¬ 
bility, n. df-fdbil'i-ti, the being easy of access to others; 
kind manner in conversation; also Affableness, n. -bl-nes, 
quality of being affable.— Syn. of ‘affable’: courteous; 
condescending; accessible; complaisant; benign; mild; civil. 

AFFAIR, n. df-far' [F. affaire; OF. afaire, business — 
from L. ad, facere, to make]: a matter of any kind; busi¬ 
ness; concern; in mil., a slight engagement, less than a 
battle. Affairs', n. plu. transactions in general; business. 
An affair of honor, a duel. 

AFFEAR, v. offer' [af for ad, and fear (see Afeard)]: 
in OE. , to frighten. 

AFFECT, v. df-fekt' [F. affecter —from L. affectdre, to 
affect: L. affectus, influenced—from ad, facere, to do]: to 
act upou or influence in anyway; to make a show of; to 
move or touch—as the passions; to be fond of. Affect ing, 
imp.: Adj. moving or exciting, as the passions; having 
power to excite. Affected, pp. df-fekt'ed: Adj. assumed; 
not natural. Affect'edly, ad. -1%, in an affected manner; 
with studied care for appearance’ sake. Affec ter or Af 
fec'tor, n. -ter, one who. Affectation, n. dffek-td'shun, 
the assuming or pretending to what is not real or natural. 
Affect'edness, n. the quality of being affected. ^ Affect- 
ingly, ad. -II, in a manner to excite the emotions. < Af¬ 
fection, n. dffek'shun, love for: attachment to; kindly 


AFFEER—AFFILIATE. 

teefing towards. Affectioned, a. dffek'shund, af¬ 
fected; inclined; disposed. Affectionate, a. affek'- 
shun-at, warmly attached to; fond; having great love. 
Affec'tionate'ness, n. the quality of being affectionate. 
Affectionately, ad. 41. Affective, a. dffek'tiv, having 
a tendency to affect. Affectively, ad. df-fek'tiv4l. —Syn. 
of‘affect’: to concern; assume; pretend; influence; oper¬ 
ate; melt; move; subdue; soften; overcome;—of ‘affect¬ 
ing’: pathetic; moving; tragic; exciting;—of ‘affection’: 
love; attachment; tenderness; kindness; passion; fondness; 
—of ‘affectionate’: kind; fond; loving; tender; attached; 
warm; devoted; earnest. 

AFFEER, v. affer' [OF. affeurer or afforer, to value at 
a price—from OF. feur; Scot, fiars, a market price—from 
mid L afforare , to fix the price of a thing—from mid L. 
forum, a price—from L. forum, a market]: in OE., to fix 
the rate or price of; to establish; to confirm. Affeer'ing, 
imp. Affeered, pp. df-ferd'. Affeer'er, n. one of the 
persons formerly appointed by a court to fix and regulate 
the amount of the fines. The Scotch fiars (q.v.) is con¬ 
nected with OE. affeer, with the same proximate origin. 

AFFERENT, a. dffer-ent [L. afferen'tem, bringing or 
conveying a thing to a place—from ad, to; fero, I carry]: in 
anat., conveying from the surface to the centre: N. a river 
or stream flowing into the sea, or a lake. Afferent 
nerves : see Nervous System. 

AFFETTUOSO,ad. af-fet'too-d'zo [It.]: in mus.\ tenderly. 

AFFIANCE, v. afifi'dns [OF. affancer, to affiance, to 
betroth: Sp. afianzar, to become bail: mid. L. affiddre, to 
pledge one’s faith—from L. ad, fidd, I trust; fid is, faith]: to 
betroth or pledge faith; to promise in marriage: N. a mar¬ 
riage contract; trust; confidence. Affi'ancing, imp. 
Affianced, pp. df-fi'dnst. Affi'ancer, n. -ser. 

AFFIDAVIT, n. affidavit [old law L. affidavit, he 
made oath—from affiddre, to pledge one’s faith—from ad, 
fidem, faith]: a declaration upon oath; generally, a declara¬ 
tion as to the truth of a written statement made on oath, or 
on solemn affirmation, before a magistrate, or other person 
legally authorized, which is afterwards signed by him; a 
deposition; an affirmation. See Affirmation. It differs in 
law practice from a deposition, in this, that in the latter, the 
opposite party has had an opportunity to cross-examine the 
witness, whereas an affidavit is always taken ex parte. — Affi¬ 
davit to hold to bail is in many cases required before the de¬ 
fendant can be arrested; such affidavit must be made by a 
person who is acquainted with the fact, and must state: ist, 
an indebtedness from the defendant to the plaintiff: 2d, show 
a distinct cause of action; 3d, the whole must be clearly 
and certainly expressed.— An affidavit of defense is made 
by a defendant, or a person knowing the facts, in which 
must be stated a positive ground of defense on the merits. 

AFFILIATE, v. df-fil'i-dt [F. affilier, to affiliate — from 
mid. L. adf Hiatus, affiliated, adopted—from L. ad, filius, a 
son; filid , a daughter]: to receive into a family as a son; to 


AFFINAGE—AFFINITY. 

adopt; to unite as one; to receive as an associate or member; 
to receive into relationship with the parent stock; to assign 
a child to a father. Affil'ia'ting, imp. Affil'ia'ted, 
pp. Affil'ia'tion, n. -shun [OF. affiliation, an adopting— 
from mid. L. affiilmtioncm , an assigning a son to]: the act 
of uniting or adopting; the assignment of the paternity of a 
child born out of wedlock; established connection. 

AFFINAGE, n. affin-dj [F. from affiner, to refine; fin, 
fine—from L. finitus, finished]: in chem., the refining of a 
metal. 

AFFINED, a. of-find' [mid L. affindre; OF. affiner , to 
bind one’s self with a certain relationship—from L. ad t 
finis, a boundary, a limit,]: joined or united by affinity; re 
lated to. 

AFFINITY, n. df-fln'i-ti [F. (finite —from L. affinita- 
tem, relationship by marriage: L. affinis , bordering on or 
related to—from ad, finis, an end]: relationship by mar¬ 
riage; relation; agreement; in cliem., the combining power 
of bodies; in hot., relation in all essential organs. Syn. of 
‘affinity’: relationship; consanguinity; kindred; conform¬ 
ity; resemblance; connection. 

AFFINITY, in Law: the relationship created by marriage 
between the husband and the blood-relations of the wife, 
and between the wife and the blood-relations of the husband. 
The relations of the wife stand to the husband in the same 
degree of A. in which they stand to the wife by blood or 
consanguinity, and vice versa. But between the relations of 
the two parties by A., there is no A. Thus, there is no A. 
between the husband’s brother and the wife’s sister; and by 
our law there is no impediment to their marriage. The 
question as to whether those who are related by A. stand in 
all respects in the same position as regards marriage with 
those connected by blood, is one on which much difference 
of opinion at present prevails. Marriage between a man and 
the sister of his deceased wife is forbidden in England by 
statute (5 and 6 Will. IY. c. 64); but an attempt is annually 
made in parliament to obtain its repeal. See Marriage. 

AFFINITY, Chemical, or Chemical Attraction: 
the force which produces all chemical phenomena. It dif¬ 
fers from the attraction of gravitation in acting, not between 
masses, but between atoms, and only when the atoms are at 
insensilfie distances. It differs also from cohesion, which 
unites the particles of the same substance, while A. unites 
atoms of different substances. The compounds thus formed 
are new bodies, often bearing no resemblance in appearance 
or other properties to the elements which combine to pro¬ 
duce them. Thus, water results from the combination of 
two gases. 

The strength of chemical affinity is different between dif¬ 
ferent substances. Sulphuric acid combines with lime, and 
forms gypsum; but if potash be added, the sulphuric acid 
leaves the lime, and combines with the potash. As a sort of 
choice is here manifested, it is called a case of elective A. 
These elective affinities, however, are often altered by a 
change of temperature, or other circumstance. 


AFFIRM—AFFLUENCE. 

AFFIRM, y. df-ferm' [F. affrmer— from L. affirm are, to 
affirm—from L. ad, firmo, I make firm—from firmus, firm 
— lit. , to make strong]: to assert with confidence; to main¬ 
tain confidently as true; to declare solemnly. Affirm'ing, 
imp. Affirmed, pp. df-fermd'. Affirm'able, a. -d-bl, 
that may be stated or affirmed as true. Affirm'ably, ad. 
-bli. Affirm'ant, n. also Affirm'er, n. one who. Affir¬ 
mation, n. differ-ma'shun, the act of asserting as true; a 
solemn declaration. Affirmative, a. -d-tiv, that declares 
or asserts: N. a word that says yes : negative, the opposite 
of affirmative, or a word that says no. —Syn. of ‘ affirm to 
assure; avouch; asseverate; aver; protest; declare; assert; 
pronounce; establish; ratify; confirm. 

AFFIRMATION: a solemn declaration, which, in the 
case of members of certain religious persuasions, is ad¬ 
mitted in place of an oath. In most of the states a wit¬ 
ness has right to choose whether to take oath or to affirm, 
the legal effect being the same. In A. the witness raises 
his right hand while uttering the formula. In Great Britain, 
the statute of 1869 extended the right of making A. in a 
court of justice to all on whose conscience an oath would 
not be binding. See Oath. 

AFFIX, n. dffiks [L. affixus, fixed, attached—from L. 
ad, fixus, fastened: mid. L. affigdre; OF. aficher, to fix to, 
to fasten]: something fastened to the end; a syllable or letter 
put to the end of a word. Affix, v. dffiks' , to join to; to 
unite; to fix or fasten at the end; to subjoin; to fasten. 
Affix'ing, imp. Affixed', pp df-fikst' . Affixture, n. 
dffiks'tur, that which is affixed— Syn of ‘ affix, v.’: to at¬ 
tach; connect; unite; annex; subjoin; fix; fasten; add. 

AFFLATUS, n. dffld'tus [L. afflatus, a blowing or 
breathing upon—from L. ad, flatus, a breathing]: a blowing 
or breathing upon; a breath; a breathing into by divine 
power; inspiration. Affla'tion, n. -shun, a breathing 
upon. 

AFFLICT, v. df-fliki! [L. afflictus, dashed or struck down, 
afflicted—from ad, flictus, a striking: F. affliger, to afflict— 
lit. , to strike or dash against, as one thing against another]: 
to distress in some way; to give pain to, either in body or 
mind. Afflict'ing, imp. Afflicted, pp. dfflikt'ed. 
Afflict'er, n one who. Affliction, n. df-flikishun, 
distress either of body or mind; grief; pain. Afflict'edly, 
ad. Afflict'lngly, ad. -li. Afflictive, a. af-flik'- 
tiv, giving pain; painful. Afflic'tively, ad. -tiv-li. —. 
Syn. of ‘ afflict ’: to pain; grieve; distress; hurt; wound; 
trouble; torment; harass;—of ‘ affliction distress; trouble; 
grief; sorrow; pain; calamity; misfortune; wretchedness; 
misery; adversity. 

AFFLUENCE, n. dffloo-ens [F. affluence —from L. afflu- 
en'tid, abundance, plenty—from ad, flu'd, I flow— lit., a 
flowing or coming as to a point]: concourse; a stream of 
wealth; abundance of worldly riches; also Affluency, n. 
af'floo-en'si. Affluent, a. df'flooent |F.], wealthy; rich 
in worldly goods: N. applied to any stream that flows di- 


AFFLUX—AFFRIGHT. 

rectly into another.—S yn. of ‘ affluence’: wealth, opulence- 
riches; plenty; exuberance; abundance. 

AFFLUX, n. df'fluks [F. afflux, the act of flowing—from 
L. afflux as, flowed towards—from L. ad,fluxus, flowed —lit., 
something that flows to or towards like a fluid]: a flowing 
to; that which flows to; also Affluxion, n. df-fluk'shun. 

AFFORD, v. afford' [OF. affeurer or afforer, to set a 
price on a thing; said to be formed from AS. ge, and forth, 
signifying, to put forth, to offer—*#., to be able to put forth 
at a price]: to yield or produce; to be able to bear expenses; 
to grant. Afford ing, imp. Afford ed, pp. Note.— 
Afford is formed from forth, as utter from out, and 
primarily signifies to put forth; to bring forward; to offer— 
as, ‘I can forde it no better cheape,’ that is, I cannot afford 
it at a cheaper rate.—Wedgwood, and Halliwell.— Syn. of 
‘afford’: to yield; produce; bear; give; impart; allow; 
supply; in OE., confer; grant. 

AFFOREST, v. df-for'est [L. ad, and forest ]: to turn 
into forest. Afforestation, n. -shun, the turning of 
ground into forest ground, or treating it as such. 

AFFRAY, n. df-frd' [F. effrayer, to scare, to dismay— 
from mid. L. exfrigiddre, to freeze thoroughly (see Afraid 
and Fray)] : a brawl or petty fight; a disturbance; a fray: 
V. in OE., to freeze with fright; to affright; to terrify.— 
Syn. of ‘affray, n.’: brawl; scuffle; tumult; disturbance; 
quarrel; fight; encounter; feud; contest. 

AFFRE, afr, Denis Augustus, Archbishop of Paris: 
1793-1848. At the time of the Restoration, he was prof, 
of theology at the seminary of St. Sulpice; and on account 
of his prudent and temperate character was made Abp. of 
Paris by the government of Louis Philippe, 1840. Though 
not yielding a blind submission to all the measures of the 
government, he abstained from all offensive opposition. 
When Louis Philippe became an exile, and a republic was 
proclaimed, the abp. kept aloof from political strife, but 
had earnest care for the public welfare. During the insur¬ 
rection in Paris, 1848, he climbed upon a barricade in the 
Place de Bastille, carrying a green bough in his hand, as a 
messenger of peace. He had scarcely uttered a few words, 
when the insurgents and the troops commenced firing again, 
and he fell mortally wounded. He died next day, June 27. 
He was the author of several theological writings, and of a 
Work on Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

AFFREIGHTMENT, n. df-frdt'ment [af for ad, to: 
Eng. freight, the charge for the carriage of goods, etc.: F. 
affreter, to charter or freight a vessel]: the engagement for 
taking a freight; the chartering or freighting of a vessel. 
Affreight', v. for freight, which see. 

AFFRIEND, v. af-frend' [af for ad, to, and friend ]: in 
OE., to become friends; to be reconciled. Affriend'ing, 
imp. Affriend'ed, pp. made or become friends. 

AFFRIGHT, v. df-frit' [AS. affrightan, and aforhtian, 
to tremble with fear: a, intensive, frihtan, to terrify (see 
Fright)]: to terrify by sudden fear: N. sudden dread- great 


AFFRIQUE-AFGHAN. 

fear; tbe cause of fear. Affrigiit'ing, imp. Affrigiit'ed, 
pp. Affright'er, n. oue who frightens. Affright'ful, 
a. -fool, full of fright; dreadful. Affright'ment, n. df- 
frit'ment, the state of being afraid; terror.—S yn. of 
‘affright, v.’: to alarm; to intimidate; confound; terrify; 
daunt; dismay; dispirit; appall; shock; dishearten. 

AFFRIQUE, Saint, sdnt df-frek 1 : town of the dept, of 
Aveyron, France, on the Sorgue, a tributary of the Tarn, 
31 m. s.s.e. from Rhodez. It is in a beautiful valley, 
between two mountains, and is surrounded by meadows, 
orchards, and vineyards. The streets are broad, but the 
houses are mostly old and mean. It has woolen and cotton 
manufactories and tanneries. There is a considerable trade 
in wool; and a principal article of trade is the celebrated 
Roquefort Cheese , made from ewe-milk, chiefly in the mount- 
ain pastures around the neighboring village of Roquefort. 
About 10,000 cheeses are made annually. They are kept in 
cellars by the cheesemongers to ripen. This kind of cheese 
was sent to ancient Rome, and is highly praised by Pliny. 
Pop. 6,000. 

AFFRONT, v. dffrunt' [F. affronter; Sp. afrontar, to 
face, to confront: F. affront , an affront—from It. affronto 
—from L. ad, frontem, to the front, to the forehead— lit. , to 
meet or oppose face to face]: to give cause of offense to; to 
insult slightly: N. anything done to offend; an outrage: 
open insult; in OR., an encounter. Affronting, imp. 
Affront ed, pp. Affront'ingly, ad. -li. Affronitve, 
a. affrun’tiv, tending to affront; abusive. Affron'tively, 
ad. -tiv-li. — Syn. of ‘affront, v.’: to insult; outrage; dare; 
offend; displease; pique; nettle; brave; provoke; defy;—of 
‘affront, n.’: insult; outrage; indignity; contumely; dis¬ 
grace. 

AFFUSE, v. af-fuz’ [L. affusus, poured upon—from ad, 
fusiis, poured]: to pour upon; to sprinkle as with a liquid. 
Affu'sing, imp. Affused, pp afffuzd! . Affusion, n. 
dffuzhun, the act of pouring upon. 

AFFY, v. af-fi' [OF. offer —from mid. L. affiddre, to 
confide in the fidelity of—from L. ad,fidem, faith, trust]: 
in OE., to trust in the faith of any one; to betroth; to join; 
to confide; to put faith in. Affy'ing, imp. Affied, pp. 

df-jid'. 

AFGHAN, n. df-gawn', a native or inhabitant of Af 
ghanistan: Adj. pertaining to. 


AFGHANISTAN. 

AFGHANISTAN, df-gan'is-tdri: land of the Afghans, 
occupies most of the e. part of the Iranian plateau, and in¬ 
cludes (area 279,000 sq. m.) the ancient provinces of Aria, 
Drangiana, and part of Arachosia. A. proper is bounded 
on the north by the Hindu Kush and its western continua- 
tion (Koh-i-Baba and Safed-Koh, ancient Paropamisus), east 
by the Suliman Mountains, south and west by Beloochistan 
and Persia, the frontiers being ill-dctined. But beyond these 
limits the authority of the Ameer of Cabul has been extended 
northward, so as to include the khanates in the valley of the 
upper Oxus, the region known as Afghan Turkestan. This 
includes Badakshan (q.v.) and Wakhan, Balkh (q.v.), and 
the other Usbeg states of Maimana, Akcha, Andkhui, Shabir- 
kan, Kunduz, and Khulm. The frontier here is, since 1873, 
the upper Oxus to Khoja Salih, and thence a line to about 
Sarakhs on the Persian boundaries; the delimitation of the 
northern frontier towards Russian territory being defined by 
a Russian and British commission in 1884-85. The actual 
dependence of these states on Cabul is very slight; districts 
of Afghan Turkestan (which is mostly desert) are in the pos¬ 
session of independent Hazaras. The main divisions of A. 
proper are the basins of the rivers of Cabul (q.v.) and Herat 
(q.v.), and of the Helmund (q.v.), the highlands of Ghizni 
(q.v.), and those on the eastern frontier (see also Candahar: 
Jelalarad: Seistan: etc.). Afghan is a Persian name; 
the inhabitants style themselves Pushtaneh (plural of Pushtu). 
In the n.e., the alpine region of the Hindu Kush, a wild 
mountain isthmus cleft by numerous ravines, and towering 
up into the clime of perpetual ice, unites the high masses 
of land in e. with those in w. Asia, and presents for¬ 
midable obstructions to communication between the ter¬ 
ritory of the Oxus and that of the Indus. There are three 
maiu passes leading through the highlands of A. to the 
Indus—the Khyber (q.v.), the Kurram, and the Bolan (q.v.). 
The great differences of elevation, and the unequal distribu¬ 
tion of water, ren ier the climate very various The date- 
palm ornaments the oases in the sandy desert to the south¬ 
west, while in the deep sheltered valleys of the east, the culti¬ 
vation of cotton and sugar thrives; but the high terraces of 
Cabul and Ghiznee (B.000-9,000 feet above the level of the sea) 
are exposed to a severe winter, with heavy falls of snow. 
The country is for the most part bare, rugged, and thinly 
peopled, only some valleys being cultivated. The east of 
A. is rich in minerals, iron and copper especially are 
abundant. Cap. Cabul (q.v.). 

The population of A. is ,far from homogeneous. The 
Ameer’s subjects number (181)6) about 4,901,500, and are de¬ 
rived from the old Persian or Iranian stock. Of this total, 
1,250 000 do not acknowledge fealty to the Ameer and often 
fight among themselves. Pukhtu or Pushtu, the language 
of the Afghans, is an Indo-Persian tongue; of this name the 
word Pathan is a corruption. Next come the Tajiks, also 
Iranians, of whom there are about 1,000,000. The remain¬ 
der is constituted of Hindkis (of Hindu stock), Hazaras 
(Mongolo Tartars), Kataghans and Kizlbashes (Turki), 
Baloehes (Iranian), Badakshis, Kohistanis, and Si'ak-Posh 


AFGHANISTAN. 

(all Aryan). The Afghans are Sunnite Mohammedans. 
The Tajiks and the Hazaras speak Persian and are Shiahs. 
The Kizlbashes speak Turki. The Hindkis speak Hindu* 
stani and are of Brahminical faith. 

The Afghans claim descent from King Saul, and profess 
to be Baui-Israel; and their physiognomy used to lead 
travellers to believe in a Jewish connection. The Afghans 
seem to have been in their present seats in the 13th c , and 
for a century and a half were under Mongol rule. They 
first appeared as an independent power during the internal 
discords of Persia after the death of Nadir Shah. Ahmed 
Khan, of the race of Abdalli (1747-73), took advantage of 
these feuds, and liberated A. from Persian rule. His suc¬ 
cess founded the Douranee dynasty. When his son Timur 
died, 1793, a contest for the throne arose between the brothers 
Zemaun, Mahmud, and Shah Sujah, which ended in the 
success of Mahmud, who, however, was compelled to abdi¬ 
cate the throne in 1823, and died in 1829. The empire now 
fell into the hands of three brothers, of whom the oldest, 
Dost Mohammed, ruled at Cabul, the most important of the 
three divisions of the country, where he had a revenue of 
$1,400,000, and an army of 18,000 men. Still the 
country was in an unsettled state, for Dost Mohammed was 
at war with Lahore in the east, and in the w r est the Persians 
had invaded Herat. The governor-general of India (Lord 
Auckland) declared war against A., 1838, Oct. 1, on the 
grounds that Dost Mohammed had unlawfully attacked the 
British ally, Runjeet Singh; that the military operations of 
the Afghans had betrayed a hostile purpose towards India; 
and that Shah Sujah, as the rightful heir to the Afghan 
throne, had placed himself under British protection. The 
British forces advanced through the Bolan pass to Canda- 
har, where Shah Sujah formally claimed possession of the 
country. On July 21, the army encamped before Ghiznee, 
and after some hard fighting, that fortress was taken. Aug. 
7, Shah Sujah, with the British forces, entered Cabul, and 
the conquest was regarded as complete. It was a gross 
mistake of the nature of the country and the character of 
the people. The land had been invaded, but -was not 
Conquered. Dost Mohammed had surrendered to the Eng¬ 
lish; but his son, Akbar Khan, was actively engaged in a 
conspiracy, of w r hich Sir Alexander Burnes and the envoy 
Macnaghten were not aware until it w r as too late. At the 
beginning of winter, when help from India was impossible, 
the outbreak took place at Cabul, when Burnes, Macnagh¬ 
ten, and several British officers were slain. It was then 
agreed that the invaders should leave the country; while, 
on the other hand, Akbar Khan and his confederates stipu¬ 
lated to provide an escort and make other necessary arrange 
ments for the retreat. Depending on these promises, the 
British army left Cabul, 1842, Jan. 6, in order to return by 
the Khyber Pass into India; but neither escort nor provi¬ 
sions were supplied by the Afghan leaders, and the severity 
of the season increased the misery of the retreat. The fa¬ 
natical tribes of the districts harassed the flank and rear of 
the army, and slew -women and children as well as men, 


AFGHANISTAN. 

Out of a host of 16,000—or, if we include women and chil¬ 
dren, about 26,000—only one man (Dr. Brydon) escaped to 
carry the dismal tidings to General Sale, who still held his 
position at Jelalabad. Almost against his own will, the new 
governor-general, Lord Ellenborough, sent other forces into 
Afghanistan. Gen. Nott marched from Candahar to 
Ghiznee, which was again taken after a slight resistance 
and then proceeded to meet the army which, under Gen!' 
Pollock, had marched through the Khyber Pass to Cabul! 
Here the force of Akbar Khan was defeated and routed, 
and the place was as far as possible desolated. The English 
officers and their ladies who had surrendered themselves as 
prisoners to Akbar Khan were restored to liberty; and soon 
afterwards the troops marched back to India. It was be¬ 
lieved now that the Afghans were deprived of all power to 
combine against the government of India; but this conclu¬ 
sion was too hasty, for in 1846 they formed an alliance with 
the Sikhs against the British; and the disturbances in the 
Punjab were not quelled without several sanguinary en¬ 
gagements. After the decisive battle of Gujerat, 1849, Feb. 
21, the Sikhs were forsaken by the Afghans, and Dost Mo¬ 
hammed, with about 16,000 men, fled over the Indus. 
After this period, Dost Mohammed devoted his attention 
almost exclusively to the consolidation of his dominions. 
He died, 1863, appointing Shere Ali, one of his younger 
sons, as his heir. At first the choice was aquiesced in by 
the sixteen sons of Dost Mohammed, a large number of 
whom were governors of provinces; but disputes followed, 
which for many years kept A. in a state of anarchy. See 
Cabul,. The British government of India had recognized 
Shore Ali at his accession, and when in 1868, after his long 
struggle with his brothers, he obtained possession of Cabul, 
and became de facto ruler of the greater part of Afghanis¬ 
tan, direct assistance was given him to secure the position 
for which he had fought. Sir John Lawrence, then Indian 
viceroy, sent him first two, afterwards four lacs of rupees 
with 3,500 stand of arms. The next viceroy of India, Lord 
Mayo, met the Ameer in state at Umballa, in March, 1869. 
It was then explained to him that Her Majesty’s government 
had no desire to interfere with the affairs of A., except to 
check civil war, and by so doing, to secure the peace and 
prosperity of the country. This intimation was accom¬ 
panied by another large present. In the same year, the 
Ameer conceived the idea of invading Bokhara (q.v.) and 
attacking the Russians, but was restrained by English advice. 
After 1869, Shere Ali endeavored to secure tranquillity in 
Afghanistan. He was alive to the strife that had been occa¬ 
sioned by intrusting power to relatives, and he endeavored 
to replace the members of his family as much as possible by 
strangers. He also indicated very distinctly that he did not 
intend to select as his heir his son Yakoob—who, at an early 
age, had shown great ability^ as governor of Herat, and had, 
on many occasions, given his father most valuable assistance 
—but a younger son, Abdullah. The claims of Yakoob to 
share in the government of A. were ignored, and the result 
was that, in 1870 he headed a rebellion against his father; 


AFGHANISTAN. 

but in the following year a reconciliation was effected 
through the intervention of England. In 1869 it was set¬ 
tled between England and Russia, that all the provinces be-r 
tween the Oxus and the Hindu Kush should be treated as 
part of A. In 1878, in consequence of new Russian diplo¬ 
matic relations to A.. Shere Ali was invited to receive a 
British mission. The refusal of the Afghans to admit the 
mission, which had advanced to the mouth of the Khyber 
Pass, led, after some fruitless negotiations, to war. Hos¬ 
tilities began by the forcing of the entrance to the Khyber 
towards the end of November. There was some severe 
fighting in the passes, but the invaders were everywhere suc¬ 
cessful. Before the end of December, Jelalabad was occu¬ 
pied without resistance, and Candahar a little later. Shere 
Ali, who had tied, died early in 1879; and Yakoob Khan, 
proclaimed Ameer, made peace in May. It was provided 
that there should be a British resident at Cabul; and that 
Britain should defend A. against foreign aggression, the 
Ameer receiving a subsidy. The Kuram, Pishin, and Sibi 
valleys became British territory, and the Khyber and Michni 
passes came under British control. But in September of 
the same year the revolted troops of the Ameer surrounded 
and attacked the British Residency. The Resident, Sir 
Louis Cavagnari, and his staff, with almost the whole of 
their Indian guard, were slain after a desperate but bootless 
struggle. Measures were immediately adopted by the In¬ 
dian government for punishing the outrage. The Ameer 
put himself under British protection, and abdicated his sov¬ 
ereignty: and after some fighting Cabul was occupied by 
English troops in the beginning of October. The war was 
maintained in a desultory way; and it was not till the mid¬ 
dle of 1880 that peace negotiations were again fairly under- 
\ taken. Progress seemed to have been made when Abdur¬ 
rahman, son of Dost Mohammed’s eldest son, and long under 
Russian protection, was proclaimed Ameer of Cabul. A 
few days afterwards England was startled by the intelli¬ 
gence that an English force had met with a very severe de¬ 
feat near Candahar at the hands of Ayoob Khan, Yakoob’s 
brother. The disaster was avenged Sep. 1, when General 
Roberts, marching from Cabul, routed and dispersed 
Ayoob’s army; and shortly thereafter the English troops 
began to be withdrawn from A., leaving till 1881 a force in 
Candahar and its neighborhood. 

In 1884 Great Britain acceded to the proposal of Russia 
(1882) for the appointment of a joint commission to demar¬ 
cate the boundary between A. and the territory of the Turk¬ 
omans, and the commissioners began work on the liue from 
Kwaja Sala on the Oxus to Sarakhs. Soon afterward 
Russia claimed that the Paropamisus was the true boundary 
of Herat, and that the district of Badghis lay outside A. 
territory. This claim was considered sufficiently grave to 
be submitted to the two govts, for settlement. While ne¬ 
gotiations were pending the Russians seized the debatable 
land, 1885, and war with Great Britain seemed imminent; 
but the work of demarcation was resumed 1887, and the 
points at issue were settled by mutual concessions, Russia, 


AFGHANISTAN. 

obtaining the valleys s. of Punjdeh for 9 or 10 m. in the dl 
rection of Herat, and the ameer otf B<*h;i> waiving 
his claims to the pasture-lands on the left bank of the 
Amu Daria, s. of Khoja Saleli. Both Russia and Great 
Britain continued explorations and surveys in A. and 
vicinity 1890, and July 20 the Russian official explorer 
announced that the British boundary in the Pamir was 
only three days’ march from the Russian frontier at Kara¬ 
kul, the interval being occupied by Kirghiz nomads. This 
proximity of frontiers was due to the seizure from the 
Chinese of the Pamir by the khan of Kandshut Daugan, 
who subsequently, in return for an annual subsidy, accept¬ 
ed Indo-British vassalage. By restoring the forti cations 
of Shah i-Doulla Chodja and garrisoning them with Cash- 
mere troops, the British secured control of the immense 
and fertile basin of the Rashkem Daria. The British, 
fearing a Russian invasion of India through A., hastened 
the completion of its great railroad in the latter country 
1891, and in Dec. captured the fort of Nilt and another 
stronghold a short distance from it, and made a determined 
forward movement against the Huuza and Nagar tribes¬ 
men. The mountain states of Huuza and Nagar are on a 
direct line between Gilgit and the Pamirs. The Great 
Pamir and Little Pamir are desolate table-lands bounded n. 
by Russia, e. by the Chinese province of Kashgaria, w. by 
A., and s. by three Himalayan states under British protec¬ 
tion. China claimed sovereign rights over part of the Pa¬ 
mirs; Russia established an advance outpost in Little Pamir, 
which the British asserted was a part of A., pushed 
the construction of its 900-m. railroad toward the British 
Indian frontier, and claimed the greater part of the Pamirs 
on the terms of the Gortschakoif-Clarendon treaty (1872); 
and the ameer of A. was believed to have renounced his 
claims to the Pamir steppes, in consequence of an under¬ 
standing with Russia. In 1892, Apr., the ameer by de¬ 
feating the khan of Jandol at Asmar, gained control of 
the Dora pass, one of the two passes leading through the 
Pamir country to India, the other being held by the Brit¬ 
ish. In June, in an attempt to force the various inde¬ 
pendent tribes living on the border-land between India 
and A., to acknowledge him as their suzerain, the ameer 
brought upon himself a serious revolt, and his picked 
armj was badly defeated by the Hazaras. The condition 
become so serious that in Aug. the Indian govt, sent Gen. 
Sir Frederick Roberts, with a large milit. force, on a spe¬ 
cial missson to the ameer, who had disregarded its injunc¬ 
tion not to attempt to extend his influence westward. 

At first the ameer made a show of independence, and 
notified Gen. Sir Frederick that he could not receive him 
till after he had subjugated his enemies; but before the 
month closed his enemies gave him several defeats and 
placed him in such extremity that he wrote to the Indian 
govt, for assistance in maintaining himself against the 
rebellious native tribes and the Russians. In Sep. the 
Russians evacuated the Pamirs, but began establishing a 
large permanent force at Murghab. 


AFIELD—AFRESH. 

AFIELD, ad. a-feld' [AS. a, on, and field ]: to or in the 
field. 

AFIUM-KARA-IIISSAR, dfe-6m-/cd'r-a-his-sar' ( Opium, 
Black Castle ): city of Asia Minor, in the pashalic of Ana¬ 
tolia, 170 miles east-by-north from Smyrna; near the Akar„- 
partly on level ground, and partly on a rising ground among 
rocks. Above the city towers an isolated rock of 300-400 
feet in height, almost precipitous on most sides, and very 
steep on that by which alone it is accessible. The summit 
has in former times been fortified. The streets of the city 
are very narrow. Most of the houses are of stone, and well 
built. ‘A great trade is carried on, the city being an entre¬ 
pot between Smyrna and Europe on the one hand, and Ar¬ 
menia, the countries on the Euphrates, and Persia on the 
other. The products both of Europe and the east are to be 
found in its markets. A principal article of trade is opium, 
produced in the neighborhood, and from it the city derives 
its name. There are here and in the neighborhood manu¬ 
factures of felts, carpets, arms, and saddlery. The saddlery of 
A. was formerly in demand throughout the whole Turkish 
empire, but the demand for it has greatly fallen off. Pop. 
supposed about 20,000. 

AFLOAT, ad. d-fiot ' [AS. a , on, and float]: on the water; 
borne upon the water and moving; not sinking. 

AFOOT, ad. d-foot' [AS. a, on, and foot]: on foot; in 
action or motion. 

AFORE, prep, d-for' [AS. onforan, in front; a, on, and 
fore ]; in OE., prior or superior to; sooner; before; in 
presence of: Ad. in time past; first; in front. Afore¬ 
going, a. d-for 1 go-ing , going before; that precedes. Afore- 
hand, ad. in time gone by; in OE., well provided. 
Afore'mentioned, a. mentioned before. Afore named, 
a. named before. Afore'said, a. mentioned in a preceding 
part. Afore thought, a. -thawt, premeditated—as, malice 
aforethought. Afore time, ad. in time past. 

A FORTIORI, a. or ad. d-for'shl-or'l [L. a, with; fbrtis, 
strong, fortwr, stronger]: for stronger reasons; for more 
weighty considerations. 

AFRAGOLA, d-frd-go'la: a commune and town of Italy, 
6 m. n.n.e. of Naples. The manufacture of straw bonnets 
is carried on extensively. Pop. of commune about 18,000. 

AFRAID, a. dfrdd! [AS. pp. of Affray, v., which see]: 
filled with fear; terrified. I’m afraid of it, I fear or 
dread it much; I have little doubt it is true, or has hap¬ 
pened.— Syn. of ‘afraid’: fearful; timid; timorous; terri¬ 
fied; frightened. 

AIRANIUS, a-frd'ni-us, Lucius: a Latin comic poet 
and orator who lived about a century before Christ. Cicero 
and Quintilian speak highly of his plays, but only fragments 
oi his works remain. 

AFRESH, ad. a-fresh' [AS. a, on; fersc , pure, sweet] 1 
again; anew; recently. . 


AFRICA. 

AFRICA, afri-ka: the second in point of size of tlie 
great divisions of the globe, has long been truly the ‘ dark 
continent,’ the land of mystery; but of late much has been 
done to open it to us by the enterprise of explorers, the zeal 
of missionaries, the perseverance of commercial speculation, 
and the military aggressions of Europeans. The chief hin- 
derances are the fewness of the accessible points on the coast, 
the pestilential climate of the marshy lowland bordering on 
the sea, the barrenness of vast tracts like the desert of Sahara, 
and the barbarism and sanguinary character of the natives. 

The valley of the Nile was known in the earliest period 
of history as the nursery of commerce, arts and sciences ; but 
while Egypt was flourishing, the rest of A. was almost to¬ 
tally unknown, and was vaguely spoken of as Libya. The 
Greeks and the Romans penetrated into A., probably as far 
as the Niger: but they had scarcely any definite knowledge 
of the countries lying beyond Numidia, while s. A. was 
entirely unknown. The tradition that Jewish and Tyrian 
merchants, on their voyages to Ophir, explored the east 
coast of A., is dubious; but another account, that, in the 
time of Pharaoh-Necho, the Phoenicians circumnavigated 
A., seems to be well authenticated; and it is probable that 
the Carthaginians had a better knowledge of parts of the in¬ 
terior than we have in the present day. For a history of the 
older discoveries in A., see works on discoveries and travels 
in Africa by Murray (1817) and Leyden (1799); and E. H. 
Bunbury’s History of Ancient Geography (1880). 

The 15th c. was marked by an extension of geographical 
knowledge in A. as elsewhere, Henry the Navigator sailed 
round the formidable Cape Nun (non plus ultra)-, Diaz and 
Yasco de Gama discovered the Cape of Good Hope; and 
both the western and the eastern coasts were partly explored 
by several European voyagers. The older travels and dis¬ 
coveries may be arranged in the following order: in the 
14th c., the travels of the Arabian Ebn Batuta in the north 
of A.: in the 15th c., the Portuguese discoveries of Madeira, 
Cape Blanco, Senegal, Guinea, Benin, the Cape of Good 
Hope, etc., and the^navigation of the east coast by the Por¬ 
tuguese Covilham, who first travelled in Abyssinia: in the 
16th c., the travels of Leo Africanus through Barbary and 
Sahara to Abyssinia; the travels of the German Ran wolf 
in n. A.-, and Windham’s voyage to Guinea, which was 
followed by several other expeditions in 1554 and 1562. In 
1570 and 1600 the Portuguese visited Monomotapa, then a 
powerful state near the Mozambique coast. In the 17th c., 
the Englishmen Jobson and Thomson, in their journey to 
Timbuktu, opened British commerce with A., and the slave- 
trade immediately followed. In 1662, a French colony was 
on the Senegal, and many exploring journeys to the interior 
were made by Renouard and others. In 1624, the Jesuit 
Lobo endeavored to find a way from the equator through 
the interior as far as Abyssinia. Thevenot’s journey to 
Egypt, 1652; the English occupation of Cape Coast, 1664; 
Brue’s voyage to Senegambia, and several other visits to the 
western coast, mark the progress made in the latter half of 
the 17th c. 


AFRICA. 

In the 18th c., various additions were made to the world's 
Knowledge of A. In 1788, the African Society was founded 
in London, and, under its direction, Ledyard and Lucas 
were sent to explore the Niger, and were followed by Major 
Houghton. The English colony of Sierra Leone was founded 
1790. The French expedition to Egypt, towards the close 
of this century, gave a new impulse to researches in A. 

In the 19th c., the most various motives have co-operated 
to extend the knowledge of this vast continent. The cap¬ 
tains of English cruisers, employed to suppress the slave- 
trade, have supplied valuable information; the governors of 
the colonies and private merchants have contributed their 
share ; and enterprising travellers from all sides of the coast 
have sought paths to the interior. The works published on 
A. since the year 1800 are consequently very numerous. A 
few of the more important may be mentioned. In 1802-05, 
Lichtenstein travelled in the district north of the Cape of 
Good Hope, and first furnished information regarding the 
Bechuana tribe. The travels of Mungo Park from Tim¬ 
buktu to Bussa are well known. In 1809, Burckhardt was 
sent out by the African Society, and his explorations, rich 
in manifold results, occupied the years 1812-16. To the 
French we are indebted for much valuable information con¬ 
cerning Marocco, Algeria, and the neighboring parts of Sa¬ 
hara. The labors of Oudncy, Clapperion, Denham, and 
Lander, in the Sahara and Soudan, are memorable by the 
discovery of Lake Tchad and the course of the Niger. 
Since about 1840, our knowledge of s. A. has received 
many important additions from the missionaries stationed 
there, especially Moffat; while David Livingstone, who, 
1843-73, was engaged in trying to open the countries 
north of the Cape of Good Hope, penetrated in 1849 as far 
as Lake N’gami, in 20° s. lat ; and in 1853, ascending the 
Leeambye (Zambesi) northward for several hundred miles, 
succeeded in crossing the continent to Loando on the west 
coast. Having retraced his steps to the point of the Zam 
besi from which he had started, the adventurous traveller 
next followed the stream till he reached the east coast, at 
Quilimane, in 1856. From 1859 to 1863 he made various 
explorations of Lake Nyassa and the neighboring regions. 
Again setting out in 1866, he found, in the region south of 
Lake Tanganyika, the river Chambezi. This river, which 
is specially known by this name ere it falls into Lake Bemba 
or Bangweolo, is known between that lake and Lake 
Moero as the Luapula, and further on in its course as the 
Lualaba; and was by Livingstone traced through these lakes 
as far as 4° s. lat. Livingstone’s belief was that this basin, 
now known to be the upper Congo, contained the headwa¬ 
ters of the Nile. In 1871, with Stanley, he found the river 
Rusizi flowing into the north of Lake Tanganyika. His 
last enterprise consisted in further exploration of these re¬ 
gions and new efforts to find the Nile sources. He died at 
Ilala, beyond Lake Bemba, May, 1873. Burton and Speke, 
crossing the Border Mountains from Zanzibar, 1857, dis¬ 
covered Lake Tanganyika; and the former then journeying 
to the n.e., discovered the southern part of the Great 


AFRICA. 

Victoria Nyanza, which he supposed to be the head reser¬ 
voir of the Nile. A second expedition, undertaken by 
Speke and Grant in the end of 1860, penetrated as far n. 
as Gondokoro on the White Nile, and added vastly to our 
knowledge of the eastern equatorial regions of Africa. At 
Gondokoro, Speke and Grant were met by Mr. (now Sir 
Samuel) Baker. Baker, accompanied by his heroic wife, 
pushed on to the s. and discovered in 1864, w. of the 
Victoria, another great lake, which he called the Albert 
Nyanza. He returned in September, 1873, from a second 
expedition, of a military character, undertaken, 1869, at 
the expense of the pasha of Egypt, to suppress slavery in 
the upper regions of the Nile. The geography, language 
and manners of the inhabitants of Abyssinia, Sennaar, and 
Kortlofan have also during late years been greatly illus¬ 
trated by the efforts of various European travellers. The 
researches of Dr. Barth and his companions, 1850-55—in¬ 
vestigating the same central division of the continent as 
Clapperton and Denham—and Dr. Schweinfurth’s travels, 
1868-71, in unexplored regions, have enriched our store of 
knowledge regarding this land of mystery. In 1874-5, 
Lieutenant Cameron surveyed the lower half of Lake 
Tanganyika, and walked across tropical Africa from e. to 
w., almost determining the source of the Congo. Mr, 
Stanley explored the Victoria Nyanza and its affluent, the 
Sliimiyu, in 1875-6. Then striking the Lualaba at Nyangwe 
in the end of 1876, he forced his way down the stream, and 
arriving at the mouth of the Congo in autumn, 1877, demon¬ 
strated that the Lualaba and the Congo are identical. In 
1877-79, Major Serpa Pinto crossed the region lying between 
Benguela and Durban in Natal. In 1880, Mr. Joseph 
Thomson explored the route between Nyassa and Tangan¬ 
yika ; and in 1884, he made his memorable journey from 
Mombasa by Kilimanjaro and Kenia to the Victoria Nyanza 
(see below). 

A. lies between lat. 37° 2' n. and 34° 50' s , and long. 
17 D 30' w. and 51° 30' e. It is of an irregular triangu¬ 
lar form, with the vertex towards the s, having tli6 
Mediterranean on the n., the Isthmus of Suez, Red Sea, 
and Indian Ocean on the e., and the Atlantic on the w. 
The formation of the Suez Canal has nominally converted 
Africa into an island. The coast-line is marked by few in¬ 
dentations or projections ; the most important gulf being 
that of Guinea, on the w.; and Capes Bon, Verd, Good 
Hope and Guardafui, the extreme points respectively on the 
n., w., s., and e. The greatest length of the continent, 
taken from n. to s., is about 4,985 miles , its greatest 
breadth, from e to w, 4,615; and its area, including the 
adjacent islands, not less than 11,854,000 sq. miles. 

What is known of the physical features of A. may be 
shortly sketched under the following heads: 1. The trian 
gular region south of Cape Guardafui and the Gulf of 
Guinea is mostly a high table-land, having fringes of moun¬ 
tains crowning its edges. Between the coast and the begin¬ 
ning of the elevation runs a belt of low lands, varying from 
50 to 300 miles in breadth. The Lupata range, seen run 


AFRICA. 

rung parallel with the coast, forms the eastern crest of the 
table-land. Between 3° and 4° s. lat., it reaches, in the 
snow-clad Kilimandjaro and Kenia, the height of 20,000 
feet. The mountainous country of Abyssinia is the eastern 
prolongation of the plateau and its elevated crest; in the 
summit of Abba Yared, at the northern extremity, it rises 
to 15,000 feet. At the s, the hills of Cape Colony rise in 
stages from Table Mount to the summits of the Nieuwveld 
and Sneeuwberg, in the heart of tbe colony, which are esti¬ 
mated at 7,000-10,000 feet; the spaces between the ranges 
being shrubby kloofs or valleys, and broad elevated terraces 
or karroos. From the elevated crest that runs parallel to the 
w. coast from Cape Colony to Valfisli Bay, Mr. Gallon de¬ 
scribes the country as sloping slightly inwards, thus giving a 
cup or basin shaped appearance to the interior of the conti¬ 
nent. Towards the n. w. the border of the table-land rises in 
the Cameroons to the heighth of 13,000 feet. Its northern 
boundary is not determined ; but it is likely that the valley 
of the western branch of the Nile penetrates into it, dividing 
it into two portions, an eastern and a western. A mountain 
seen lying s. from Lake Tchad is supposed to be one of its 
northern outposts. 

2. N. and n.w. of the great triangular table-land lies 
Sudan or Central Nigritia, under which name may be com 
prehended the countries watered by the Senegal, Gambia, 
and Niger, with the coast of Lower Guinea, and the basin 
of Lake Tchad. In the w. part of this section is a moun¬ 
tainous table-land of no great elevation, in which the rivers 
above named take their rise; the Kong Mountains, which 
run parallel to the Guinea coast, are a branch of this eleva¬ 
tion. Eastward of the Niger the country is hilly, alternating 
with rich, often swampy plains. In the basin of Lake 
Tchad is a vast alluvial plain, one of the largest on the 
globe, and of great fertility. 

3. Between Sudan and the cultivated tract which borders 
the Mediterranean, stretches the Sahara or Great Desert. 
It extends s. nearly to the Senegal, the northern bend 
of the Niger and Lake Tchad, northward to the Atlas 
range in Marocco and Algeria, and towards Egypt it reaches 
to the Mediterranean. Its average breadth from n. to s. is 
about 1,000 miles. Its length from the Atlantic to the valley 
of the Nile is 2,000. Over a great part of this region rain 
never falls, and everywhere it is rare ; it is thus condemned 
to sterility. It consists partly of tracts of fine shifting 
sand, which frequent storms of wind raise into the air, so 
as often to overwhelm travellers. But the greater part of 
the surface consists of naked but firm soil, composed of in¬ 
durated sand, sandstone, granite, and quartz-rocks, often 
rising into ridges or hills. Tbe desolation is interrupted at 
intervals by patches, sometimes of considerable extent, 
covered with bushes and coarse grass, and often of great 
beauty and fertility. These oases or readies, as they are 
called, which are occasioned by subterranean springs, are 
most numerous and fertile in the eastern portion of the 
desert The. easiest route across the desert to Sudan runs 
from Tripoli through the kingdom of Fezzan to Lake 


AFRICA. 

Tchad. Fezzan receives periodic rain from the moist wind? 
of the Mediterranean, which extend further into the conti¬ 
nent here than elsewhere. The portion of the desert lying 
east of the route above described is called the Libyan Desert. 
It is chiefly in this region that the oases are susceptible of 
cultivation ; the tracts of vegetation in the western portion 
are fit for little else than pasture, mainly for goats and sheep, 
The principal production of the more fertile oases is dates, 
though other fruits and grain are cultivated. Gum arabic is 
another production. Some of the larger oases support 
thousands of inhabitants living in villages. Commerce is 
carried on across the desert by various routes by means of 
caravans, consisting of from 500 to 2,000 camels, with their 
attendants. The distance between the wells sometimes ex¬ 
ceeds ten days’ journey ; and when a well is found dry, 
men and animals are in danger of perishing. The inhabi¬ 
tants consist of independent tribes of Moors, Berbers and 
Arabs. 

4. The Atlas region, comprehending the mountainous coun¬ 
tries of Marocco, Algeria, and Tunis. The northern slope 
towards the Mediterranean, called the Tell, is, in aspect, 
climate, and productions, similar to the opposite coast of 
Europe; the southern side merges gradually into the Sa¬ 
hara. Some parts of the chain are considerably above the 
snow-line, and the highest summits may reach 13,000 feet. 

5. The region bordering on the Red Sea, consisting of 
Abyssinia, Nubia, and Egypt. Abyssinia is the mountain¬ 
ous termination of the great southern plateau. Between 
this and the Mediterranean extends the low valley of the 
Nile, separated from the Red Sea on the east by a rugged 
mountainous region, and from the Libyan Desert on the 
west by a low ridge of limestone and sandstone. 

Regarding the hydrography of A., much is still to be as¬ 
certained. Livingstone’s discoveries have shown that the 
portion which, until recently, was termed the ‘unexplored 
territory,’ is anything but the barren and riverless desert 
that we imagined. But as hardly one of its streams has 
been traced throughout its entire course, while nearly the en¬ 
tire tributaries of these are very imperfectly known, we must 
wait for the result of further explorations, before positive 
statements can safely be made. Those of the s., which 
mostly rise in the neighboring highlands, are, in many in¬ 
stances, little better than mountain torrents, having, short 
and rapid courses; and the embouchure, generally in the 
delta form, is commonly obstructed by a bar of sand The 
Orange River, for instance, is filled with sand at its mouth. 

Rivers .—The great rivers of A. are the Nile, the Niger, 
the Zambesi, the Orange, the Congo, the Senegal, and the 
Gambia. See Nile, Niger, etc. The first of these is 
formed by the junction of two rivers—the White Nile (Bahr- 
el-Abiad) and the Blue Nile (Bahr-el-Asrak). The former 
has its sources in the great equatorial lakes, including those 
called the Victoria Nyanza and the Albert Nyanza, skirts 
the eastern edge of Kordofan, and passes into Nubia, where 
it is joined by the Blue Nile at Khartum, after the latter 
has broken through the highlands of Abyssinia. The single 


AFRICA. 

stream then sweeps circuitously through Nubia in a succes 
sion of cataracts, and descending into Egypt, reaches the 
Mediterranean through the far-famed Delta. The second 
of the great rivers, the Niger, Joliba, or Quorra—for it goes 
by these and other names in different parts of its course— 
rises in the Kong Mountains of Guinea, about 8° 25' n. lat. s 
9° 45' w. long., and flows first n e. till it reaches Tim¬ 
buktu, where it bends e. for a short distance, then descends 
in a s.e. direction into the Gulf of Guinea. Its length is 
estimated at 2,500 miles; and its navigability has been ascer¬ 
tained for a distance of upwards of 400 miles; but its banks 
are very pestilential. Its principal tributary is the Tchadda 
or Benue. At the extreme w r est of the mountains of Kong, 
and not far from the source of the Niger, rises the Senegal, 
which flow r s with a crescent sweep to the n.w. through 
Senegambia, and enters the Atlantic n. of Cape Verd. 
The Gambia, a smaller river, runs in a similar direction, 
and falls into the sea s. of Cape Verd. The Congo, 
proved by Stanley to be identical with the river called at 
various parts of its course the Cliambezi, Luapula, Lualaba, 
etc., runs northward to a point about 2° north of the equa¬ 
tor, and thence s.w. towards its embouchure in the At¬ 
lantic at Cape Padrone. Its whole course is about 2,900 
miles. The Orange River flows w r . with many windings 
to the sea, as do also the Kwanza (Coanza) and the Ogowe 
or Ogobai (q.v.); while the Zambesi, rich in affluents, and 
the less-known Limpopo or Oori (q.v.) run in an easterly 
direction. 

Lakes .—The lakes of A. are now in good degree known 
to us. Tchad , Chad , or more correctly, according to Dr. 
Barth, Tsad, the chief lake of Sudan or Central A., has 
a cireumference of about 200 miles, w’ifh a depth vary¬ 
ing from 8-15 feet, and an elevation of 850 feet above 
the sea level. Though it has no outlet, its waters aTe cool 
and clear, and abound with fish. Beside a multitude of 
temporary streams, it is the recipient of several large rivers. 
The chief is the Shary or Asu, from the s.e. Dem- 
hea or Tzana. in Abyssinia, through which the Blue Nile 
flow r s, is about 65 m. long, and 30 broad, and lies 6,000 
ft. above the sea level. Lake N’gami, in s. A., the 
centre of the internal drainage of the country between the 
Orange and the Zambesi, is about 2,500 feet above the sea- 
level, 70 miles long, and 20 broad. N. of the Zambesi 
between the parallels of 10° and 14° s., and about 850 miles 
inland from the coast of Mozambique, lies Lake Nyassa, at 
an elevation of 1,200 feet above the sea-level. The discov¬ 
eries of Tanganyika and the Victoria Nyanza by Speke, and 
of the Albert Nyanza (q.v.) by Baker, have been already 
noticed, and described in their proper place. The source of 
the Nile lies in the basin of these last two lakes. W. of 
Victoria Nyanza, and apparently connected with it, lies 
the great Lake Muta Nzige; e. and n.e. of it are Naivaslia, 
Baringo, and Samburu; Shirwa or Kihva is s.e. of Nyassa-, 
and Hikwa of Tanganyika. Bangv r eolo or Bemba, and 
Moero or Mwero, are in the course of the Luapula Congo; 
Kassali and other lakes are in its basin. 


AFRICA. 

Geology. —The geology of A. is known as yet only from 
cursory observations at isolated points. The character of 
the Sahara has been already indicated. The section trav¬ 
ersed by Dr. Livingstone presents a variety of schists, 
shales, sandstones, and tufa, through which protrude granite 
and trap rocks. In one place towards the east side of the 
continent the sandstone is found overlying coal. Between 
Tripoli and Murzuk tnere is a plateau, the dark sandstone 
of which disintegrated fills up the inequalities of the sur¬ 
face, from which the black rock stands out in fantastic 
cones. Tho lofty barrier of limestone which forms the 
western boundary of Egypt, reappears in the rugged ranges 
of hills which break the monotonous waste of Sahara; they 
sometimes contain marine shells. Secondary limestone also 
constitutes the lower skirts of the Atlas Mountains, but 
what constitutes their basis has not yet been discovered. 

Climate .—There are three great varieties of climate, cor¬ 
responding to the physical structure of the continent: first, 
that of the plateaus; second, that of the terraces which lead 
to them; and third, that of the coasts. In the vast desert 
of Sahara, extending over an area equal to that of the 
Mediterranean Sea, almost destitute of water and vegeta¬ 
tion, and partly covered with tracts of sand and bare, low 
rocks, the heat of the day is uniformly contrasted with the 
coldness of the night; while the terrace-land of Limbu, for 
instance, situated behind the Sierra Leone region, has a tem¬ 
perate and wholesome climate; and in that rising behind the 
Slave Coast are beautiful landscapes, abundant springs, new 
forms of vegetation, and a mild Italian air. The natives of 
Congo call their terrace-lands, which are w r ell cultivated and 
thickly peopled, ‘the paradise of the w r orld.’ But the fiat 
coasts, which are often overflooded in the rainy season, have 
a very oppressive atmosphere, and from the morasses at the 
mouths of the rivers a malaria arises which is pestilential to 
Europeans. This malaria has been supposed to arise from 
the decay of the vegetable matter brought dow T n by the rivers 
from the dense mangrove-w T oods, which, mixing with the 
salt w T ater on the coast, produces sulphuretted hydrogen 
gas. The region of pestilential air has been calculated to 
extend about 100 miles inland; but only 40 miles out at sea, 
and to rise to a height of 400 feet above the sea-level. 

Productions .—The vegetation of A. is decidedly less varied 
than that of Europe or Asia. Along the Mediterranean sea¬ 
board, it greatly resembles that of Southern Europe. The 
tropical regions are not as rich in species of plants as 
those of S. Amer., but still they exhibit many peculiar 
genera. As we leave the sultry coasts, and ascend the 
terraces towards the interior w r e pass gradually from 
tropical productions to those of the temperate zones, which 
all flourish well in several parts of A. Though the forests 
cannot rival those of Brazil, they are rich in valuable woods, 
especially the harder kinds; some of them excellent for 
shipbuilding. Here are the gigantic Adansonia (q.v.) digi- 
tata or baobab. Ebony, certain kinds of rosewood, and the 
timber called African "teak, are among the productions of 
the tropical forests. The butter-tree (Bama, q.v.) is one of 


AFRICA. 

the most remarkable productions of the central regions. 
Extensive level tracts are covered with acacias. Certain 
palms are very characteristic of different parts of A., and 
are of the greatest importance to the inhabitants, particularly 
the date-palm (q.v.) in the north, and in an inferior degree, 
the doom-palm (q.v.), both of them growing in regions 
comparatively arid, and often surrounded by the very sands 
of the desert; while the oil-palm (q.v.) flourishes amid the 
tropical luxuriance of the west, and supplies an article of 
commerce which now attracts the ships of Europe, in con¬ 
stantly-increasing numbers to shores formerly frequented 
only for the prosecution of the slave-trade. The cocoa-nut 
palm (q.v.) flourishes on many parts of the tropical coasts. 
A large quantity of oil is produced also by a plant of a very 
different description, the ground-nut ( Arachis , q.v.), a 
leguminous herbaceous plant, which has the remarkable 
peculiarity of thrusting its pods into the ground to ripen 
there, and which is now so extensively cultivated, that 
9,000,000 bushels of ground-nuts are annually exported from 
the Gambia. The southern extremity of A. is remarkable 
for the vast number of its species of mesembryanthemums 
and heaths. Pelargoniums, iridaceae and proteacese, are 
also among the most characteristic features of its vegetation. 
Euphorbiaceae abound in most parts of the continent. Many 
of the productions of other countries have been introduced, 
both in the tropical and temperate parts of A. Maize is 
now extensively cultivated, as well as rice, wheat, and 
millet. A peculiar kind of grain, called fundi, or fun- 
dungi ( Paspalum exile), is cultivated in the w., and grains 
called teff and tocusso (Poa Abyssinica and Eleusine Tocusso ) 
in Abyssinia. Coffee grows luxuriantly, and of good 
quality. Indigo and tobacco are easily cultivated, and 
cotton has succeeded well where it has been introduced, as 
in Egypt, where, however, it requires artificial and laborious 
irrigation; while in the rich and well-watered soil of Sen- 
naar, it flourishes even with a most careless style of cultiva¬ 
tion, and might, without doubt, be produced in enormous 
quantity. Other regions, as Natal, seem likely soon to 
produce it abundantly. The vine is cultivated with success 
at the Cape of Good Hope, and the sugar-cane in different 
parts of the continent. 

In the animal kingdom, are the lion, the leopard—often 
called the tiger, but the tiger is not yet known except as a 
native of Asia and the Asiatic isles—hyenas, jackals, and 
others of the canine family, a species of elephant, differing 
in some particulars from that of Asia, several species of 
rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, wart-hogs ( Phascochcerus), 
and many kinds of monkeys, particularly within the 
trophies. 1 he giraffe, the zebra, and the quagga, are 
peculiar and characteristic, as are also numerous species of 
antelope, which occupy, in African zoology, the place of 
deer in other parts of the world. The gnu is one of the 
most remarkable of the antelope genus. Some of the 
smaller species occasionally appear in prodigious numbers, 
devastating the fields of the colonists. The ostrich is found 
in almost all parts of A. Parrots, flamingoes, and guinea- 


AFRICA. 

rowls are among the birds. Crocodiles are found in the 
rivers, and many kinds of lizards and serpents occur, not a 
few of the latter being poisonous. There are also tortoises 
and turtles of different species. The domestic animals 
thrive. Camels, said to have been introduced by the Arabs, 
are plentiful in the north. 

In the department of mineral wealth, the diamonds found 
in Griqualand West (q.v.) have in recent years surpassed 
every other produce in value. Diamonds to the value of 
over £3,000,000 passed through the Kimberley post-office in 
1880. Gold is found abundantly in the sands of the great 
rivers that flow out from the central region, on the coast of 
Guinea, and also in the s.e. of A. The Sierra Leone 
coast has valuable iron ore, which is also found in the 
Upper Senegal, the region of Timbuktu, the Congo chain 
of mountains, Egypt, and Darfur. Copper is plentiful at 
Majomba, and in some other places; salt may be obtained 
from almost every district in A. except Sudan, and sal- 
ammoniac, saltpetre, sulphur, and emery in various portions 
of the continent. 

Population. —The population is vaguely estimated at about 
160,000,000. Keane arranges the races of Africa in seven 
great groups, according to language: lsf, the Semitic family, 
along the n. coast and in Abyssinia; 2d, the Hamitic 
family, mainly in the Sahara, Egypt, Galla Land, and 
Somali Land; 3 d, the Fulah and Nuba groups, in Western, 
Central, and Eastern Sudan; 4 th, the Negro group, in 
Western and Central Sudan, Upper Guinea, and the Upper 
Mile regions; 5 th, the Bantu family, everywhere south of 
ibout 0° n. lat., except in the Hottentot domain; 6 th, the 
Hottentot group, in the extreme s.w. corner from the 
Tropic of Capricorn to the Cape; *Wi, the Malayo-Poly- 
pesian family, in Madagascar. Latham’s divisions were six: 

The Negro Atlantidce. —These have, in an exaggerated 
form, the black unctuous skin, woolly hair, projecting jaws, 
flat nose, and thick lips, characteristic of the whole variety. 
They occupy Western A., from the Senegal to the Gaboon, 
Sudan in the centre, and the low parts of the Upper Nile. 
The dusky or brown hue is more prevalent in A. than the 
jet-black of the negro. 2d, Kafir Atlantidce. —In physical 
conformation, they are modified negro; their language has 
some singular peculiarities. They occupy from north of 
the equator to south of the Tropic of Capricorn. M. Hot¬ 
tentot Atlantidce. —Their color is brown rather than black; 
the hair grows in tufts. The stature is low. Their lan¬ 
guage has a characteristic click. 4th, Nilotic Atlantidce, 
occupying the water-system of the Upper and Middle Nile. 
The leading tribes are the Gallas, Agows, Nubians, and 
Bishari, forming the population of Abyssinia, Adel, and 
Nubia. It connects by imperceptible gradations the Coptic 
and Semitic groups with the rest of the African languages. 
5 th, Amazigh Atlantidce, usually called Berbers. In con¬ 
formation, they vary from the negro to the Arab type. The 
language is sw6-Semitic. They inhabit the ranges of the 
Atlas, the Sahara, the Canary Isles, and are found as far 
s. even as the centre of Sudan. 6 th, Egyptian Atlantidce, 


AFRICA. 

or old Egyptians, represented by the modern Copts. Both 
language and physical conformation connect them, on the 
one hand, with Berbers and Nubians; on the other, with the 
Assyrians, Jews, etc. 

In religion , the natives are as various as in language; 
though it has been questioned whether some of the tribes, 
especially in s. A., can be described as having any religion. 
In not a few of these, the religious consciousness seems 
extinguished, and the very terms which express it. to 
have dropped out of their language, though perhaps their 
degradation prevents communication with them. It was 
estimated 1896 that 31 Prot. and 20 Rom. Cath. missionary 
organizations were laboring in A. The Bible had been 
transl., in whole or in part, into G7 African languages. In 
the n. and in much of the interior, the creed of Mohammed 
is received, but held very loosely by many. The Moham¬ 
medan tribes on the w. coast divide themselves into two 
classes—the Marabouts and the Sonnachees; but it is not easy 
to understand the exact nature of this distinction, beyond 
the simple fact that the Marabouts profess to adhere rather 
strictly tc the laws of the Prophet, while the Sonnachees 
are more secular, make little profession of sanctity, but eat 
pork and will drink spirituous liquors. The lowest form of 
superstition, styled fetichism, prevails among the uncultured 
negro tribes, as well as among the Gallas, a nation widely 
spread s.e. of Abyssinia; and the practice of offering human 
sacrifices is found in many tribes. The Abyssinians hold 
by tradition a crude form of Christianity. 

By way of interior commerce or barter, caravans of camels 
pass over the wide deserts of the north by such routes as 
lead them to the greatest number of springs, brooks and 
oases, or comparatively fertile places. Timbuktu is the 
chief commercial depot for the caravans from Tafilet, 
Tripoli, and other places in n. A., and is connected by 
other caravan routes with Bornu, the Soudan, and Dahomey, 
as also, it may be, with the east coast. The principal places 
of commerce in the east are Berbera, Ankobar, Gondar, 
Sennaar and Kobbe. In Benguela and Angola, negro cara¬ 
vans from the interior arrive at the chief places on the coast, 
bringing slaves, ivory and gold-dust, and the plateau of the 
Upper Nile is visited by Arab traders from Zanzibar 
engaged in the same traffic. Though A. is so rich in 
natural productions, it is still a painful fact that along its 
coasts, and in the caravan roads of the interior, the principal 
trade is in slaves. The African is fit for something better. 
Even in the purely native states there is, of course, great 
variety of social condition and aptitude for civilization; 
but even many of the rudest tribes are in a condition 
which cannot be fairly described as savagism. They 
have fixed dwellings, though these are merely mud-huts, 
defended by stockades. Among several tribes the native 
merchant is highly respected, and his goods are safe even 
in times of feud or warfare. The land is cultivated; the 
natives wear dyed cotton dresses. Gold and iren are manu- 


AFRICA. 

factured with ingenuity. All that is wanted is a free com- 
mercial intercourse with the civilized world. 

Something has of late been attempted in the Egyptian 
dominions and in Zanzibar towards putting an end to the 
odious traffic in human souls and bodies ; but special inter¬ 
est attaches to the work done by the International African 
Association in the basin of Congo, and to the proceedings 
of the conference of the powers at Berlin in the end of 1884. 
The association was founded after the return of Mr. Stanley 
from his remarkable expedition along the Congo (q.v.) in 
1874-77, and was the result of his reports as to the admir¬ 
able field for commerce and civilizing influences presented 
by the vast basin of that river. The king of the Belgians 
became president; and under Mr. Stanley’s management, 
the association had by 1884 founded some 30 trading stations 
on the Congo, both above and below Stanley Pool. In the end 
of 1884, Prince Bismarck summoned a conference to Berlin 
to discuss the standing of the association and the regulation of 
trade on the Congo and Niger; and thirteen of the European 
powers, with the United States, sent representatives to take 
part in the conference. After protracted deliberations, they 
agreed to sanction and maintain perfect freedom to the 
trade of all nations on the Niger and on the Congo. In 
the case of the Niger, a French protectorate was recognized 
in its upper course, and a British protectorate on the lower 
Niger. The Congo basin was to constitute a kind of inde¬ 
pendent state, have a flag of its own, and be under the 
power only of the association. 1885, Feb. 26, it was organ¬ 
ized as a monarchy under the individual sovereignty of 
King Leopold (see Congo, Independent State |>f). Not 
merely the enormous basin of the Congo and its tributaries 
was thus thrown open to free trade, but a portion of the 
Atlantic seaboard 380 miles long, lying n. and s. of the 
mouth of the Congo, and called the ‘ Commercial delta’ of 
the river; and the vast region lying between the Congo 
basin and the coast strip of the Indian Ocean occupied by 
Portugal and Zanzibar from the fifth degree of N. lati¬ 
tude to the mouth of the Zambesi. To this latter territory, 
which includes the great lakes Victoria Nyanza, Albert 
Nyanza, Tanganyika, Nyassa, and others, free access 
from the sea is secured by the lower courses r>f seven 
rivers, including the Zambesi and its tributary the Shire. 
The true basin of the Congo is itself of very great 
extent, apart from this further extension of the area 
of free trade. The Congo, from its source in the 
Chibale Range s.s.e. of Tanganyika to its mouth, has a 
course of 2,900 miles; and receives the waters of several 
great lakes (including Tanganyika when in flood) and of 
numerous large tributaries (Kwango, Ikelemba, Sankuru, 
Ukere, Aruwimi). It seems to carry to the sea by its single 
mouth (seven mile? wide) a greater volume of water than 
any other river but the Amazon. The lower 110 miles are 
freely navigable; from Yellala Falls to the spacious Stanley 
Pool, 235 miles of its course are interrupted by rapids; but 
between Stanley Pool and Stanley Falls (at the Equator) is 
a vast extent of navigable waterway on the main stream and 


AFRICA. 

the affluents. The basin, which Stanley holds to have once 
been mainly the bottom of an inland sea, is estimated to 
have an area of 1,300,000 square miles, with a pop. of 
40,000,000. The equatorial lake system is distributed 
among the three great fluvial basins of the Zambesi, Nile, 
and Congo ; but there are several other lacustrine basins 
scattered over the continent, which vary greatly in size, 
have no seaward outflow, and form independent or iso¬ 
lated centres of inland drainage. From the latest dis¬ 
coveries and surveys, the great oceanic and inland hydro- 
graphic systems of the continent may now be tabulated 


thus:— 

Seaward Basins. Area in sq. ra. 

Nile. 1,500,000 

Congo. 1,350,000 

Niger. 1,150,000 

Zambesi. 850,000 

Orange. 400,000 

Limpopo. 200,000 

Senegal. 160,000 

Ogoway. 150,000 

Smaller basins and dried-up areas of 
seaward drainage . 3,000,000 


Total seaward. 8,760,000 

Inland Basins. 

Tsad. 750,000 

N’gami. 320,000 

Igharghar, Messawara, and other 


Total inland . 2,920,000 


Total seaward and inland .. .11,680,000 

The region of the great lakes either comprehended with¬ 
in the scope of authority of the old International Assoc, 
of Congo or adjacent to that district, has been the scene 
of much exploratory, missionary, and commercial effort 
since the journeys of Joseph Thomson 1880 and 84 and 
of H. H. Johnston 1884 above mentioned. In 1885-6 Dr. 
G. A. Fischer, in his attempt to relieve Emin Pasha, 
reached n. to Lake Baringo. In 1885 Grenfell discovered 
theU-banglii, the great n. tributary of the Congo, which 
he navigated to within 200 m. of the farthest point reached 
by Dr. Junker (22° 40' e. long.), penetrating westward 
down the Welle-Makua (1886). In 1887 Emin Pasha re¬ 
ported frequent explorations of the Albert Nyanza, and 
1889 Stanley, who had seen the Albert Edward Nyanza 
(q.v.) 1876, discovered that the Semliki river carries its 
overflow to Lake Albert. The intricate water system s. 
of the Middle Congo also has been unravelled, especially 
by Pogge, Baron Wissmann and Ludwig Wolf (1881-86), 
who have made it evident that the Kwango, Kassai, 
Sankuru, and Lake Leopold all belong to one hydro- 
graphic system flowing through the Kwa to the Congo at 
Kwamouth, and including Livingstone’s Kassabi. Thus 


















AFRICA. 

far all explorers have followed routes from e. to w. or 
fiom w. to e., no one having succeeded in crossing the 
continent along the line of the meridian from n. to s. 
In 1886 Dr. Holub attempted the route from the cape 
northward, and in 1887 had penetrated farthest in this di¬ 
rection, having advanced some distance beyond the Zam¬ 
besi. And. Stanley, in the last months of his expedition 
for the relief of Emin Pasha (1889), made the unexpected 
discovery of a s.w. extension of the Victoria Nyanza 
reaching 2° 48' s. lat., having an area of 26,900 sq. m., 
and bringing the Victoria Nyanza within 155 m. of Lake 
x&D^ny ka. 

The Niger Valley has recently been explored by the 
British Niger Co., and slave trade has been suppressed. 
M Delcommune, a Belgian, made his way to the Congo 
head-waters (1893), completing the exploration of that re¬ 
gion. The French explored the U-banghi region and 
Somaliland ; and Dr. Donaldson Smith (1894). an Ameri¬ 
can, also explored this country, traversing, at tlie same 
time, the Galia region. A German expedition, under Lieut, 
von Gotzen, crossed the Ruanda section (1895), saw Mt. 
Kirunga, the only active volcano in Africa, and explored 
the watersheds of the Congo and Nile. 

Recently strong English, French, and German companies 
have opened vast tracts of territory in e. and central A. to 
commerce and civilization. The Congo Free State owes 
its development to the floating of steamers on its waters, 
and to the construction of railroads, of which 300 m,, 
begun in 1894, are now in operation. Other lines along 
the Congo River banks are projected. The total rail¬ 
road mileage of all A. (1896) was 8,131 m. Stanley after 
rescuing Emin Pasha endeavored to secure his services 
in the interest of the English ; but Baron Wissmann, the 
explorer and virtual director of German colonial inter¬ 
ests in A., offered larger and successful terms. An agree¬ 
ment was entered into 1890, May 5, between the British 
and French govts., recognizing the Brit'sh protectorate 
over the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, and the French 
over Madagascar. All forms of religious worship were 
declared free. The French ‘sphere of influence’ was 
recognized as extending from the s. limit of the Mediter¬ 
ranean possessions of France to a line from Sag, on the 
Niger, to Baruwa on Lake Tchad. Commissioners ap¬ 
pointed by both govts, were to determine their respective 
spheres of influence in the region w. and s. of the Middle 
and Upper Niger. In June announcement was made that 
Great Britain had ceded to Germany the island of Heligo¬ 
land (q.v) in the North Sea, in return for the surrender of 
Uganda in A. by Germany, the establishment of a British 
protectorate over Zanzibar (with the permission of France), 
and other concessions by Germany in A. The announce¬ 
ment created great surprise in both Great Britain and 
Germany, but the agreement was carried out during the 
summer. It was considered that the concessions added 
500,000 sq. m. of territory to the British possessions in A. 
Stanley approved the arrangement; but Baron Wissmann 
deprecated it, believing it detrimental to Germany, as th© 

Vol. 1—9 


AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

surrender of Zanzibar made Great Britain the master of 
e. A., and the surrender of Uganda gave her the key to 
central A. Egypt is temporarily under British control. 

The principal native states in Africa are Abyssinia, 
Morocco, Zanzibar, Ashanti, Dahomey, Bornu, and the 
Soudan states (some of them lately Egyptian). Egypt is 
semi independent; Tripoli is Turkish; Liberia (qv.) is a 
civilized negro state. The Orange Free State is a republic 
of Boers; the South African Republic (q.v.) is an independ¬ 
ent state, formerly the Transvaal under British suzerainty. 
See also Congo, Independent State of. 

The following table shows the area and population of 
the different possessions in Africa : 


Countries. 

Area 
in sq. m. 

Population. 

Inhabitants 
to a sq. m. 

British Africa. 

2,570,926 

40,764.100 

16 

French Africa. 

2,902,624 

23,788.000 

8 

Portuguese Africa. 

841,025 

5,416 000 

6 

Spanish Africa. 

203,767 

437,000 

2 

German Africa. 

822,000 

5.950.000 

i 

Italian Africa. 

602,000 

6,300,000 

10 

Congo State (Belgium). 

965,100 

15,600,000 

18 

Late Boer republics. 

162,640 

888,000 

5 

Swaziland. 

6.370 

61,000 

10 

Liberia. 

37,000 

1,000,000 

27 

Turkish (Egypt and Tripoli).. 

• 836,000 

7,980,000 

10 

Unappropriated. 

1,584,398 

*22,000,900 

14 

Great lakes. 

80,350 



Total. 

11,514,500 

130,185,000 

11 


* Unappropriated Africa includes Morocco, Bornu, Wadai, Ba- 
girmi, etc. 

See the respective titles of states, mountains, rivers, and 
peoples of Africa; also of the more distinguished African 
travellers. For south African railroads, see Cape of Good 
Hope (colony). 

AFRICAN, a. afri-kan, also Afric, a. af rlk, pertaining 
to Africa: N. a native of Africa. Africanders, n. plu. 
afri-kariderz, persons born in Africa, but not aborigines. 

AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION: see 

Congo, Independent State of : Africa. 

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: a 
Christian denomination composed of colored people in the 
United States and Canada. The early Methodists worked 
zealously among the Africans in the United States, both . 
slave and free, and multitudes of them became Methodists, 
whites and blacks worshiping in the same churches, 
though separated. Thousands still are in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, which, however, at its general confer¬ 
ence, 1864, organized two new conferences consisting en¬ 
tirely of colored members. As early as 1816, a number of 
colored Methodists called a conference in Philadelphia, and 
in April of that year organized the African Methodist Epis¬ 
copal Church, Rev. Richard Allen being the first bishop; 
he was ordained by five presbyters. In 1858, this church 
had eight conferences—in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New 






























AFRICAN CHURCH-AFRONT. 

York, Ohio, Indiana, New England, and Mississippi. In 
1850, the Canada Conference was organized as a separate 
body. The civil war in 1861, and the destruction of slavery, 
greatly enlarged the territory of this church, and added to 
its membership. In May, 1864, the conierences of this 
church and the M. E. and African M. E. Zion Church were 
held simultaneously in Philadelphia, and the conferences 
sent deputations to each other. A joint committee also was 
appointed by the African M. E. Church and the African 
M. E. Zion Church, to frame a plan of union of the two 
bodies. Twenty-five delegates from each church met at 
Philadelphia, 1864, June 14, to consult upon terms of 
union. Arrangements were made harmoniously to this 
end, but were never carried into effect. The doctrines of 
the African M. E. Church are the same as those of the 
M. E. Church. The bishops preside over the conferences, 
and station the ministers; they are styled Rt. Rev. The 
general conference is composed of travelling ministers of 
two years’ standing, and local preachers specially delegated 
by the annual conference. The sessions are quadrennial. 
In 1903 there were 5,715 churches, with 728,354 commu¬ 
nicants and 6,429 ministers. The church property was 
valued at $10,000,000. One university, 4 academies, and 
33 other educational institutions, as well as two weekly 
official journals and one Quarterly Review, contribute to 
the advancement of the colored Methodists of America. 

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION 
CHURCH. This church originated in 1820, through the 
secession of the Zion congregation of African Methodists 
in the city of New York, from the M. E. Church, because 
of disagreement as to church government. Zion was soon 
joined by other congregations, and in 1821 its first confer¬ 
ence was held in New York, there being present 22 minis¬ 
ters, representing 1,426 members. In 1847, the number of 
members had increased to 5,000. In 1864, the General Con¬ 
ference, at the meeting in Philadelphia, declared in favor of 
a union with the African M. E. Church, but this union was 
not consummated. In 1876, there were 7 bishops, 17 annual 
conferences, 1,200 travelling ministers, 1,068 local preachers, 
1,154 exhorters, 225,000 members, 25,321 probationers, 9,083 
churches, 15,094 Sabbath-schools, 25,000 officers and teach¬ 
ers, 102,474 scholars. In 1903 there were 2,985 churches, 
with 542,422 members and 3,310 ministers. The church 
property was valued at $3,000,000. 

AFRIDI, n. d-fre'de: important tribe in Brit. India, w. 
and s.w. of Peshawar. The A. country extends from the 
Kabal river 50 m. due s. Elphinstone says the A. as a 
race are the greatest robbers among the Afghans, and have 
no sense of honor. Their 9 clans can place over 5,000 fight¬ 
ing men in the field. In 1897 they attacked the British mili¬ 
tary posts in the Khyber and Kohat Passes and elsewhere. 

AFRIT, n. df-rW , or Afrite', n. -rlt [Ar. i’frit]: in 
the Mohammedan myth., an evil spirit or genius; anything 
frightful or horrible. 

AFRONT, ad. d - frimt ’ (see Affront): in OE ., in front; 
face to face. 


AFT—AGAIN. 

AFT, a. or ad. aft [Icel. aptr, aftr, or aftan, backwards, 
aftr, back: an abbreviation of After, which see and Note]: 
a term used by seamen to mean the stern of the ship, or to 
point to what lies in the direction of the stern; behind; 
astern; abaft. Fore and aft, the whole length of the 
ship; from end to end of a ship. 

AFTER, a. after [AS. (eft or after, afterwards, again: 
Dan. efter, behind: Goth, aftra, again, backwards: Icel. 
aftan, behind]: later in time—as, it is an after thought: 
Prep, behind; later—as, he went home after dinner: Conj. 
when—as, you will come to me after he has seen you—but 
after here is a prep, if ‘ time ’ be understood. Af ter-act, 
an act following. Af'ter-ages, succeeding times; posterity. 
Af ter all, when all has been said, weighed, or done; in 
conclusion; upon the whole. Af ter-birth, n. that which 
comes away after delivery; the placenta. Af ter-cost, n. 
additional expenses incurred after the original estimate has 
been exhausted. Af ter-crop, a second crop in the same 
year. Af ter-damp, the choke-damp or carbonic acid oc¬ 
curring in coal-mines after an explosion of fire-damp. 
Af'tereye, in OE., to follow and keep in view. Af'ter- 
guard, in a ship, the seamen stationed on the poop to attend 
to the after-sails. Af ter-hours, hours following business. 
Af ter-life, the later or future life. Aftermath, n. af¬ 
ter-math [after, and math, derived from mow] : a second 
crop of grass in the same season; eddish. Af'termost, a. 
[AS. ceftemest; Goth, aftumists, the last]: hindmost; nearest 
the stern of a ship Afternoon, n. after-nun, the part of 
the day after 12 o’clock. Af'terpains, n. plu. -pdnz, those 
following child-birth. Af ter-piece, a piece performed 
after the chief play. Af ter-sails, the sails on the mizzen¬ 
mast and stays. After-state, the future life. Af'ter- 
thought, reflections after an act; later thoughts. Note .— 
After is shortened into aft, and is not a comparative of 
aft, but an older word; after is a comparative form, and 
stands for of-ter, meaning ‘ more off,’ ‘ further away.’ 

AFTERWARD or Afterwards, ad. af'ter-wardz [AS. 
cefter, behind; weard, direction]: later in time. After- 
wise, those who are wise after an event has happened. 

AGA, n. d'ga [Turkish, agha]\ in Turkey, a militar} r 
commander or chief officer. 

AGADE3, dg'd-dez': formerly a very important city of 
Central Africa, but at present in a declining condition. It 
is the capital of Air or Asben (q v.), and is built upon the 
eastern edge of a great table-land, at an elevation of not less 
than 2,500 feet, in lat 16° 33' N., long. 7° 30' E. At one 
time A. was an entrepot for the vast traffic carried on with 
Gogo, the ancient capital of the Songhay (q.v.) empire; and 
in the 16th c., it probably contained 60,000 inhabitants. At 
the time of Dr. Barth’s visit it had not more than 6,000 or 
7,000. There is a large admixture of Berber blood in the 
people of A. 

AGAIN, ad. a-g&n' [AS. ongedn or a gen, opposite: Sw. 
gen or igen; Bret, gin, opposite, again]: once more; a 
second time; back; besides; at another time; at a proper 


AGALACTIA—AGAMEMNON. 

and suitable time. Against, prep, d-genst’, in opposition 
to; facing; contrary to; in expectation of. Again and 
again, often; frequently repeated. 

AGALACTIA, d-gd-ldk' tl-d: [Gr. a , not, and galacte 
milk]: a lack of the due secretion of milk. It may depend 
either on organic imperfection of the mammary gland, or 
upon constitutional causes. In the latter case, the secretion 
may often be excited by warmth and moisture, by the 
stimulus of the act of sucking, and if this fail, by the appli¬ 
cation of the leaves of the castor-oil plant to the breast. 

AGALLOCHUM: see Aloes Wood. 

AGALMATOLITE, n. dg'dl-mdt'o-lit [Gr. agalma, an 
image; litlios , stone]: variously colored soft stone carved 
by Chinese into images; in part pinite, in part pyro- 
phyllite or steatite; all silicates: called also Pagodite, 

AGAMA, dg'a-md: a genus of Saurian reptiles, the type 
of a family called Agamidce; sometimes ranked in the 
acrodont sub-family of the Iguanidce. The Agamas are 
allied to the Iguanas, and have a lax skin, which they have 
the power of inflating with air. The Iguanas are arboreal 
and American; the Agamas are of the Eastern hemisphere 
and terrestrial. None of them are of large size. The 
Common A. is found on the Guinea and Senegal coasts. 
The Egyptian A. ( A . Egyptiaca or Trapeius Egyptiacus) is re¬ 



markable for changing color, like the chameleon.. Some of 
the most common lizards of Australia are of this family. 
The Frilled A. ( chlamydosaurus ) is a remarkable Australian 
lizard, having a sort of frill around the neck, which usually 
lies back in plaits, but is raised when the animal is alarmel. 

AGAMEMNON, ag'd-mem'non: son of king Atreus, 
and brother of Menelaus. After his father’s death, he 
reigned in Mycenae, and married Clytemnestra, by whom he 
had three children—Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes, after¬ 
wards celebrated in the Greek drama. When Paris, son of 
the Trojan king, Priam, seduced and carried away Helena, 
the wife of Menelaus, A., with his injured brother, made a 
tour throughout Greece, exhorting all the leaders of the 
people to unite their forces in an expedition against Troy. 
Having gained their alliance, A. was appointed general m- 
chief of the united forces assembled at Aulis in Boeotia, 
where they were delayed sometime. In the following cam¬ 
paign against Troy, which forms the subject of Hamer a 




Agami. 


AGAMI—AGAP^J. 

Iliad, A. is described as a very stately and dignified charac¬ 
ter. After the fall of Troy, he returned home, taking with 
him Cassandra, the daughter of Priam. Shortly afterwards, 
he was murdered by Clytemnestra, aided by ^Egisthus, in 
whose care he had left his wife and children. A tragical 
fate had always lowered over the house of A.; and the destb 
nies of his children—Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes—were 
the favorite subjects of the Greek drama. 

AO AM T, dg'd-me ( Psophia ): a genus oi south American 

birds, allied to cranes. 
Only two species are 
known. They are 
sometimes called 
Trumpeters, from a 
peculiar sound which 
they make. The best- 
known species is the 
Gold breasted Trum¬ 
peter (P. crepitans), 
of the size of a large 
pheasant, but with 
much longer legs and 
neck, and a vevy short 
tail. It runs very 
quickly; so much so, 
that a tame one in Eng¬ 
land has been known 
to keep up with hounds. It is capable of the most perfect 
domestication. It inhabits dry uplands. 

AG AN A, the chief town of Guam, the largest of the 
Ladrone Islands. It is 1,800 miles S. of Yokohama, and 
1,500 miles E. of Luzon. The U. S. took possession of 
Guam as a result of the war with Spain, and in 1899 a 
naval station was established at Agana, with Capt. Richard 
P. Leary, U.S.N., as first governor. 

AGAPaE, dg'dpe: love-feasts, or feasts of charity, cele¬ 
brated by the early Christians, usually in connection with 
the Lord’s Supper. The name is derived from the Greek 
word agape, which signifies love or charity. At these feasts, 
the rich Christians presented their poorer brethren in the 
faith with gifts, and all ate together, in token of their 
equality before God and their brotherly harmony. The 
meetings were opened and closed with prayer; and during 
the feast, spiritual songs were sung. At first, a bishop 
or presbyter presided, who read a portion of Scripture, pro¬ 
posed questions upon it, and received the various answers 
of the brethren. Afterwards, whatever information had 
been obtained regarding the churches, was read—such as 
the official letters of overseers, or private communications 
from eminent members; and thus a spirit of practical sym¬ 
pathy was fostered. Before the conclusion, money was 
collected for widows, orphans, the poor, prisoners, and 
those who had suffered shipwreck. Then the members em¬ 
braced, and the feast was ended with a ‘ philanthropise 
prayer.’ As early as the 2d c.. the custom of celebrating the 











AGAPE—AGAPEMONE. 

A. and the Lord’s Supper together had ceased, on account 
of the persecutions. Justin, when writing on the latter 
subject, does not speak of the former; but Ignatius, on the 
other hand, seems to regard them as identical. Generally, 
the feast of the A. preceded the celebration of the Lord’s 
Supper. But during the period of the persecutions, when 
the Christians had often to hold divine service before dawn, 
the A. were, for the most part, delayed till the evening. 
Later, a formal separation was made between the two rites. 
In the 3d and 4th centuries, the A. had degenerated into a 
common banquet, where the deaths of relatives, and the an¬ 
niversaries of the martyrs, were commemorated, and where 
the clergy and the poor were guests; but with the increase 
of wealth, and the decay of religious earnestness and purity 
in the church, these A. became occasions of great riotousness 
and debauchery. Councils declared against them, forbade 
the clergy to take any share in their celebration, and finally 
banished them from the church. At the same time, it must 
be admitted that the heathens ignorantly calumniated the 
practices of the Christians in these A., and that the defenses 
made by Tertullian, Minucius, Felix, Origen, etc., are suc¬ 
cessful. The Moravians have attempted to revive these A., 
and hold solemn festivals, with prayer and praise, where 
tea is drunk, and wheaten bread, called Love-bread, is used. 

AGAPE, ad. agdp' [AS. a, on, and gape ]: gaping as 
with wonder. 

AGAPEMONE, n. ag'a-pem'o-ne [Gr. agape, brotherly 
love, affection]: a so-called religious association of men and 
women retired from the w T orkl, living in common, ostensibly 
as brothers and sisters; especially a conventual establish¬ 
ment consisting of men and women, founded at Char- 
lynch, near Bridgewater, Somerset, England, by Henry 
James Prince, formerly a clergyman of the Church of 
England. Prince was b. Bath 1811; was a student at 
Lampeter; on leaving college became curate of Charlynch, 
where he preached strange doctrines, and converted his 
rector, the Rev. Samuel Starkey to his theories. Both 
came under ecclesiastical censure, and soon left the Church 
of England, and became vigorous propagators of a new 
sect with various fanatical theories, prominent among 
which w r as Prince’s claim to sinless perfection, and to a 
commission from God to conclude the day of grace and 
introduce the day of judgment. Increase of population 
was discountenanced. Community of goods was insisted 
ou, according, it was said, to Acts ii. 44, 45. This heresy 
spread through the secluded villages on the s.w. coast, 
especially among the farmers; so that the funds in the 
common purse accumulated rapidly. Many even of the 
educated classes joined them. Three of the ‘Brothers’— 
Prince, Thomas, and Cobbe (bro. of Miss Frances P. Cobbe) 
married three sisters, women of wealth, wdiose money was 
used by Prince to purchase a fine property at Charlinch, 
near Bridgewater, where the Brethern and Sisters had 
(from 1859) a luxurious home. Letters intended for 
Prince passed through the post-office directed to ‘ The 


AGARIC. 

Lord,’ and his followers have been heard to say that he is 
their ‘ creator.’ Much that was offensive in conduct at 
the A. was brought to light. It is understood that the 
community still exists, though with diminishing numbers. 
See Hepworth Dixon’s Spiritual Wives (1868). 

A society similar in aims and character, though not con¬ 
ventual, seems to have existed in England in the 16th and 
17th c. It was called the ‘ Family of Love,’ ‘ or Lust, 
rather,’ as old Fuller has it; and its founder is generally 
supposed to have been Henry Nicholas, native of Mun¬ 
ster in Westphalia, who appeared about 1540, and who 
held himself to be greater than Moses or Christ. Some 
investigators, however, believe that the real founder was 
one David George, a fanatical Anabaptist of Delft, in 
Holland (d. 1556). By 1572 they had apparently increased 
in numbers considerably in England; and 1580, Queen 
Elizabeth issued a proclamation for the hunting out and 
punishing of 4 the damnable sect.’ They sought the 
favor of King James by casting aspersions on the Puri¬ 
tans. Their doctrines seem to have been a species of 
pseudo-spiritual sentimentalism, resulting in gross im¬ 
purity. See Muckers: Perfectionists. 

AGARIC, dg-dr'lk [Gr. agarikon, a certain fungus]: a 
genus of fungi: Adj. pertaining to fungi. Agar ics, n. 
plu. general name for edible mushrooms. Agaric min¬ 
eral, a very soft white carbonate of lime found in clefts 
and caverns, sometimes resembling fungi; called also Rock- 
milk. Agaric or Agaricus designates not only a genus 
of Mushrooms (q.v.), but also is, in its first form, a popu¬ 
lar name for touchwood and medicinal preparations de¬ 
rived from certain fungi of the genus Boletus (q.v.) and 
Polyporus (q.v.), which grow as semicircular projections 
from trees, tough like wood or leathery. The French 
touchwood, spunk, or punk, prepared like soft wash- 
leather, is called Amadou (q.v.). The inner part of the 
fungus is sliced and beaten into pliability. Some of these 
fungi are poisonous, but not to the touch. Polyporus 
officinalis (otherwise Boletus laricis ) contains nearly three 
parts of resin and one part of fungin. The common hard 
Polyporus or Boletus igavarius of the oak has a variety of 
mineral salts. 


AGASSIZ. 

AGASSIZ, ag'a-se, Alexander, ll.d.: zoologist: b. 
Neueliatel, Switzerland, 1835, Dec. 17: son of Prof Louis 
A. He came to the United States with his father in 1846, 
and is an American both by training and by sympathy! 
He graduated at Harvard 1855, and was soon afterward 
placed in the Lawrence Scientific School to study civil 
engineering, and in 1857 took the degree of b.sc. He 
afterward taught chemistry in a ladies’ school established 
by his father in Cambridge, but early in 1859 obtained a 
position in the U. S. Coast Survey of Cal. where he col¬ 
lected and studied marine animals for the Harvard Mu¬ 
seum of Comparative Zoology. Returning to Cambridge, 
he became connected with this museum, and thenceforth 
gave most of his time to its development. In 1865 he 
made some investigations in Penn, coal mines, and later in 
the copper mines of Lake Superior, which last researches, 
through the practical use of his geological knowledge, 
brought him remarkable pecuniary profits. He succeeded 
in developing the richest copper lode in the world, and 
became very wealthy. He made a trip to Europe, where 
he visited the leading museums, but on his return, 1871, re¬ 
sumed his duties as asst, curator of the Harvard collec¬ 
tions. After the death of his father, A. succeeded him as 
curator of the museum, which he afterward munificently 
endowed, his gifts having been estimated to amount in a 
single year to over $200,000 in money, besides other dona¬ 
tions. In 1875 he visited Peru and Chili, where he col¬ 
lected a large number of fine antiquities, which he pre¬ 
sented to the Harvard Museum. For a number of seasons 
he gave his attention to deep-sea dredging, and the result 
of these labors also found a place in the-museum. He re¬ 
tired from active connection with the Harvard Museum 
on account of ill health, 1885. He has contributed many 
valuable papers to (he reports of the National Acad, of 
Science, and American Acad, of Arts and Sciences. 

AGASSIZ, ag'a-se or d-gas'iz: Louis John Rodolph, one 
of the most distinguished of modern naturalists: 1807-73; 
b. Orbe, in the Canton de Vaud. After passing through 
the usual course of elementary learning at Biel and Lau¬ 
sanne, he studied at Zurich, Heidelberg, and Munich. The 
study of natural history had attracted him from early youth, 
and at Heidelberg and Munich comparative anatomy was 
his favorite occupation. In Munich he became acquainted 
with Martius and Spix, the well-known travellers in Brazil; 
and when Spix died, 1826, his collection of 116 species of 
fish collected in Brazil was left in the care of A., who pub¬ 
lished it under the title Pisces, etc., quos collegit et pingcndos 
curavit Spix, descripsit A. (Munich 1829-1831, with 91 illus¬ 
trations in lithography). Led by this work to study ichthy¬ 
ology more closely, A. undertook a systematic arrangement 
of the fresh-water fishes found in Central Europe. Of this 
work, the first fasciculus, containing the family of the Sal- 
monidae, appeared at Neufchatel, 1839, with 34 illustrations, 
and descriptions in French. English, and German. A sec¬ 
ond fasciculus, prepared by his friend Yogt, Embryologie 
des Salmones, was published. 1840; and a third. Anatomic 


/ 


A.GATA DEI G0T1—AGATE. 

des Salmones, appeared, 1845, as a part of the third vol. of 
the Memoirs of the Neufchdtel Society of Natural History „ 
Beyond this, the work was not continued. A. at the same 
time gave attention to the fossil remains of fishes, and dur¬ 
ing his stay in Paris, 1831-2, examined several private and 
puhiic fossil collections.* The results of his studies were 
given in his work Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, Neuf- 
cMtel, with 311 lithographed illustrations, 1833-42. Mean¬ 
while, he had been invited to the professorship of natural 
history at Neufchatel; and here he found two active young 
friends, Desor and Vogt, by whose aid his work on fossil 
fishes was brought to a conclusion, 1842. During several 
visits to England, A. made himself well acquainted with the 
collections of fossils in that country; and, 1844, published a 
monograph on fossil fishes found in the old red sandstone 
of the Devonian system. His study of these remains led 
him to examine other fossils; and the results appeared in 
his works Description des Echinodermes Fossiles de la Suisse , 
and Monographics d’Echinodermes Vivants et Fossiles. In 
the latter work, Professor Valentin of Berne supplied the 
section on the ‘ Anatomy of the Sea-urchin.’ A. turned hj« 
attention next to the mollusca, and produced his Critical 
Studies on Fossil Mollusca, soon followed by his Memoirs on 
the Muscles in Lining and Fossil Mollusca. His work on 
Glaciers excited great interest, as it opened new views in 
geology. The results of further study were given in a sec¬ 
ond work on The System of Glaciers; or, Researches on Gla¬ 
ciers (Paris, 1847). In preparing this work, he was assisted 
by his friends Guyot and Desor. In 1846, A. came to the 
United States, and was appointed to a professorship in 
Harvard College, from which he was transferred, 1852, 
to the chair of comparative anatomy in Charleston; but 
this he resigned, 1854, and returned to Harvard. In Out¬ 
lines of Comparative Physiology, A. upholds the doctrine 
of the successive creation of higher organized beings on 
the earth. An Essay on Classification, by A., was published 
(Loud., 1859); and a Journey in Brazil (1868). In 1868 he 
was appointed a non-resident professor and lecturer in 
Cornell University; and with Count Portales was, in 1871, 
intrusted by the American government with dredging opera¬ 
tions in the Gulf Stream. His last work was the establish¬ 
ment of a school of natural history on the island of Penikese. 
See L. A., his Life and Correspondence, by his daughter, 
Eliz. Cary A. (1885). 

AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION, a society founded in the 
United States in 1879 by Harlan II. Ballard to promote 
scientific study, and named in honor of Prof. J. Louis 
Agassiz. In the following year a general association was 
organized, and is now represented in all parts of the world. 

AGATE, n. dg'at [F. agate— from the river Achates in 
Sicily; or the Phoenician word nakadt, spotted]: a varie¬ 
gated variety of chalcedony quartz, the colors being ar¬ 
ranged in clouds, spots, or bands; a tool used by gold-wire 
drawers and gilders. Agatine, a. dg'd-tin, of agate. 
Agatized, a. dg'a-tizd, marked like an agate; converted 


AGATE. 

into agate. Agate ware, pottery mottled and veined 
tlnough its whole substance after the manner of a^ate. 

Agate is a variety of quartz, mostly chalcedony, and 
usually banded in section. The bands are parallel, and 
sometimes so delicate that 50 or more are in the space of an 
inch. They may exhibit circles, as in ‘eye-agate,’ or may 
follow irregular courses; rarely straight. The colors are 
often in sharp contrast, and in most specimens are white, 
pale, or deep brown; or, in carnelian varieties such as are 
found in prairie drift from Lake Superior, there are fine 
flesh-red tints. The polished specimens exhibited for sale, 
or made into ornaments, are often deepened in color by 
various processes. Thus the black layers are pro¬ 
duced by boiling in oil or steeping in heated honey, these 
liquids penetrating the more porous bands; then by plung¬ 
ing into sulphuric acid the oil or honey is reduced to black 
carbon. Iron oxide in some of the bands is made yellow 
by hydrochloric acid, or a red color may be heightened by 
slow heat, then sulphuric acid, and then a high tempera¬ 
ture. The natural colors are due to various oxides, e.g., 
iron, manganese, etc., with some traces of organic sub¬ 
stance. . The layers being different in porosity, hydrofluoric 
acid will so etch a polished surface that an engraving of 
the pattern of the.agate can be printed from the stone 
itself.—Some varieties are clouded, rather than banded, 
and some spotted, e.g., with bits of red jasper, like helio¬ 
trope or blood stone. In * ruin-agate,’ as in some ‘ ruin- 
marble,’ the bands may sometimes have been fractured 
and cemented, and thus shifted so as to have resemblance 
to piles of ruined buildings. In ‘fortification-agate,’the 
lines are angular and suggest the name. ‘Moss-agates’ 
(mocha-stone) are quartz in which metallic oxides have 
crystallized like the branching forms of frost-work. Onyx 
(uot the ‘Mexican onyx,’ which is calcite, and cut in 
large slabs) and sardonyx, are agate suitable to cutting 
figures from one layer, with another layer of different 
color for background. Agate-jasper is jasper veined with 
chalcedony.—The origin of agates is denoted by the trap- 
pean rocks, especially the amygdaloidal, in which 
they are found in place, e.g., near Lake Superior. 
These rocks, when deposited, were either molten or 
pasty, heated, and when filled with steam, full of 
cavities due to that agency. When the mass stif¬ 
fened, the cavities remained, and the heated water holding 
silica and various oxides in solution, filled the cavities by 
infiltration or by osmosis, depositing layer after layer on 
the wall until no vacant space remained, or, as in some 
cases, but a small central hollow. Access by a former 
openiug has been found in some specimens. The char¬ 
acter of the deposit would change with successive impuri¬ 
ties in solution. In a specimen owned by the writer, half 
the agate is made up of absolutely straight lines, the other 
half like a dark clouded sky over a level sea; and in a 
green amygdaloid in his possession from metamorpliic 
rocks near Boston, one of the large fillings has a level, red, 
jasper-like sea, with a white sky. Agate-like structure is, 


AGATE-AGAVE. 

however, not confined to the circumstances above men¬ 
tioned. The outer portion of geodes (siliceous hollow balls 
occurring in sedimentary rocks) is often distinctly of this 
structure; and the structure occurs by the same process of 
varying deposition in banded veins, as it does also in 
stalactites and malachite. The polished ‘Rocky Mfc. 
agates’ sold, are from Germany. The first American mill 
for such work, especially for agatized wood, has recently 
been established at Sioux Falls. See Petrified Forests. 

AGATHA, ag'dthd , Saint: a noble Sicilian lady of great 
beauty, who rejected the love of the Prefect Octavianus, 
and suffered a cruel martyrdom in the persecution of 
Christians under Decius (250). She holds a high rank 
among the saints of the Roman Catholic Church ; her day 
falls Feb. 5. 

AGATHOCLES, a-gath'o-klez: one of the boldest but most 
unworthy adventurers of antiquity: b.c. 361-289; b. Thermae, 
Sicily. He rose from humble life through the patronage of 
Damas, a noble citizen of Syracuse, and received a com* 
mand in the expedition against Agrigentum. Afterwards 
he married the widow of Damas, and became one of the 
most wealthy men in Syracuse. Under the rule of Sosistra- 
tus, he was forced to flee into Lower Italy, where he col¬ 
lected a band of partisans. Returning to Syracuse, after 
the death of Sosistratus, he gained the supremacy, confirmed 
it by a massacre of several thousands of respectable citizens, 
and took possession of the greater part of Sicily. To estab¬ 
lish his power, and keep his army employed, he now at¬ 
tempted to expel the Carthaginians from Sicily; but in this 
undertaking he was defeated. His next plan was to pass 
over to Africa "with a part of his army, and there attack the 
Carthaginians. This war he carried on with success for 
four years, until 307 b.c., when disturbances in Sicily com¬ 
pelled him to leave the army for a time. On his return to 
Africa, he found his troops in a state of mutiny against his 
son Archagathus, whom he had left in command,"but paci¬ 
fied them by promises of large booty. Soon afterwards, he 
suffered a serious defeat, and with deliberate treachery, left 
his own son exposed to the vengeance of the disappointed 
soldiers. The son was put to death, and the troops sur¬ 
rendered themselves to the enemy, while A. escaped safely 
into Sicily, where, by fraud and cruelty, he soon recovered 
his former power, and was afterwards engaged in predatory 
inroads upon Italy It was his intention to leave the throne 
to his youngest son A.; but his grandson, Archagathus, 
made an insurrection, slew the royal heirs, and persuaded 
Mtenon, one of the favorites of the aged tyrant, to destroy 
him by means of a poisoned toothpick. A. had reigned 28 
years. 

AGAVE, n. ag'av or ag'dv-l [Gr. ag'anos, admirable: L. 
and Gr. Agave, daughter of Cadmus, one of the Nereides]; 
a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Amarylli- 
dece (q.v.), and having a tubular perianth with 6-partite limb, 
and a triangular, many-seeded inferior capsule. They are 
herbaceous plants, of remarkable and beautiful appearance. 


AGAVE. 

There are a number of species, all natives of the warmer 
parts of America. By unscientific persons they are often 
confounded with Aloes (q.v.); and A. Americana is gener¬ 
ally known by the name of American Aloe. The agaves 
have either no proper stem, or a very short one, bearing at 
its summit a crowded head of large, tleshy leaves, which aie 
spiny at the margin. From the midst of these shoots up the 
straight, upright scape, 24-36 feet high, and at the base 
often one foot in diameter, along which are small, appressed 
lanceolate bractese, with a terminal panicle, often bearing 
as many as 4,000 flowers. In South America, these plants 
often flower in the eighth year, but in our hot-houses not 
until they have reached a very advanced age; whence arises 
the gardeners’ fable of their flowering only once in one hun¬ 
dred years. After flowering, the plant alwaysdies down to 
the ground, but the root, continuing to live, sends up new 
shoots. The best known species is A. Americana , which 
was first sent from South America to Europe, 1561, and 
being easily propagated by suckers, is employed for fences 
in Italian Switzerland, and has become naturalized in Na¬ 
ples, Sicily, and the n. of Africa. By maceration of the 
leaves, which are 5 to 7 feet long, are obtained coarse fibres, 
which are used in Amer¬ 
ica, under the name of 
maguey, for the manu¬ 
facture of thread, twine, 
ropes, hammocks, etc. 

This fibre is also known 
as Pita Flax. It is now 
produced to some extent 
in the s. of Europe. It 
is not very strong nor 
durable, and if exposed 
to moisture, it soon de¬ 
cays. The ancient Mexi¬ 
cans employed it for the 
preparation of a coarse 
kind of paper, and the In¬ 
dians used it for oakum. 

The leaves, cut into slices, 
are used for feeding cat¬ 
tle. — Another species, 

A. Mexicana, is particu¬ 
larly described by Hum¬ 
boldt upon account of its 
utility. When the in¬ 
nermost leaves have been 
torn out, a juice contin¬ 
ues to flow for a year or 
a year and a half, which, 
by inspissation, yields su¬ 
gar; and which, when di¬ 
luted with water, and sub¬ 
jected to four or five days’ American Aloe, 

fermentation, becomes an 

agreeable but intoxicating drink, called \pulque , to which the 








AGAZE—AGE. 

Mexican Indians not unfrequently sacrifice both fortune 
and life. It is made likewise from A. Americana , and 
from several other species.—The roots of A. saponana are 
used in Mexico for washing, being a powerful detergent, 
and forming a lather with salt water as well as with fresh. 
The juice of the leaves, made into cakes, is used for the 
same purpose. 

AGAZE, v. a-gdz' , also Agast, v. d-gast' (see Gaze and 
Aghast): in OK, to strike with sudden fear; to fill with 
amazement. Agazed, pp. a-gdzd', struck with sudden 
fear. 

AGDE, dgd: ancient French town in the dept, of Herault. 
founded by the Greeks; about a league from the Mediter¬ 
ranean Sea, on the left bank of a navigable stream. To the 
n., under the walls of the town, flows the Languedoc Canal. 
The mouth of the stream forms a harbor, which is entered 
by 400 vessels yearly. The coast trade of A. is very brisk, 
while it is also the entrepot for the traffic of the s. and w. 
of France. It has, besides, considerable intercourse with 
Italy, Spain, and Africa. It carries on a large and prosper¬ 
ous trade in wines, oil, salt, corn, timber, wool, silk, and 
cloth; but the general aspect of the place is sombre and for¬ 
bidding, on account of the black basalt of which the houses 
are built, whence it has popularly received the name of the 
Black Town. It has a naval academy, and is noted in his¬ 
tory as the place at which Alaric, king of the Goths, con¬ 
vened a council. Pop. (1893) 8,829. 

AGE, n. dj [F. age; OF. aage, and edage — from mid. L. 
cetatem, an age]; a period of time; the whole life of man, 
or any particular part of it; a period of time. See Ages. 
Aged, a. d'jed, old, advanced in years: N. old persons—as 
the aged. A'gedly, ad. -li. Ageing or Aging, a. dj'ing, 
growing older than youth; growing old; passing the prime 
of life. Agedness, n. agednes, the state or condition of 
being old.—S yn. of ‘age’: date; era; epoch; period; time; 
generation; ripeness; maturity. 

AGE, in Law: the time when the law allows persons to 
do acts which on account of youth they were prohibited 
from doing before. This period being sometimes ar¬ 
bitrary and sometimes founded on nature, differs con¬ 
siderably under the law of different nations. In the 
United States a man may vote at the age of 21 years, 
be elected a representative in congress at 25, and a 
U. S. senator at 30, but cannot be elected pres, be¬ 
fore 35. Full age is the day preceding the 21st anniversary 
of a person’s birth, except in the case of women, who in 
some of the states become of full age at 18. All persons 
under 7 years of age are deemed incapable of crime, and 
between 7 and 14 the assumption of such incapacity exists, 
but may be rebutted by positive evidence of a mischievous 
discretion, or knowledge of the wrong. The presumption 
of innocence ceases at the age of 14. at which time boys 
may choose their own guardians; they are liable to serve 
in the militia from 18 to 45. Girls are supposed to arrive 
at discretion at 12 years of age, when they may consent to 


AGEE—AGEN. 

marriage; and at 14 they may choose their own guardian. 
—In England, the whole period previous to 21 years of age 
is usually spoken of as infancy. The law with regard to 
marriage is the same as in the United States. Infancy is of 
legal effect for the protection of civil rights,, and by a 
statute of 1874 it is declared that all contracts made by an 
infant, except for necessaries, are absolutely void. No in¬ 
fant can make a valid will, but in the English probate 
court an infant over 7 is called a minor and can choose a 
guardian for himself. Under criminal law, a child under 
7 is incapable of felony, and the same rule holds as in the 
Unitecf States with regard to the period between 7 and 14, 
but infants between 14 and 21 are held to be fully respon¬ 
sible for criminal acts.—In Scotland, under the law, life is 
divided into three periods named respectively, pupilarity, 
minority , aud majority. The first lasts from the time of 
birth to the age of 14 in bo} r s and 12 in girls, when they 
respectively reach the period of legal puberty and may 
marry. Sometimes in Scotland the term minority applies 
to the whole period prior to majority, being equivalent to 
infancy in England. When the term infancy is used in 
Scotland it is with the significance of the Roman infantici, 
indicating the period from birth to 7 years of age. In Scot¬ 
land the civil privileges and responsibilities of minors differ 
altogether in principle from those of infants in England; 
while there is the same idea of freedom from criminal re¬ 
sponsibility in the period under 7, between 7 and 14 the Scot¬ 
tish law tends to much greater severity. Though the Brit¬ 
ish laws on this subject are considereded unreasonable and 
without sound physiological basis, they are prevented from 
effecting serious injustice by the discretion used in their 
administration. This is particularly the case with regard 
to giving evidence in court, as to which judges decide on 
common sense views aud generally with good judgment. 
The marriagable age in France is 18 in males aud 15 in 
females; and at 21 men are considered eligible for public 
office. In England men at the age of 21 may elect and be 
elected members of parliament. See Infant: Guardian: 
Consent: Contract: Crime: Marriage: etc. 

AGEE, ad. d-je' [jee, an exclamation to cause horses 
to move on one side: OE .jee, to move to one side]: turned 
to one side; awry; askew. 

AGEN, a-zhan': chief town of the dept, of Lot-et-Garonne 
in France, in a fertile region on the right bank of the Ga¬ 
ronne. The town is old and gloomy in appearance, but has 
an active trade in woolen and linen fabrics, leather, colored 
paper, colors, cordage, and sail-cloth. It forms the con¬ 
necting-link of the intercourse between Toulouse and Bor¬ 
deaux, and exports plums, brandy, hemp, flax, and poultry. 
Close by it is the old-fashioned house in which Joseph 
Scaliger, the prince of scholiasts, was born. In ancient 
times A. was the scene of many a martyrdom of the Chris¬ 
tians, when it was under the rule of Roman praetors. After¬ 
ward it suffered almost incredible miseries of war during 


AGENCY—AGENNESIS. 

the barbaric irruption from Germany, having been taken 
and plundered by Goths, Vandals, and Huns, in turn. Next 
it came under the thraldom of the English, in their early 
French wars, and later was twice taken by the Huguenots, 
in the religious contests of the 16th c. Pop. (1891) 19,720. 

AGENCY, n. ajen-si [F. agence —from mid. L. agentia, 
the power of doing—from L. agens or agen'tem, acting, 
doing (see Act)]: the exerting of power; action; the busi¬ 
ness or office of an agent. Agent, n. a'jent, the person or 
thing that exerts power; one intrusted with the business of 
another.— Syn. of ‘agency’: operation; performance; act; 
action; instrumentality; management;—of ‘agent’: factor; 
broker; substitute; deputy. 

AGENDA, n. d-jen'da [plu. of agendum , L. a thing to 
be done—from ago , I move, lead, do]: thing to be done; 
duty; business items to be presented for action before a 
committee, board, or other meeting; matters of religious 
practice, as distinguished from credenda , matters of belief. 

AGENESIS, n. d-jen e-sis [Gr. a, priv.; genesis, genera¬ 
tion]: in physiol ., absence of parts or imperfect development 
of parts. 

AGENIA, n. d-je-ni'a [Gr. a, priv.; geneion, beard]: in 
entomol., genus of hymenopterous spider-wasps, belonging 
to the family Pompiliidce, with smooth legs. In their mud 
nests, which they build beneath logs or under the bark of 
trees, the females lay up for their young store of spiders. 

AGENNESIS, n. aj-e-nesis [Gr. a, priv., genesis , gen¬ 
dering]: impotence; sterility; failure of power of reproduc¬ 
tion. Agennetic, a. dj-e-net' ik, characterized by sterility 
or impotence. 



AGENT—AGES. 

AGENT: one who is authorized or delegated to transact 
business for another (who in this relation is called his prin¬ 
cipal or constituent) in whose place he comes, and who is 
bound by his acts in the business to which the agency ex¬ 
tends. The appointment of an A. may either be general , 
having reference to all the principal’s affairs, or special , 
concerning some particular object. It may further be 
limited by instructions as to the conduct he is to pursue, or 
unlimited, in which case his conduct is left to his own dis¬ 
cretion. Even in the last case, however, the A. is not freed 
from all responsibility for hie conduct; he is bound to do his 
best for his employer, and he ought not to accept or retain 
the agency unless competent to its performance. See Prin¬ 
cipal and A cent: also Factor: Broker: Commissioner: 
Commission Merchant: Attorneys. 

AGERATUM, n. a jer'd-tum [Gr. a, without; geras, old 
age]: a genus of composite plants, one of the species A „ 
mexicanum, being a well known occupant of the flower- 
border, with densely clustered lavender-blue capitules— 
genus so named because its flowers continue for a long 
time. 

AGES: designating the epochs of civilization in the his¬ 
tory of the human race. The old poets and philosophers 
described these in harmony with w r hat they conceived to 
have been the moral and political condition of their ances¬ 
tors. The idea of a succession of A. presented itself at a 
very early period to the Greek mind. The life of the race 
was likened to that of the individual—hence the infancy of 
the former might easily be imagined to be, like that of the 
latter, the most beautiful and serene of all. Hesiod men¬ 
tions five A.—the golden, simple and patriarchal; the silver, 
voluptuous and godless; the brazen, warlike, wild, and 
violent; the heroic, an aspiration towards the better; the 
iron, in which justice, piety, and faithfulness had vanished 
from the earth, the time in which Hesiod fancied that he 
himself lived. Ovid closely imitates the old Greek except in 
one particular—he omits the heroic age. This idea, at first 
perhaps a mere poetic comparison, gradually worked its way 
into prose, and finally became a portion of scientific philoso¬ 
phy. These A. were regarded as the divisions of the great 
world-year, which would be completed when the stars and 
planets had performed a revolution round the heavens, after 
which destiny would repeat itself in the same series of 
events. Thus mythology was brought into connection with 
astronomy. The golden age was said to be governed by 
Saturn; the silver, by Jupiter; the brazen, by Neptune, and 
the iron by Pluto. Many curious calculations were entered 
into by ancient writers to ascertain the length of the heavenly 
year and its various divisions. The greatest discrepancy 
prevailed, as might naturally be expected; some maintain¬ 
ing that it was 3,000, and others, as many as 18,000 solar 
years. The Sibylline books compared it to the seasons of 
the solar year, calling the golden age the spring, etc., and 
on the completion of the cycle, the old order was re¬ 
newed. The idea of a succession of A. is so natural, 
that it has inwrought itself into the religious convio 


AGESILAUS—AGGRANDIZE. 

tions of almost all nations. It is sanctioned by Scripture, 
for it is symbolically adopted in the Apocalypse to a certain 
extent; it also manifests itself in the sacred books of the In¬ 
dians. Modern philosophy, at least in Germany and France, 
has also attempted to divide human history into definite A. 
or periods. Fichte numbers five, of which he conceives 
that we are in the third; Hegel and Auguste Comte reckon 
three, placing us in the last. The course of history, how¬ 
ever, proceeds in quiet indifference to all metaphysical dog¬ 
matism.—See Bronze, Age of. 

AGESILAUS, a-jes-i-ld'us, king of Sparta, b.c. 443-360: 
(399-360): elevated to the throne, 399, chiefly by the exertions 
of Lysander. Being called upon by the Ionians to assist 
them against Artaxerxes, he began a splendid campaign in 
Asia; but was compelled by the Corinthian war, in w 7 hich 
several of the Grecian states were allied against Sparta, to 
leave his conquest over the Persians incomplete, and return 
to Greece. At Chseronea, b.c. 394, he gained a victory 
over the allied forces, and in 378 the war was concluded by 
a treaty of peace in favor of Sparta. Afterwards, in the 
Theban war, though hard pressed by Pelopidas and 
Epaminondas, he bravely and ably defended his country. 
A. is described as of small stature but commanding aspect, 
blameless in his private character, and, in public life, just, 
as far as his partiality for his own country allowed. His 
biographers are Xenophon. Plutarch, and Cornelius Nepos. 

AGG, v. dg [from nag, in the sense of gnaw: Icel. nagga, 
to gnaw r : Swed. nagga , to gnaw, to irritate]: in OE., to 
provoke; to dispute. Agg'ing, imp. Agged, pp. agd. 
See Egg 2. 

AGGLOMERATE, v. dg-glbm'er-at [L. agglomerdtus, 
collected in a body—from ad, glomerb, I wind round; 
glomus, a ball of thread]: to wind to or on; to gather into a 
mass; to grow into a mass: Adj. heaped together: N. in 
geoK, a term employed to designate accumulations of an¬ 
gular fragments of rocks thrown up by volcanic eruptions. 
Agglom era ting, imp. Agglom erated, pp. Agglom¬ 
eration, n. dg-glbm er-d'shun, the state of being gathered 
into a mass or ball. 

AGGLUTINATE, v. dg-glbt'in-dt [F. agglntiner, to ^lr\s 
together—from L. agglutinatus, fastened to, attached to— 
from L. ad, glut'mo, I glue]: to glue on to; to unite or 
cause to adhere. Agglijt ina ting, imp. Agglut ina ted, 
pp. Agglut'inant, a. uniting parts, as with glue: N. 
that which causes adhesion. Agglutination, n. dg-glot - 
i-nd'shun, the act of uniting by a tenacious substance. 
Agglutinative, a. dg-glot'i-nd'tiv, tending to or causing 
union; applied to languages whose compounds and in¬ 
flections are formed by the apposition of words without 
fusion or alteration: see Philology. 

AGGRANDIZE, v. ag'grdn-diz' [F. aggrandissant, in¬ 
creasing, augmenting—from L. ad, grandis, great—lit., to 
make greater]: to exalt; to raise to wealth, honor, or power. 
Ag'grandi'zlng, imp. Aggrandized, pp. dg'grdndiad'- 


A GCtR ATE—AGHMAT. 

Aggrandizer, n. ag'gran-dizer , one who exalts. Aggran¬ 
dizement, n. ug'grdn-diz nunt, the making greater in 
power, wealth, or honor.—S yn. of ‘ aggrandize’: to exalt; 
enlarge; improve; increase; augment; promote; advance. 

AGGRATE, v. dg-grat' IL. ad, grains, pleasing, agree¬ 
able]: in OE., to please. Aggra'ting, imp. Aggrated, 
pp. dg-gra'ted. 

AGGRAVATE, v. ag'gra-mt [F. aggraver, to make 
worse: L. aggrdvdtus, made heavy—from ad, gravis, heavy]: 
to add to or increase the weight; to make anything worse or 
Jess endurable. Ag grava ting, imp. Ag gravated, pp. 
Aggravation, n. dg'grd-vd'shun, a making worse; what 
excites anger or emotion.— Syn. of ‘aggravate’: to ex 
aggerate; magnify; heighten; raise; increase; exasperate; 
irritate; provoke;—of ‘aggravation’; provocation; irritation; 
exasperation. 

AGGREGATE, v. dg'gre-gat [L. aggregdtus, gathered 
together as a flock — from grex, a flock: F. agreger, to in¬ 
corporate]: to bring together as a flock; to collect into one 
fum, mass, or body; to accumulate: Adj. formed by a col¬ 
lection of many particulars: N. the sum total; the result of 
many particulars. Aggregating, imp. Ag grega ted, 
pp. * Ag gregately, ad. -II, collectively. Aggregation, 
p. dg'gre-ga’shim, the act of heaping together; a collection. 
Ag'grega'tor, n. one who. Ag grega'tive, a. -tiv, col¬ 
lective. Ag'grega'tively, ad. - li . By aggregation, 
consecutively; with no pause between.—S yn. of ‘ aggre¬ 
gate, v.’: to accumulate; pile; collect. 

AGGRESS, v. dg-gres' [OF. aggresser, to assail, to assault 
--from L. aggressus, gone to, approached, assailed—from 
ad,> gressus, walked or gone— lit. , to go to with hostile in¬ 
tent]: to begin a quarrel or controversy; to commence an 
attack. Aggressing, imp. Aggressed, pp. dg-grest '. 
Aggression, n. ag-gresh'un, the first act leading to a quar- 
ral or dispute. Aggres sor, n. one who first attacks or be¬ 
gins a quarrel. Aggressive, a. dg-gres w, tending to or 
relating to the first attack. Aggres siveness, n. - iv-nes , 
the state or quality of being aggressive.— Syn. of ‘aggres¬ 
sion’: assault; injury; attack; encroachment; invasion. 

AGGRIEVE, v. ag-grev' [OF. agrever; F. grever, to 
aggrieve: F. grief or grieve, grievous: L. aggravate —from 
ad, gravis, heavy— lit., to bear heavily on]: to afflict; to pain 
or injure any one; to injure in one’s right. Aggriev'ing, 
imp. Aggrieved, pp. dg-grevd' . Aggrievance, n. dg- 
grev'dns, injury; wrong; oppression. 

AGHAST, a. or ad. d-gdst' [AS. a; Dan. gyse, to shud¬ 
der at: Meso-Goth. us gaisjan, to make aghast—from geisan, 
to terrify: Scot, gousty, dreary, that causes shuddering]: 
struck with horror; stupefied with sudden fright. J\ T ote.— 
Formerly in OE. spelt Agazed, as if agazing at an object 
of astonishment or horror; latterly confounded with ghostly, 
and so in error an h has been introduced into Aghast: in 
OE.. used as pt. of Agaze. 

AGHMAT, ag-mat', or Aghmet: fortified town of 


AGILA WOOD—AGIS. 

Morocco, cap. of a province, on the left bank of the Enfis, 
a tributary of the Tensift, on the n.w. slope of Mount 
Atlas, 24 miles s. from Morocco. A. is said to have been at 
one time the residence of the Moorish emperor. Pop. 6,000, 
of whom about 1,000 are Jews. 

AGILA WOOD: see Aloes Wood. 

AGILE, a. aj'U [F. agile —from L. agilis, quick—from 
ago , I drive]: nimble; not slow; active. Agilely, ad. 
aj'il-li. Agility, n. a-jU'i ti [F. agilite ]: nimbleness; the 
power of moving quickly: also Agileness, n. dj'il-nes .— 
Syn. of ‘agile’: nimble; alert; active; lively; brisk; quick; 
ready; prompt; sprightly. 

AGINCOURT: see Azincottrt. 

AGIO, n. d'ji-d [F. agio; It. aggio, the rate of exchange, 
a premium]: the difference in accepted value of bank-notes 
and that of current money or coin; the premium charged 
by money-changers. Agiotage, n. dji-o-tdj' , the methods 
employed by speculators in the public funds to lower or 
raise their price by spreading false rumors, etc.; the regula¬ 
tion of rates ruling agio. 

AGIO, d’ji-d: from an Italian word, signifying ‘ac¬ 
commodation’; first used in Italy to denote the premium 
taken by money-changers in giving gold for silver, on ac¬ 
count of the greater convenience of gold for transport. A. 
is now used to denote the difference between the real and 
the nominal value of money; also the variations from fixed 
pars or rates of exchange. It corresponds very nearly to the 
English word ‘ premium.’ 

AGIS, d'jis: name of several kings of Sparta. Mention 
is made of a king A. as early as about b.c. 1000, who sub¬ 
dued the old inhabitants of Sparta, and made the Helots 
vassals or slaves. Of the others, A. I. reigned during the 
greater part of the Peloponnesian war (b.c. 420-397). 
A. II. ascended the throne b.c. 338. His hatred of the 
Macedonian supremacy led him to form alliances with 
several Persian satraps against Alexander the Great. A., 
after extending his conquests to almost all the cities of Pelo¬ 
ponnesus, fell in battle b.c. 330.—A. III. came to the throne 
b.c. 244, when the state of Sparta had fallen into a ruinous 
condition through long-continued war. Though only 20 
years old when he began to reign, he boldly resolved to 
restore the old institutions and severe manners of Sparta; 
but intrigues and self-interest in the higher classes frustrated 
his designs. The riches of the state were now in the hands 
of a few persons, while a great majority of the people were 
in extreme indigence. A., therefore, in accordance with 
the old laws of the state, proposed a redistribution of landed 
estates by lottery. The new ephorus, Agesilaus, who was 
rich in landed property, but burdened with many debts, 
astutely proposed that first all debts should be cancelled, 
and next the lands should be divided. The first part of 
this plan was soon effected; but great hindrances were op¬ 
posed to the carrying out of the remainder. Meanwhile, 
the disappointed people were easilv persuaded that A. had 


AGIST—AGNANO. 

endeavored to introduce measures inimical to the welfare of 
the state. Pursued by his enemies, he fled for refuge to 
a temple, but was betrayed by false friends into the hands 
of the magistrates, who immediately ordered him to be put 
to death by strangulation, b.c. 240. His mother and his 
grandmother, who had favored his measures, were barba¬ 
rously executed in the same manner. Alfieri, the Italian 
poet, wrote a powerful tragedy on the fate of A. III. 

AGIST, v. d-jistl [OF. giste, a place to lie down in; 
agister , to give lodgings to: L. ad, jdced, 1 lie down]: in 
OK., to take in the cattle of others to graze. Agis tor or 
Agistator, n. dj'is-td'ter, one who. Agist'ment, n. the 
profit of cattle pasturing on land; the pasturing of cattle. 

AGITATE, v. aj'i-tdt [L. agitatus, put in constant mo¬ 
tion—from ago, I drive, I move: F. agiter ]: to put into ac¬ 
tive motion; to stir violently; to disturb; to examine and 
discuss with active heat and zeal. Ag'ita'ting, imp. 
Ag'ita'ted, pp. Agitable, a. dj'i-ta-bl. Agitation, n. 
dj'i-td'shun, the putting into violent motion; excitement of 
the mind; the heated or turbulent discussion of a question. 
Agitator, n. dj'i-td'ter, one who rouses or stirs up; a stir¬ 
rer or mixer. Agitative, a. dj'i-td'tiv, having power or 
tendency to agitate.—S yn. of ‘agitate’: to rouse; stir; 
excite; actuate; shake; move; debate; ventilate; discuss; 
canvass; disturb; distract; revolve; consider; deliberate; 
contrive;—of ‘agitation’: trepidation; tremor; emotion; ex¬ 
citement; commotion. 

AGLET, n. dg'let, also Aiglet, n. dg'let [F. aiguillette , 
an aiglet—from aiguille, a needle]: the tag of a point; any 
small object hanging loosely—as a spangle, the anthers of 
a tulip or of grass, or the catkins of a hazel. 

AGLOW, a. d-glo [AS. a, intensive, and glow] very 
warm; red and bright with heat, as the cheeks; glowing. 

AGMINATED. a. ag'min-d-ted [L. agmen, a troop; ag'- 
minis, of a troop]: in close order; aggregated—used only of 
certain glands. 

AGNAIL, n. ag'ndl, also Angnail, n. ang'nal [F. angon- 
aille, a blotch, a pimple: mid. L. anguen and anguendlia, a 
carbuncle, redness]: in OK. , the redness of inflammation; 
a swelling; a corn on the foot. Note. —This word has been 
confused with next entry by a misspelling—see Skeat. 

AGNAIL, n. ag'ndl [AS. a, on; naegel, a nail]: a sore un¬ 
der the nail; a whitlow. Note. —Primarily hangnail, and 
meaning small pieces of partially separated skin about the 
roots of the finorer mils. See Agnail 1. 

AGNANO, dn-yd'no: formerly a small lake near Naples, 
about 60 ft. deep, with no visible outlet. As it was a cause 
of malaria, it was drained 1870. Formerly the lake was 
named Anguiano, from the number of snakes in the neigh¬ 
borhood. On the right of Lake A. lies the Grotto del Cane 
—so called from the stratum of carbonic acid gas, some 
18 inches deep, which alway covers the floor and which 
suffocates a dog {cane) or other small animal taken into 
it—aud on the left are found the natural vapor-baths of 


AGNATE—AGNESI. 

San Germano, used for the cure of gout, rheumatism, etc 
but inferior in virtue to the baths ( Stufe di Nerone) at Baise. 
The volcanoes surrounding the lake have been extinct since 
1198. Further on the left from A. lies the lake of Astroni, 
which occupies the crater of an extinct volcano, and is sur¬ 
rounded by beautiful woodlands. 

AGNATE, a. dg'ndt [L. agnatus, born in addition—from 
ad, ndtus, born: F. agnat, agnate]: paternally related; re¬ 
lated in the male line: N. any descendant by the father’s 
side. Agnation, n. dg-nd'shun, direct descent from the 
same father in the male line. Agnatic, a. dg-ndt'ilc, de¬ 
scent in the male line. 

AGNATE, in Law: a person related through the father,’as 
a cognate is a person related through the mother. In the 
Roman law, both of these terms had a somewhat different 
signification. Agnates, by that system, were persons related 
through males only, while cognates were all those in whose 
connection, though on the father’s side, one or more female 
links intervened. Thus, a brother’s son was his uncle’s A., 
because the propinquity was wholly by males; a sister’s son 
was his cognate, because a female was interposed in that 
relationship. In the United States and in Great Britain the 
intervention of females is immaterial, provided the connec¬ 
tion be on the male, or paternal, side of the house. The 
cause of this change in the meaning of terms manifestly 
borrowed from Roman law, seems to be that in Rome the 
distinction between agnates and cognates was founded on 
an institution not adopted in the Roman sense by any 
modern nation—that of the patria potestas (q.v.). Roman 
agnati arc defined by Hugo to be all those who either were 
actually under the same paterfamilias, or would have been 
so had they been alive; and thus it was that, as no one could 
belong to two different families at the same time, the agna¬ 
tion to the original family was destroyed, and a new agnation 
created, not only by marriage, but by adoption (q.v.). The 
foundation of cognation, again, was a legal marriage. All 
who could trace up their origin to the same marriage were 
cognati; and thus the term cognatus, generally speaking, 
comprehended agnatus. But though an agnatus was thus 
almost-always a cognatus, a cognatus was an agnatus only 
when his relationship by blood was traceable through 
males. Justinian abolished entirely the distinction between 
agnates and cognates. See Succession; Guardian. 

AGNESI, dn-yd'se, Maria Gaetana: 1718-99; b. 
Milan: a woman remarkable for varied attainments. In 
her ninth year she could converse in Latin, and gave a 
lecture in this language, in which she argued that a 
knowledge of the ancient languages was a proper accom¬ 
plishment in women. In her eleventh year she could also 
speak Greek fluently, and subsequently acquired with great 
facility several of the Oriental languages, also French, 
Spanish, and German. This precocious development of in¬ 
tellect was encouraged by her father, who invited parties of 
learned men to his house, with whom Maria disputed on 
philosophical points. Of her discourses in these parties. 


AGNITION—AGNOSTIC. 

her father published some specimens, entitled Propositions 
Philosophic^ (Milan, 1738). After her twentieth year, she 
devoted her mind to the study of mathematics, wrote an 
unpublished treatise on Conic Sections , and published her 
Instituzioni Analitiche (2 vols., Milan, 1748). When her 
father was disabled by infirmity, she took his place as prof, 
of mathematics in the Univ. of Bologna, by the appoint¬ 
ment of Pope Benedict XIV. She at last became a nun, 
and gave the whole of her time to attendance on the poor 
and the afflicted. Maria A. was a remarkable exception to 
the general rule of precocious intellect and short life. 

AGNITION, n. ag-nish'un [L. agnitionem, a knowing— 
from ad. gnosco, I know; notus, known]: acknowledgment 

AGNOMEN - , n. ag-no'men [L. ad, nomen, a name]: a 
name added to one’s usual name. Agnom'ina'tion, n. the 
practice of giving an additional name. 

AGNONft, an-yo'nd : town in s. Italy, province of 
Campobasso, 22 m. n.w. from the town of Campobasso. It 
stands on a hill, and is said to occupy the site of the ancient 
Aquilonia. It is celebrated for its copper works. Pop. 
7,500. 

AGNOSTIC, a. dg-nbs'tik [G. agnostos, not to be known 
or recognized, ignorant of—from a, without, not; gnotos, 
known; gnostos, made known]: member of a Christian 
sect of the 3d and 4th c. which held the opinion that God 
did not know all things; a denial of the Divine omniscience. 
In its modern application A. denotes one who holds that 
God and the absolute, or infinite, or spiritual, cannot be 
known, and that nothing can be known except in the realm 
of experience. Agnosticism, n. ancient heretical tenet 
that God is not omniscient. This term in its present appli¬ 
cation on the suggestion of Prof. Huxley 1869—who, ac¬ 
cording to R. H. Hutton, found its hint in the Apostle 
Paul’s mention of the altar.in Athens ‘to the unknown 
God # —denotes a system of thought whose main character¬ 
istic is that it strictly limits human knowledge to the 
sphere of ‘experience,’ to phenomena, and to the relative; 
and that it denies the possibility of affirming or knowing 
anything as to the infinite, the unconditioned, the absolute; 
as to the existence of God, an immortal life for man, the 
origin of matter, and the essential nature of the ultimate 
cause of things. It differs from Atheism (q.v.) in claim¬ 
ing an attitude of suspended judgment as to the existence 
of God—neither affirming nor denying. Yet, as agnostic¬ 
ism affirms that, on the evidence now existing nothing can 
be known about God, and as it often goes further and 
affirms that God’s existence must forever remain unknow¬ 
able, it manifestly tends constantly to shade through vary¬ 
ing degrees intosomedevelopment of Atheism. Positivism 
(q.v.) has affinities with agnosticism; and Secularism (q.v.) 
is distinctly agnostic. Likewise Evolutionism is in some 
of its forms agnostic; though not essentially so, since many 
evolutionists are strong theists. See Theism: Evolution 
Theory: Conditioned, The Philosophy of the: etc 


AGNUS-DEI—AGOUTI. 

AGNUS-DEI, dg'nus-del [L. the Lamb of God]: the 
name given to a certain prayer used in the Roman 
Catholic service of Mass. The litanies generally conclude 
with the same prayer: ‘ O Lamb of God, that takest away 
the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.'—The figure 
of the Saviour under the form of a lamb bearing a staff- 
head with a cross, and having the head surrounded with a 
nimbus, stamped upon an oval of wax, silver, or gold, is 
also styled an A. D., —the reference being to Jno. i. 29. 
Such medals have been consecrated by the popes since the 
th 14 c., and are generally distributed among the faithful 
on the first Sunday after Easter. In the ancient church, 
candidates for baptism received similar medals of wax, and 
wore them as amulets. See Amulet. In the Greek Church, 
the cloth which covers the cup in the communion service 
bears the image of a lamb, and is styled the A. D. 

AGO, ad. d-gd' [OE. ygo or ygon, gone away, passed —by 
y being the OE. augment of the pp., and in Ger. ge\: time 
gone by; past. Agoing, ad. d-go'ing, in or into action. 
Agone, ad. d-gdn ', past and gone. Note.— It is also said 
-that ago is from OE. agon, to go away, to pass by: AS. 
agdn, to pass away. 

AGOG, ad. d-gog' [Icel. d, gcegium, on the watch or look¬ 
out; gcegjask, agog; It. agogrmre, to long for, to aspire to]: 
excited with expectation; ready to start or jog in pursuit of 
an object of desire. All agog, all eager. 

AGONIC, a. dg-dn'lk [Gr. agonos, without angle]: that 
does not form an angle Agonic line, line connecting 
all points ou the globe where the magnetic needle coin¬ 
cides with (therefore does not make an angle with) the geo¬ 
graphical meridian. 

AGONIZE, v. dg'd-nlz [F. agonie, struggle against death, 
agony: mid. L. agonis'ta, a soldier—from Gr. and L. agonia, 
a contest, anguish of mind— lit.*, to enter into a struggle for 
life]: to suffer extreme pain or’anguish; to distress exceed¬ 
ingly. Ag'oni'zing, imp.: Adj. causing extreme pain. 
Agonized', pp. -nizd': Adj. suffering extreme pain, 
Ag'oni'zingly, ad. -II. Agony, n. dg'o-ni, extreme paiil 
or anguish, either of body or mind. Agonist, n. dig'b-nist, 
also Agonistes, n. dg'b-nis'tez, one who contends for the 
prize in public games. Agonistic, a. dg'o-ms'tik, or 
Ag'onis'tical, a. -ti-kbl, pertaining to contests of strength. 
Ag'onis'tically, ad. -li.— Syn. of ‘agony’: pain; anguish: 
suffering; pang; torment: distress; throe. 

AGORA, n. dg'5-rd [Gr.]: assembly; same as the Roman 
Forum (q.v.). In most Grecian cities, it was the common 
resort for social and political purposes, and for public 
traffic, A. was also the name for the popular assemblies 
convened by proclamation through a herald. 

AG03TA, d-gos'td, or Augusta, oio-gds'ta: fortified city 
of Sicily, 12 m. n. of Syracuse; on a peninsula in the Med¬ 
iterranean. It has been thrice sacked or destroyed in war, 
and one-third of the inhabitants perished in an earth¬ 
quake 1663. Pop. 12,500. 

AGOUTI, a-gd ti {Dasyprocta Agouti): a small quadruped 





Agouti. 


AGRA. 

nearly allied to the Cavy or Guinea pig, very abundant in 
x)/ne parts of the 
West Indies and 
of S. Amer. It is 
often very injuri¬ 
ous to the fields of 
sugar-cane. It is 
gregarious. Its 
flesh resembles 
that of the hare 
or rabbit. Other 
species are found 
in the same re¬ 
gions, and even in 
the colder parts 
of S. Amer. The Pampas Hare is Dasyprocta Patachonica. 

AGRA, d'grd: a British dist. in the lieut.-governorship of 
the n.w. Provinces of India; bounded n. and e. by the districts 
of Muttra, Minpooree, and Etawah, s. and w. by the terri¬ 
tories of Dhortpore, Gwalior, and Bhurtpore; 1*845 sq. m. 
The surface is mostly very level, the principal elevation of 
the Futtehpore Sikri hills, a sandstone range on the w. 
frontier, being about 700 ft. The principal rivers are the 
Jumna—flowing along the n.e. frontier, and its tributary 
the Chumbul (along the s. boundary), both of which are too 
deep in the channel to be of much avail for irrigation. The 
district generally is, in consequence, deficient in water; and 
the failure of the rains in some seasons (as in 1837-8) has 
been followed by severe famine. The temperature has a 
wide range, being during the hot winds of April, May, and 
June, so high that the city of A. is scarcely habitable by 
Europeans, whereas in January, severe frosts occur at night, 
though the thermometer at mid day is high. The most im¬ 
portant commercial product is cotton, which generally occu¬ 
pies about a tenth of the arable land. There are two crops 
yearly—the spring crop, consisting of various grains (wheat, 
barley, oats, etc.), leguminous plants, flax, tobacco, etc.; the 
autumnal crop of maize, mung, moth, melons, etc. The 
cultivation of rice is very limited, owing to the want of 
water. Pop. nearly 1,000,000, of whom 100,000 are Mo¬ 
hammedans, Europeans, etc., the rest Hindus. Of the 
Hindu population, about two-thirds are agricultural; of the 
rest about one-fourth.—The ‘division’ of A., which consti¬ 
tutes one of seven in the n.w. Provinces, embraces the dis¬ 
tricts of A., Muttra, Furruckabad, Minpooree, Etaw r ah, and 
Etali; 10,151 sq. m.; Pop. about 5,000,000. See North¬ 
western Provinces. Till 1862, the city of A. was the 
seat of the lieut.-gov., from which circumstance that 
functionary was sometimes called the lieut.-gov. of A. 

AGRA; city in the British n.w. Provinces in India, in 
the dist. of the same name, on the right bank of the Jumna, 
139 m. s.e. from Delhi, and 783 n.w. from Calcutta. The 
ancient walls of the city embrace an area of about 11 sq. m., 
of which about one-half is at present occupied. The houses 
are mostly built of the red sandstone of the neighboring hills. 


PLATE 5 


Agnus Dei 
Air-gun 



Agnus Dei that belonged to Charle- 
i- (t j,gne. (From Aix-la-Chapelle Cathe- 
o«al.) 



s 

Air-Engine. 





iRilllllii 




The Taj Mahal, in Agra India. 



Air-cells in Gulf- 

weed (Sargassum 

vulgare). 


vF"eu a photograph by Frith.) 



Ailettes. 









































AGRA. 

The principal street, running n.w. from the fort, is very 
spacious, but the rest are generally narrow and irregular, 
though clean. Some of the public buildings, monuments 
of the house of Timour, are on a scale of striking magnifi¬ 
cence. Among these are the fortress built by Akbar, within 
the walls of which are the palace and audience-hall of Shah 
Jehan, and the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque, so called for 
its surpassing architectural beauty. Still more celebrated is 
the Taj Mahal, situated without the city, about a mile to the 
e. of the fort. This extraordinary and beautiful mausoleum 
was built by the Emperor Shah Jehan for himself and his 
favorite wife, Arjimand Banoo (surnamed Mumtaz Mahal); 
20,000 men, says Tavernier, who saw the work in progress, 
were employed incessantly on it for 22 years. The principal 
parts of the building are constructed or overlaid outside and 
in with white marble; and the mosaic work of the sepulchral 
apartment and dome is described by various travellers in 
terms of glowing admiration. It is composed of twelve 
kinds of stones, of which lapis-lazuli is the most frequent, 
as well as the most valuable. Of British edifices in and near 
the city, the principal are the Government House, the Col¬ 
lege (for the education of natives), the Metcalfe Testimonial, 
the English Church, and the barracks. The climate at A., 
during the hot and rainy seasons (April to Sept ), is very in¬ 
jurious to Europeans; but on the whole, the average health 
of the city is equal to that of any other station in the n.w. 
Provinces. A. is fortified and has a garrison; there is a 
military station in the neighborhood of the city. As admin¬ 
istrative centre of its district, and of the large * divison ’ to 
which it gives name, A. is a place of great importance. 
Pop. (1901) 188,022. The principal articles of trade are 
cotton and salt, conveyed in large quantities down the 
Jumna to the lower provinces. This city is held in great 
veneration by the Hindus, as the scene of the incarnation of 
Vishnu under the name of Parasu Rama. It first rose to 
importance in the beginning of the 16th c., and, 1526-1658, 
it was the capital of the Mogul sovereigns. In that year, 
Aurungzebe removed to Delhi; thereafter A. declined. It 
was taken in 1784 by Scindia, and surrendered, 1808, to 
Lord Lake, after a bombardment of a few hours. Among 
the spoils on that occasion was a cannon of 23 inches cali¬ 
bre, lli inches metal at the muzzle; length, 14 ft. 2 inches; 
weight, 96,000 pounds. The balls, of cast iron, weighed 1,500 
pounds. This stupendous piece of ordnance is said to have 
been wantonly reduced to fragments by blasting by some 
artillery-officers in 1833. (Thornton’s Gazetteer of India.) 
During the mutiny, 1857, A. was one of the places in which 
the Europeans were shut up. At the outbreak, the garrison 
consisted of the 44th and 67th regiments of B. N. Infantry, 
the 3d European Fusileers, and a few artillery. The native 
regiments were disarmed 1857, June; and the defense of 
this important city devolved upon the Europeans. The 
ladies resorted at night to places of refuge appointed by the 
governor, while the gentlemen patrolled the streets; but 
matters growing worse both in the city and country, it was 
resolved, after a battle with the mutineers, to abandon the 


AGRAM—AGRARIAN. 

city and retire to the fort or residency. It was time; for 
some thousands of prisoners getting loose, began to fire all 
the European buildings in the city. Hardly a house escaped 
destruction; numbers of traders were mined, and had to 
endure the misery of beholding their ruin from the fort. 
As the fort was both large and strongly defended, fugitives 
flocked in from all parts of the country,and the numbers soon 
swelled to 5,846. Heroic sallies were occasionally made. 
Major Montgomery’s march to Allygurh, and his defeat of 
the rebels, though twenty times as numerous, was a feat 
worthy of Havelock. When Delhi fell, its rabble of defend¬ 
ers hurried off in the direction of A., which place was seri¬ 
ously threatened by them, but was relieved by the rapid and 
brilliant march of Colonel Greathed, who discomfited the 
enemy, and despoiled them of nearly all their baggage. 

AGRAM, 6!gram or bg'rom: cap. of the Austrian ‘ king¬ 
dom ’ of Croatia and Slavonia; at the foot of a richly 
wooded range of mountains, about 2 m. from the Save. It 
is divided into three parts—the upper town, built upon two 
eminences; the lower town; and the episcopal town. The 
cathedral, built in the 15tli c., is one of the finest Gothic 
buildings in Austria. The inhabitants are principally Croats, 
who trade in wood and corn, and manufacture tobacco and 
leather. Repeated and violent shocks of earthquake, 1880, 
Nov., felt throughout great part of Croatia, Dalmatia, 
Servia, and other parts of Austria and Hungary, destroyed 
most of the public buildings of A., overthrew 200 houses, 
and caused great loss and distress. Further shocks were 
felt at various dates in Dec., and in 1881, Jan. The 
lower town is the newest and finest in appearance. A. is 
the place of meeting of the provincial diet. It has a uni, 
versity (since 1874) and a public library. Pop. (1880) 
28,860; (1890) 37,369; (1900) 61,002. 

AGRAMMATISM, n. a-gram' a-tizm [Gr. a , without; 
gramma , a writing]: form of brain-disease in which the 
patient, though not ignorant of grammatical rules, is 
unable to speak or write grammatically. 

AGRAPHA, ag'ra-fd [Gr. agraphos, unwritten; pin. 
neut. agrapha , things or words unwritten]: name given 
specially to sayings of Jesus Christ not found in the 
canonical books of the New Test., but preserved by 
oral tradition, and recorded in the writings of Fathers 
and otter early Christian writers, or even passing into 
the general body of Talmudic tradition without sus¬ 
picion of their origin. See Alfred Resch {Agrapha: Aus- 
ser-canonische Evangelienfragmente, 1890), who claims to 
present 139 such extra-canonical sayings. See Logia. 

AGRARIAN, a. d-grd' ri-an [L. agrdrius, pertaining to 
afield—from dger, a field]: relating to land in general. 
Agra'rianism, n. theory of the equal division of land or 
property: theory of radical changes in land tenure, advo¬ 
cating transfer from individual to public ownership; agita¬ 
tion, even to violence, in furthering such views. Agra'- 
RIANIST, n. one who advocates an equal distribution of 
land. Agrarian law, in Roman hist, (see below). 


AGRARIAN LAW. 

AGRARIAN LAW: a term with which was formerly 
a,j6ociated the idea of the abolition of property in land, or at 
least of a new distribution of it. This notion of the A. laws 
of the Romans was not only the popular one, but was 
also received by the scholars. The French Convention, 
1793, passed a law punishing with death any one who 
should propose an A. L., understanding by the term an 
equal division of the soil among all citizens. Now, it would 
have been strange if the Romans, with whom private prop¬ 
erty was so sacred, could ever have been brought to sanction 
any measure of the kind. The German scholars Heyne, 
Savigny, and especially Niebuhr, first explained the true 
nature and character of the Roman A. laws. There are 
still some disputed points on this matter, but one thing 
seems made out—that those laws had no reference to private 
lands held in absolute property, but to public or state lands. 

As the dominion of Rome extended, a portion more or 
less of each conquered territory was confiscated to the state, 
and became public domain. All laws respecting the dis¬ 
position of these lands were called A. laws; which are 
therefore of various kinds. What caused these laws to be 
so long mistaken for an interference with private rights, 
and excited such opposition to them at the time, was the 
use which was made of the public domains while unap¬ 
propriated. ‘ It was the practice at Rome,’ says Dr. Arnold, 

‘ and doubtless in other states of Italy, to allow individuals 
to occupy such lands, and to enjoy all the benefits of them, 
on condition of paying to the state the tithe of the produce, 
as an acknowledgment that the state was the proprietor of 
the land, and the individual merely the occupier. Now, 
although the land was undoubtedly the property of the 
state, and although the occupiers of it were in relation to 
the state mere tenants-at-will, yet it is in human nature that 
a long undisturbed possession should give a feeling of owner¬ 
ship; the more so as, while the state’s claim lay dormant, 
the possessor was, in fact, proprietor, and the land would 
thus be repeatedly passing by regular sale from one occu¬ 
pier to another.’ 

The state, however, was often obliged to interfere with 
these occupiers of the public lands, and resume its rights. 
The very idea of a citizen, in ancient times, involved that 
of a landholder, and when new citizens were to be admitted, 
they had each to receive their portion out of the unallotted 
public domain; which was attended, of course, with the 
ejection of the tenants-at-will. It appears, also, that the right 
to enjoy the public lands in this temporary way was con¬ 
fined to the old burghers or patricians. This, taken in con¬ 
junction with the tendency, strong at all times, of larger 
possessions to swallow up smaller, kept up an ever-increas¬ 
ing number of landless commons, whose destitution and 
degradation came from time to time to such a pitch, that 
alleviation was necessary, to prevent the very dissolution 
of the state. It is easy, however, to see what motive the 
patricians, as a body, had to oppose all such measures, since 
it was their interest, though not then* right, to keep the 
lands unallotted. 


AGRARIAN LAW. 

The enactment ot Agrarian la w« occasioned some of the 
most memorable straggles in the internal history of Rome. 
Most of the kings of Rome are said to have carried an A. 
L., that is, to have divided a portion of the public land 
among those whom they admitted to the rights of citizen¬ 
ship. ‘ The good king/ Servius Tullius, may be looked 
upon as the first victim of the hostility of the nobles to 
Agrarian laws. About twenty-four years after the expulsion 
of the Tarquins, the distress of the commons called aloud 
for remedy, and the consul, Spurius Cassius, proposed an 
A. L. for a division of a certain proportion of the public land, 
and for enforcing the regular payment of the rent or tithe 
from the occupiers of the remainder. The aristocracy, 
however, contrived to defeat the proposal, and when the 
year of his consulship was out, Cassius was accused of try¬ 
ing to make himself king, was condemned, scourged, and 
beheaded, and his house razed to the ground. 

The first important A. L. of a permanent nature actually 
passed was that proposed by the tribune Licinius Stolo, 
and carried, after a struggle of five years, in the year of 
Rome 383. The provisions of Licinius’s bill, or rogation , 
were as follows: ‘ Every Roman citizen shall be entitled to 
occupy any portion of the unallotted state land not exceed¬ 
ing 500 jugera (see Acre), and to feed on the public pasture- 
land any number of cattle not exceeding 100 head of large, 
or 500 head of small, paying in both cases the usual rates to 
the public treasury. Whatever portions of the public land 
beyond 500 jugera are at present occupied by individuals, 
jhall be taken from them, and distributed among the poorer 
citizens as absolute property, at the rate of seven jugera 
apiece. Occupiers of public land shall also be bound to em¬ 
ploy a certain number of freemen as laborers.’ 

This law produced for a time very salutary effects. But 
before 621, when Tiberius Gracchus was elected tribune, the 
Licinian law had fallen into abeyance; and although vast 
tracts had been acquired by the Italian, the Punic, and the 
Greek wars, no regular distribution of land among the des* 
titute citizens had taken place for upwards of a century. 
Numerous military colonies had indeed been founded in the 
conquered districts, and in this way many of the poorer 
Romans or their allies had been provided for; but still there 
remained large territories, the property of the state, which, 
instead of being divided among the poorer members of the 
state, were entered upon, and brought into cultivation, by the 
rich capitalists, many of whom thus came to hold thousands 
of jugera, instead of the five hundred allowed by the Licinian 
law. To a Roman statesman, therefore, looking on the one 
hand to the wretched pauper population of'the meaner 
streets of Rome, and on the other, to the enormous tracts of 
the public land throughout Italy which the wealthy citizens 
held in addition to their own private property, the question 
which would naturally present itself was—Why should not 
the state, as landlord, resume from these wealthy capitalists, 
who are her tenants, as much of the public land as may 
be necessary to provide little farms for these pauper citizens, 
and so convert them into respectable and independent agri- 


AGREE. 

culturists? This question must have presented itself to 
many; but there were immense difficulties in the way. Not 
only had long possession of the state lands, and the expendi¬ 
ture of large sums in bringing them into cultivation, given 
the wealthy tenants a sort of proprietary claim upon them, 
but in the course of generations, during which estates had 
been bought, sold, and inherited, the state lands had become 
so confused with private property, that in many cases it was 
impossible to distinguish between the two. Notwithstand¬ 
ing these difficulties, Tiberius Gracchus had the boldness to 
propose an A. L., to the effect, that every father of a family 
might occupy 500 jugera of the state land for himself, and 
250 jugera additional for each of his sons; but that in every 
case where this amount was exceeded, the state should 
resume the surplus, paying the tenant a price for the build 
ings, etc., which he had been at the expense of erecting on the 
lands thus lost to him. The recovered lands were then to 
be distributed among the poor citizens; a clause being in¬ 
serted in the bill to prevent these citizens from selling the 
lands thus allotted to them, as many of them would have 
been apt to do. 

According to the laws and constitution of Rome, there 
was nothing essentially unjust in this proposal, which was, 
in private, at least, approved of by some of the most distin¬ 
guished men of the time. The energy of Gracchus carried 
the measure, in spite of the opposition of the aristocratic 
party, whose vengeance, however, could only be satisfied 
with the assassination of Gracchus and his brother. See 
Gracchus. The attempts to carry out the ‘ Sempronian 
law,’ as it was called, were attended with great difficulties, 
and although not formally repealed, it continued to be 
evaded and rendered inoperative. Various Agrarian laws 
were subsequently passed; some by the victorious aristocratic 
party, in a spirit directly opposed to the Licinian and Sem¬ 
pronian laws. 

Besides Agrarian laws having for their object the division 
among the commons of public lands usurped by the nobles, 
there were others of a more partial and local nature, for the 
establishment of colonies in particular conquered districts; 
these naturally met with less opposition. Still more differ¬ 
ent were those violent appropriations of territory made by 
the victorious military leaders in the latter times of the re* 
public, in order to reward their soldiers, and establish exclu¬ 
sively military colonies. In these the private rights of pre¬ 
vious occupants were often disregarded. 

AGREE, v. d-gre' [F. agreer , to receive with favor—from 
d gre, favorably—from L. gratus, pleasing: Sp. agradar; 
It. aggradire, to please, to gratify]: to be mutually pleasing 
to; to be of one mind; to live in peace; to be like; to settle; 
to be beneficial to in its effects. Agreeing, imp. Agreed', 
pp. Agreeable, a. a-gre'a-bl, pleasing; suitable to; in 
conformity w r ith. Agree'ably, ad. -bli, in a manner to 
give pleasure. Agree'ableness, n. -bl-nes, the quality 
that makes a thing grateful to the taste or pleasing to the 
mind; resemblance. Agree'ment, n. a bargain; a renewav 
of friendship.—S yn. of ‘agree’: tc accord; suit; coincide, 


AGRICOLA. 

concur, assent, acquiesce; comfort; benefit; tally with; bar* 
monize with; answer to; correspond with; comply with; 
consent; accede;—of ‘agreeable’: pleasant; pleasing;—of 
‘agreement’: a contract; covenant; compact; bargain; con¬ 
cord; resemblance; stipulation. 

AGRICOLA, a-grik'o-la; Gnaeus or Cneius Julius: 
37-92; b. Forum Julii (now Frejus in Provence): a Roman 
of the imperial times, distinguished not less by his great 
abilities as a statesman and a soldier than by the beauty or 
his private character. Having served with distinction in 
Britain, Asia,and Aquitania, and gone through the round ox 
civil offices, he was in 77 elected consul, and in the follow¬ 
ing year went as governor to Britain—the scene of his mili¬ 
tary and civil administration during the next seven years. 
He was the first Roman general who effectually subdued tho 
island, and the only one who displayed as much genius and 
success in training the inhabitants to the amenities of civili¬ 
zation as in breaking their rude force in war. In his seventh 
and last campaign, 84, his decisive victory over the Cale¬ 
donians under Galgacus, at a place called Mo ns Graupius, 
established the Roman dominion in Britain to some distance 
n. of the Forth. After this campaign, his fleet circumnavi¬ 
gated the coast, for the first time, discovering Britain to be 
an island. Among the works executed by A. during his 
administration, were a chain of forts between the Solway 
and the Tyne, and another between the Clyde and Forth. 
Numerous traces of his operations are still to be found in 
Anglesey and n. Wales, and in Galloway, Fife, Perthshire, 
and Angus. The news of A.’s successes inflamed the jeal¬ 
ousy of Domitian, and he was speedily recalled. Thence¬ 
forth he lived in retirement; and when the vacant procon- 
sulships of Asia and Africa lay within his choice, he pru¬ 
dently declined promotion. The jealousy of the emperor, 
however, is supposed to have hastened his death at the early 
age of 55. His life, by his son-in-law Tacitus, has always 
been regarded as one of the choicest specimens of biography 
in literature. 

AGRICOLA, John (true name, Schnitteror Schneider, also 
called Magister Islebius and John Eisleben, after the name 
of his native town): 1492-1560: was one of the most zealous 
founders of Protestantism. Having studied at Wittenberg 
and Leipsic, he was sent, 1525, by Luther, who highly ap¬ 
preciated his talents and learning, to Frankfort-on the-Main, 
to institute there, at the desire of the magistrates, the Prot¬ 
estant worship. On his return, he resided as a teacher and 
preacher in his native town of Eisleben, till 1536. In 1537, 
he became a professor at Wittenberg, where the Antinomian 
controversy, already begun between him and Luther and 
Melanchthon, broke out openly. See Antinomianism. The 
troubles in which he was thus involved obliged him to 
Withdraw, 1538, to Berlin, where he was reduced to extreme 
want, and was thus induced to make a recantation, never 
altogether sincere. He then found a protector in the Elector 
John of Brandenburg who appointed him preacher to the 
court and general superintendent. He made great exertions 



AGRICOLA. 

for the spread of the Protestant doctrine in the Brandenburg 
states; hut ere his death, at Berlin, he had become as much 
hated for his share in the drawing up of the Augsburg 
Interim (q.v.), as he had formerly been for his Antinomian 
opinions. Besides his numerous theological writings, his 
country possesses a truly national work of his entitled Die 
Gemeinen Deutschen Sprilchworter mit Hirer auslegung 
(Common German Proverbs, with their Explanation). The 
patriotic feeling, pure morals, and pithy language of this 
book, have given it a place among the first German works 
of that age. 

AGRICOLA, Rudolphus: 1443-85; b. Baflo, near Gro¬ 
ningen: one of the most learned and remarkable men of the 
15th c., and a chief instrument in transplanting the taste for 
literature, just revived in Italy, into his native country of 
Germany. His name was properly Rolef Huysmann (i.e., 
houseman or husbandman), which was latinized by him 
into A., after the usage of the time. He was also called 
Frisius, and Rudolph of Groningen, from his native place, 
and sometimes Rudolph of Ziloha, from the monastery of 
Silo, where he spent some time. Having been first a dis¬ 
ciple of Thomas a Kempis at Zwolle, he went to Louvain, 
then to Paris, thence to Italy, where, during 1476-77, he 
attended the lectures of the most celebrated men of his 
age. Here he entered into a close friendship with Dalberg, 
afterward Bishop of Worms. He was the first German who 
distinguished himself in Italy in public speaking and lectur¬ 
ing, and this he did, not only by his erudition, but by the 
elegance of his language and the correctness of his pronun¬ 
ciation. He likewise acquired reputation as an accom¬ 
plished musician, and his pieces were popular throughout 
Italy. On his return to Germany, he endeavored, in con¬ 
nection with several of his former co-disciples and friends, 
among whom were Alexander Hegius and Rudolphus 
Lange, to promote a taste for literature and eloquence in 
Germany. Several cities of Holland vainly strove with 
each other to obtain his presence by offering him public 
functions; but not even the brilliant overtures made to him 
by the court of the emperor Maximilian I., to which he had 
repaired in connection with affairs of the town of Gronin¬ 
gen, could induce him to renounce his independence. At 
length yielding, 1483, to the solicitations of Dalberg, chan¬ 
cellor to the Elector Palatine and Bishop of Worms, he 
established himself in the Palatinate, where he sojourned 
alternately at Heidelberg and Worms, dividing his time 
between private studies and public lectures, and enjoying 
high popularity. He distinguished himself also as a painter, 
and at the age of 40 set with ardor to learn Plebrew, in order 
to study theology. He went again, 1484, with Dalberg into 
Italy, and died shortly after his return to Germany. His fame 
rests chiefly on his personal influence. His compositions, 
which are written in Latin, are neither so numerous nor so 
important as those of many his learned contemporaries. The 
first nearly complete edition of them was that published by 
Alard (2 vols., Cologne, 1539). Consult Tresling, Vita ei 
Merita E. A. (Groningen, 18301 
Vol. 1—10 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 

AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY: that branch of 
chemical science which treats of the composition of soils 
and manures, and of the vegetable and animal substances 
which it is the object of agriculture to produce. See 
Drainage: Irrigation: Manures: Soils, etc. 

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION: comprehensive term, 
now including instruction in chemistry, geology, botany, 
zoology, mechanics, embracing, in short, the science as well 
as the practice of agriculture. The first agricultural school 
was founded by Fellenberg at Hofwyl, Switzerland, 1806. 
His pupils were from the poorest class of peasantry; and 
not less than 3,000 were trained in this school, which 
flourished for 30 years. In France, of several such in¬ 
stitutions supported by the state, the principal one is at 
Grignon, to which an old royal palace with its domain of 
1,185 acres has been given. In 1873 a govt, commission 
was appointed to re-organize the system of agricultural 
education.—In Prussia scarcely a province is without its 
agricultural school and model farm; indeed throughout 
Germany are state educational institutions in which agri¬ 
culture is taught. Also experimental stations have been 
established.—In Britain, A. E. has had little support 
from the govt.; small grants are given to teachers who 
Include A. E. in their course; also to two or three agri¬ 
cultural schools. At three main centres a full curriculum 
in agriculture is provided: Edinburgh Univ.; the Royal 
Agricultural Coll.; Cirencester; and the Coll, of Agricul¬ 
ture, Downton. There are also some important experi¬ 
mental stations.—In Canada, at Guelph Out., is a highly 
successful govt, college and farm, established 1874. 

The first strictly scientific college in the United States 
was the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., 1824, 
and in 1847, the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale Univ. 
was established. The former of these is not in any sense 
agricultural in its teachings, and the latter did not become 
so until 1863; but these two institutions present the be¬ 
ginning of special technological instruction in the 
United States—exception, the U. S. Military and Naval 
Academies (West Point, N. Y., and Annapolis, Md.), 
in which this study was subordinate. Agricultural 
education received its first specific advancement in 
America in 1862, when the law of congress went 
into effect, appropriating ten million acres ol land to the 
several states, in accordance with the number of represen¬ 
tatives from each in congress, for aid in the establishment 
and support of agricultural colleges and schools. This bill 
was contemporary with that establishing the Agricultural 
Department. The appropriation for the purposes set forth 
was at the rate of 30,000 acres to each senator and represen¬ 
tative in congress, to be applied in the states which they 
severally represented. This land was granted with the 
proviso that its income, or all moneys derived from it, 
should be invested in United States or state stocks, or other 
safe security, at not less than five per cent interest, the 
capital to remain intact, and the interest devoted to the pur¬ 
poses set. forth in the act: except that each state was em- 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 

powered to apply a sum not exceeding ten per cent, on the 
amount received to the purchase of land or farms, under 
legislative enactment. The clause in the act descriptive of 
its general purpose, set forth that the interest of the fund 
should be applied by each state ‘ to the endowment, sup¬ 
port, and maintenance of at least one college, where the 
leading object shall be (without excluding other scientific 
and classical studies, anc\ including military tactics) to 
teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture 
and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of 
the states may respectively prescribe, in order to promote 
the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes 
in the several pursuits and professions of life.’ A further 
encouragement to agricultural education was given by the 
Hatch Act of congress, approved 1887 and put in operation 
1888, by which the govt, was bound to appropriate $15,000 
annually to each of the states and territories which have 
established agricultural colleges or agricultural depts. of 
colleges. In several states two or more distinct experi¬ 
ment stations are in operation ; in others the stations have 
several branches under one management. In 1889-90 there 
were 49 main and 16 subordinate stations (65) with about 
400 instructors, and an aggregate revenue of nearly $800,- 
000. During 1889 farmers’ institutes, under the direction 
of state boards of agriculture, state agricultural experi¬ 
ment stations, or the agricultural depts. of state universi¬ 
ties, were held in Ala., Col., Conn., Del., Ill., Ind., Io., 
Ky., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., N. H., N. J., N. Y., N. C., 
O.. Or.. Penn., R. I., S. C., S. D Tex., Vt., W. Va., and 
Wis.—See Agriculture, etc. 

The following tables show (1) the agricultural schools 
and colleges; (2) the agricultural experiment stations in 
the United States 1889-90. 

[There are also in the United States, 43 state, local, and 
individually endowed, schools and collegiate depts. of 
science, mining, engineering, etc., in some of which 
there is agricultural teaching, none of which have been 
endowed with the national land grants; ihe larger num¬ 
ber of these being scientific depts. of universities or col¬ 
legiate institutions, or state or city schools.] 


AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES 1889 - 90 . 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 













AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES 1889 - 90 . — Continued. 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 
























AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 1889-90. 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 


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&SRTCULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 1889-90. — Continued. 


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 
















AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES: Associations for pro¬ 
moting tiie science and practice of agriculture. Early in 
the 18tli c. several societies were formed in France, and 1723 
the Soc. of Improvers of Agriculture in Scotland was estab¬ 
lished. The famous Highland and Agricultural Soc. of 
Scotland was organized 1783, held its first annual meeting 
the following year, and is (1892) a wealthy and efficient or¬ 
ganization. Largely through the influence of Sir John Sin¬ 
clair (q.v.) a Board of Agriculture, receiving government 
assistance, was established 1793. This was dissolved about 
23 years later; but by encouraging the investigations 
of Sir Humphrey Davy (q.v.), and in other ways, it ren¬ 
dered efficient aid to progressive agriculture. The Royal 
Agricultural Soc. of England, established 1838, had 1888 
a membership of over 9,000 and a very large income. 
Many other societies were formed in Great Britain and on 
the Continent previous to 1850, and the number since has 
largely increased. 

The first agricultural society in this country was 
organized in S. C., 1784. The next year, one was 
formed in Philadelphia. N. Y. followed 1791, and Muss. 
1792. An organization of practical farmers, under the 
name Columbian Agricultural Soc., was formed 1809 in 
the Dist. of Columbia, and 1810, May 10, opened at 
Georgetown the first agricultural fair in the United States. 
The first county agricultural fair and cattlesbow was at 
Pittsfield, Mass., 1811, Sep. The various states now have 
their central societies, and county and local organizations 
are very numerous. In Canada there are many societies, 
as in every country in which agriculture has made much 
progress.—A prominent feature of A. S. in this country is 
the annual exhibition, or fair. Premiums are offered for 
the exhibition of the most perfect animals of the various 
classes and breeds, the best specimens of the different 
kinds of grain and vegetables grown in the region, the 
nicest dairy products, the finest fruits and flowers, for 
numerous articles of domestic manufacture and for agri¬ 
cultural implements and machines which in many cases 
are given practical trial on the grounds. A popular speaker 
is usually secured to deliver an address on some subject 
connected with agricultural life or labor. The A. S. also 
hold meetings at which important topics are discussed; 
and the state organizations issue elaborate reports which, 
with much other matter of interest, (e.g. reports of chem¬ 
ists, botanists, and entomologists; results of analyses of 
fertilizers and of experiments in feeding animals and 
growing crops) contain valuable essays on practical and 
scientific agriculture. Many A. S. provide for the holding 
of farmers’ institutes (see Agriculture), and co-operate 
in various ways with the experiment stations in the states 
in which they are located (see Agricultural Education). 
Societies have been formed also to meet the wants of peo¬ 
ple engaged in special lines of agricultural work, such as 
dairying, fruit-growing, bee-keeping, and breeding var¬ 
ious classes of live stock. 

A. S. have exerted a powerful and beneficieut influence 
on farmers and their families. T hey have not only pro- 


AGRICULTURE. 

moted the interests of agriculture in the line of material 
prosperity, but they have also led to marked improvements 
in the appearance of the homes, stimulated the intellect¬ 
ual natures of the farmer and his family, enlarged the 
field of their knowledge and interest, and greatly lessened 
the evils of the isolation which over large regions has 
been the bane of farm life. See Agricultural Educa¬ 
tion: Agriculture, etc. 

AGRICULTURE, n. ag'ri-kul'tur [F. agriculture —from 
L. agriciiltu'rd, agriculture—from L. dger, a field; cultiira, 
tillage]: tilling or working the ground to make it fruitful; 
husbandry. Ag'ricul'tural, a. - tu-rdl , pertaining to the 
tillage of the ground. Ag'ricul'turist, n. one engaged in 
farming; a fai mer. Ag'ricul'turally. ad. -U 

Agriculture is the art of tilling the soil. Its object is the 
production of plants to supply the wants of civilized man. 
In a general sense it includes also the rearing of domestic 
animals. It grows out of the desire of man to secure var¬ 
ious articles, which in an untilled state the earth does not 
produce or else yields in insufficient quantities. The agri¬ 
cultural state is as marked an advance on the nomadic life 
(see Nomad), as that is an improvement on the condition of 
people who depend for their food on the product of the 
chase, which is always precarious and which proves totally 
inadequate to the needs of a large population. 

The prosperity of A. is dependent largely on climatic con¬ 
ditions. In extremely cold countries but few crops can be 
grown, and these give small returns, while in torrid regions 
the heat is so enervating as to make continuous labor im¬ 
possible and the necessity for toil is lessened by the fact 
that nature is there so liberal that an abundance of food 
( an be obtained with very little exertion. The political 
condition of the country in which A. is pursued also exerts 
a strongly modifying influence. Unless there is a strong 
government, farmers will not take the risk of loss to which 
large operations would subject them. The system of land- 
holding also is a prominent factor in determining the con¬ 
dition of A. Where large estates are kept intact for long 
periods, as in England (see Primogeniture), or extreme 
subdivsion of the land is common, as in France, the impedi¬ 
ments to agricultural progress are greater than in a coun¬ 
try, like the United States, in which the size of farms is 
determined by the means aud desires of the purchasers. 
Individual ownership of the land, or a lease for a definite 
term of years, is absolutely essential to a high degree of 
agricultural prosperity. Still another modifying iniluence 
is found in the condition of labor. With the single excep¬ 
tion of a peroid immediately following emancipation, and 
during which a pj-ocess of readjustment is goiug on, A. is 
far more prosperous under free, than under slave labor. 
The condition of religion, society and education also has 
a strong and direct bearing on the development of agricul¬ 
tural interests. Other things being equal, the greater the 
freedom of the intellect and the more general the diffusion 
of knowledge, the greater will be the degree of prosperity 
which A. will attain. 

In its ruder forms A. has been practiced from very early 


AGRICULTURE. 

times. Under the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Baby¬ 
lonia it reached considerable development. Of the meth¬ 
ods employed and the results obtained by the predecessors 
of these nations we have no definite knowledge. The fer¬ 
tility of the soil and the annual overflow of the waters 
made the growing of food crops remarkably easy along 
the banks of the Nile and the Euphrates. Large crops 
were secured with little more labor, than that which was 
required to sow the seed and gather the harvest. In por¬ 
tions of Egypt the overflow of the Nile was prevented by 
embankments, and by means of artificial waterings three 
crops were secured in a single year. The Israelites, or Jews, 
after their bondage in Egypt and removal to Palestine, 
changed from the pastoral to the agricultural state. In 
the period of its greatest agricultural development, the 
country supported a large population. Horses and asses 
were kept, flocks of sheep were numerous, and there were 
many cattle. The vine and olive were extensively grown 
on the hillsides, and wheat, barley, and other grains 
yielded large crops in the fertile valleys. 

A. was an honored occupation in China in ancient times. 
At the opening of each year, the sovereign guided the plow 
while a few furrows were turned in a ‘ sacred field.’ The 
people who inhabited the lake dwellings (see Crannogs) 
of central Europe, probably 4,000 years ago, cultivated 
flax, together with wUeat, barley, and other grains; had 
various fruits, and kept sheep aud cattle.—In Peru, as in 
China, in early times the sovereign appeared in a field and 
in the presence of a great assembly held a plow and thus 
began the agricultural operations of the year. At the 
time of the Spanish invasion the people had magnificent 
irrigation works, had terraced and made productive the 
sides of steep mountains, had learned the use of fertilizers, 
had become proficient in the cultivation of w 7 heat, maize, 
and other important crops, and had brought various ani¬ 
mals under domestication.—Previous to falling under the 
yoke of Spain, Mexico had made considerable progress in 
practical agriculture. Cotton, maize, and other crops were 
grown and there was a degree of civilization which would 
have been utterly impossible if A. had not been flourishing. 

From Egypt the knowledge of A. was carried to Greece. 
Except in the earlier history of the country, the dominant 
race had little regard for this occupation, aud the work in 
the fields was largely performed by slaves and by what were 
considered the inferior classes. Horses, cattle, sheep, 
swine, and other domestic animals were kept, various 
grains were cultivated, flax was grown, grass was cured 
for hay, and some attention was given to the cultivation of 
the grape, fig, and olive. Before the seed was sown the 
ground was repeatedly plowed; but, like all the implements 
of tillage, the plow was rude and inefficient. The soil was 
not well adapted to A., and though some attention was 
given to draining, use of manure, and improvement of live 
stock, A. did not reach very high development. Several 
Greek authors referred to A., but the literature of the sub¬ 
ject which has come down to the present day is principally 


AGRICULTURE. 

comprised in a poem by Hesiod, and a portion of one of 
the \\ orks of Xenophon —I he Romans obtained consider¬ 
able knowledge of A. from the Greeks but. unlike the lat¬ 
ter people, they dignified the occupation. The leading men 
in the state tilled the fields, and the noble families took 
their names from the products of the soil. Farms were 
small and the operations of husbandry were conducted 
with that scrupulous care and painstaking, which the 
ancient Romans carried iuto all their employments. But 
as wealth increased and conquests were extended, the es¬ 
tates were greatly enlarged. The powerful classes gave 
themselves up to luxury, the work of the farm was turned 
over to slaves, and A. fell into disrepute.—a change which 
was one of the leading causes of the downfall of the 
greatest empire of the world. Among the grains culti¬ 
vated by the Romans were wheat, rye, and oats; millet, 
peas, and beans were grown; and various fruits, including 
the grape and the olive, were cultivated. Oxen were used 
for labor; and sheep, goats, swine, and poultry were largely 
kept. Their implements were rude, though much like 
those in common use in Europe till the middle of the 18th 
c. and still employed in limited southern sections of that 
coniinent. They had an extensive agricultural literature 
which entered largeU into details of the various opera¬ 
tions required in management of farm affairs, and which, 
with many trivial matters, contained not a few wise max¬ 
ims and prudent counsels. The principal Roman authors 
whose works on A. are known at the present day are Cato, 
Varro, Virgil, Columella, Pliny, and Pulladius. Though 
they made some progress in perfecting methods already 
known, and in a rude way anticipated some of the improve¬ 
ments and processes commonly supposed to be of recent 
origin, the Romans rendered their chief service to A. by 
spreading a knowledge of its details through the provinces 
which they conquered. 

During the middle ages (q.v.) A., in common with all 
other arts, was in a very low state. Some of the most fer¬ 
tile regions which had been brought under cultivation were 
almost wholly neglected; and except in s. Spain where the 
Saracens introduced new crops and an elaborate system of 
irrigation, there was throughout Europe a strong retro¬ 
grade movement. But before the close of this period, the 
monks secured vast estates aud in a rude way gave consider¬ 
able attention to their cultivation. Thus the monasteries 
(see Monaciiism), though attended by many evils, were 
during this dark time, not only the centres of the intellec¬ 
tual activity of the age, but also kept alive some knowledge 
of the art of agriculture. 

During the Roman occupation of Britain, large areas of 
forest land were cleared, roads were built, and considerable 
quantities of grain were produced. In the disturbed con¬ 
dition of the country following the invasion by the Saxons, 
and later by the Danes and Normans, A. was greatly neg¬ 
lected. Grain fields were largely left untilled; aud 
though considerable live stock was kept, the animals were 
so poorly fed and so little protected from the severities of 


AGRICULTURE. 

the climate that many perished. The food of the peasants 
was poor in quality and often deficient in quantity, and 
famines were frequent. That even the most favored classes 
had few table luxuries is evident from the fact that in the 
time of Henry VIII. there were no edible vegetables cul¬ 
tivated in England and no hoed crops were grown. With 
the overthrow of the feudal system (q.v.), the invention of 
printing, the revival of learning, and the general intellec¬ 
tual awakening which succeeded the Middle Ages, there 
was a slow yet considerable improvement in agricultural 
operations. In 1523 the Book of Husbandry , the first En¬ 
glish work on A., appeared. It was written by Sir An¬ 
thony Fitzlierbert, a lawyer of high standing who had 
also been a farmer for 40 years, and it w r as claimed to be 
“ very profitable and necessary for all persons.” Thomas 
Tusser, an educated farmer and an alleged poet, published 
1573, Five Hundred Points of Good husbandry , which, 
though the veriest doggerel in style, attained great popu¬ 
larity. From the time of Fitzlierbert to the publication 
1731 of New Horse-Hoeing Husbandry , by Jethro Tull many 
works relating to A. appeared, but they were principally 
given to describing the methods actually pursued, and paid 
little attention to principles. Tull left the beaten track, 
made careful investigations, discovered the great benefits 
of tillage, improved the methods of sowing seed, devised 
a system of horse-hoeing, and invented implements for 
sowing and cultivation. Though he made some mistakes 
he really accomplished more for the advancement of prac¬ 
tical A. than all previous writers on the subject combined. 

At an early period a large part of the arable land in Eng¬ 
land, though owmed by the lords of the various manors, 
was opeu to use by the community at large. As the de¬ 
mand for the products of the soil increased, the profits of 
cultivation w’ere enhanced and the lords began to enclose 
the fields which had been used in common by their poorer 
neighbors. This movement continued from the 16th c., 
to the opening of the 19th c., and, though it often worked 
great hardships to the poorer classes, it tended to more 
thorough cultivation of the soil and advancement of ag¬ 
ricultural interests. 

Turnips and red clover had been known for a long per¬ 
iod, but did not come into prominence as field crops till 
after the middle of the 17th c. The potato, introduced 
about 1586, w r as grown in gardens but was seldom found in 
the fields till about 1730 in Scotland, and later than 1800 in 
England. It w T as far toward the close of the 18th c. wdien 
the Swedish turnip was cultivated in Britain. The old 
system of growing grain till the land was exhausted, and 
then allowing the soil to rest while another field w^as treated 
in the same manner, gradually gave place to a method of 
growing peas between two crops of grain and allowing 
part of the land to lie fallow each year. This was followed 
by the use of turnips and green crops and a regular system 
of rotation, which by the opening of the 19th c. had be¬ 
come quite general. Until 1750 comparatively little had 
been done in improving the live stock of England. About 


AGRICULTURE 

this time Robert Bakewell began experiments which re¬ 
sulted in the establishment of the famous and valuable 
Leicester breed of sheep. He also greatly improved the 
quality of the longhorned cattle of his district These, 
however, were superseded by the Shorthorn, or Durham’, 
breed (see Ox), originated by the Colling Brothers toward 
the close of the 18th c. About 1760 the Elkiuton method 
of draining, by cutting oR and diverting the course of 
springs, was discovered, and in many places proved efficient 
in reclaiming wet land. During the period which wit¬ 
nessed these innovations, there was improvement in the 
form, and increase in the efficiency of various farm imple¬ 
ments and something was done in the invention of farm 
machines. 

Flanders made considerable progress in A. at an early 
period; and, though operations were on a small scale.it 
long maintained its leadership. In Holland much atten¬ 
tion was given to live stock, and this interest has been 
constantly maintained. France and Germany early gave 
much attention to A., and had many books on the subject. 
The A. of Scotland was in a backward state till the open- 
* ing of the 18th c., but soon entered on a rapid advance. 
In other countries, as well as in those above named, A. 
shared in the benefits secured by the general diffusion of 
knowledge and advancement of civilization and, in its 
turn, contributed to the general improvement. 

Since the opening of the 19th c., there has been, in most 
civilized lands, wonderful progress in A. The rate has 
varied with the condition of the different countries, but in 
general may be said to have kept pace with the rate along 
other lines of improvement. In the more advanced coun¬ 
tries, as England and the United States, the change has 
amounted almost to a revolution. Chemistry has made 
known to the farmer the constitution and requirements of 
plants, shown the best methods of supplying their needs 
by means of fertilizers (q.v.), and taught him how to feed 
his domestic animals profitably. Discoveries in other 
branches of knowledge have rendered him great assistance 
in the profitable management of his business, and A. itself 
has been raised to the rank of a science. Wouderful im¬ 
provement in the form and efficiency, as well as in the con¬ 
venience of using, the plow and harrow; introduction of 
machines for planting, cultivating, harvesting, and pre¬ 
paring for market, nearly all the farm crops; extensive 
substitution of horse, wind, or steam power for band 
labor; improvements in the methods of tillage; introduc¬ 
tion of new and superior varieties of grain, fruits and 
vegetables; and general distribution of improved breeds 
of the various kinds of live stock, are a few of the many 
agencies which have contributed to the general advance¬ 
ment. Agricultural societies (q.v.), the establishment, 
with a national endowment, of colleges for instruction in 
A. (see Agricultural Education); the multiplication of 
books and periodicals in the interest of a progressive A., 
the organization of farmers for social and business pur¬ 
poses (see Husbandry, Patrons of), and the building of 


AGRICULTURE. 

railroads giving easy communication between distant 
places, have stimulated and developed the intellectual na¬ 
tures of the people who till the soil, and done much to 
dignify the farmer’s calling and increase the rewards of 
liis toil. 

Owing to the condition of the country, the small num¬ 
ber of the inhabitants and their want of efficient teams 
and implements, and the hostile attitude of the natives, 
A. made very slow progress in the territory now known as 
the United States, until after the revolution. Clearing the 
forests, building houses and barns, fencing their land, and 
cultivating and harvesting their crops with the few rude 
implements which the early settlers had, was a work of 
enormous difficulty. For more than 10 years after its set¬ 
tlement there was not a plow in the limits of Plymouth 
colony; and till after the country became independent the 
plows were principally of wood, having a little iron for 
the share, and were clumsy and inefficient. The harrow 
was equall} r rude, requiring enormous power to use it, and 
accomplishing little in pulverizing the soil. The hoes, 
rakes, and other farm implements also were heavy, incon¬ 
venient, and correspondingly unserviceable. It was the • 
last decade of the 18tli c. when the threshing-machine, 
cotton-gin, and cast iron plow were invented, and it was a 
long time before they were brought to a high degree of 
perfection or came into any thing approaching common use. 
The first really useful reaping machine was patented 
1838. Plans for mowing machines had been prev¬ 
iously made, but it was many years before any practical 
success was secured (see Reaping). Since 1850 machines 
and implements for a great number of agricultural pur- 
posesbave been invented, and many others have been won¬ 
derfully improved. Now (1893) plows are made of iron, 
steel, or chilled iron, and of a great number of different 
patterns (see Plow); harrows can be had, which will reduce 
the soil almost to the fineness of dust, either on the surface 
or to the depth of several inches (see Harrow); and there 
are machines for sowing garden seeds; for sowing grain, 
in drills or broadcast, with or without fertilizers; machines 
for planting corn, and others for planting potatoes; har¬ 
vesting machines for cuttingand bindinggrain, for cutttng, 
turning, and raking hay, loading it on wagons, and stack¬ 
ing it or pitching it upon the mow; machines for threshing 
and cleaning grain, dairy implements (see Dairy); feed 
cutters; root cutters; hay and cotton presses; cotton-gins; 
sugar mills; and machines for many other farm purposes, 
which have been brought to a wonderful degree of effi¬ 
ciency. Other machines, like the cotton picker, and corn 
harvester, are either being perfected or introduced. In the 
matter of live stock there has been perhaps equal improve¬ 
ment. The colonists had but few domestic animals, and 
these were either of inferior quality or else rapidly deter¬ 
iorated. The manner of feeding was imperfect, the ma¬ 
terials were, in many regions, both scanty and poor, and 
there was insufficient protection from the severity of the 
climate. Various small importations of cattle were made 


AGRICULTURE. 

ut diffeient times, but vigorous efforts for improvement 
date from about 1825 (see Ox). Sheep (q.v.) were im¬ 
ported iu small numbers at various times; and there were 
some importations of swine, of which, at a recent period, 
various American breeds have been formed (see Hog)! 
Something was done iu improving horses in the last 
quarter of the 18th c., but there was no wide interest in 
this work till much later. For a long period grass, either 
in the pastures or cured as hay, was the main reliance of 
the farmer for supporting his stock. Various other plants 
have come largely into use, either for feeding green to sup¬ 
plement the pastures when they begin to fail late in the sum¬ 
mer, or for curing to use in winter (see Fodder), and the use 
of ensilage (q.v.) enables the farmer to supply his stock with 
green food during the winter. Immense quantities of 
grain of various kinds are used, and the whole system of 
feeding has been radically changed and surprisingly im¬ 
proved. 

For more than a century there was absolutely no Ameri¬ 
can agricultural literature. Essays on Husbandry , 1747, by 
the Rev. Jared Eliot, of Conn., was probably the pioneer 
work in this line and was the only important work of the 
kind till after the revolution. Occasional publications 
appeared till 1850, since which time a great number of 
books, many of them very elaborate treatises and others 
confined to the cultivation of special crops or the breed¬ 
ing and care of certain classes of live stock, have appeared 
and have been largely sold. Practical works relating to 
every department of farm labor abound, and there are 
mauy scientific works of great value. The oldest agricul¬ 
tural paper in the U. S. was established 1819 and is still 
(1893) in existence. Counting those treating of horticul¬ 
ture, live-stock, dairying, poultry, and bee-keeping, which 
are considered branches of the business, the interests of A. 
are represented by more than 300 papers and magazines. 
Of these nearly one-half are published monthly, a few are 
issued quarterly, about 25 semi-monthly, and about 100 
weekly. Their combined circulation is about 3,000,000 
copies. There are also a large number of widely circulated 
secular and religious weekly papers which regularly give 
a certain amount of space to agricultural affairs; and re¬ 
ports of agricultural societies (q.v.), reports and bulletins 
of experiment stations (see Agricultural Education), 
and publications of the general government’s dept, of A., 
are widely distributed. 

Government aid to A. began 1839 when $1,000 was ap¬ 
propriated. This was used the following year in collect¬ 
ing statistics, making various investigations, and distribut¬ 
ing seeds and cuttings. From that time, yearly appropria¬ 
tions have been made, the amount increasing as the A. of 
the country has developed. The act approved 1892, July 
5, assigned the sum of $3,232,995.50 for the use of the dept., 
including the Weather Bureau, for the current year. Re¬ 
ports of the work relating to A. were issued by the Patent 
office till 1862, in which year the dept, of A. was established 
as a bureau of the national govt. In 1889 this bureau was 


AGRICULTURE. 

created an executive department, and its head became a 
cabinet officer known as the Sec. of Agriculture. The work 
of the department has rapidly increased, its field of opera¬ 
tions has been vastly enlarged, and its efforts have gained 
general recognition as of great importance not only to 
farmers but also to the country at large. Many experts in 
numerous lines are employed, and they co-operate with the 
leading scientific men and societies of the world. Among 
the lines of its work are the publication of reports show¬ 
ing the condition of growing crops in various parts of the 
country, the gathering and dissemination of statistics re¬ 
garding the area given to each of the leading crops, the 
yield per acre in each state, and the total production; the 
maintenance of a weather bureau which telegraphs notices 
of the coming of storms and, in some of the s. states, of 
early frosts; a bureau of animal industry for the inspec¬ 
tion of animals for export and investigating the causes, 
treatment, and methods of prevention of diseases of do¬ 
mestic animals; chemical and microscopical investigations 
are made; an entomological division studies the habits of 
destructive insects and the best methods of preventing 
their ravages; another division investigates the economic 
uses and value of mammals and birds; botanists in the 
employ of the dept, study new plants supposed to be useful 
or injurious; there is a division of vegetable pathology 
which seeks methods of preventing diseases of plants and 
the spread of such diseases when they appear; and many 
plants both imported and native which seem likely to be 
valuable in this country are tested and, if found useful^ 
disseminated. Seeds of fine varieties of vegetables also 
are distributed, and in other ways the dept, endeavors to 
render practical assistance to the farmer. It works in 
harmony with, and in some ways supplements, the state 
experiment stations (see Agricultural Education), 
publishes reports of European investigations, and 
endeavors to open markets for our farm products in for¬ 
eign lands. Our agricultural colleges and experiment 
stations have grown out of the appropriations by Congress 
for their establishment. 

The state governments also have done much in encour¬ 
aging A. Largely through the efforts of societies (see 
Agricultural Societies) receiving aid from the states, 
farmers’ institutes have become numerous and popular. 
At these institutes lectures are delivered, and subjects pre¬ 
viously announced are discussed. Some of the states 
make direct appropriations for maintenance of these in¬ 
stitutes, varying from a few hundred dollars, to $12,000 (as 
in Wis.) per year. There are also numerous local organ¬ 
izations, known as farmers’ clubs; a few experiment 
farms of a semi-public nature are conducted by wealthy 
individuals; and there is a sugar experiment station in 
La. supported largely by the planters in that state. 

The action of the U. S. govt, in regard to unoccupied 
public land has drawn an immense number of settlers 
from foreign lands and led multitudes of farmers in the 
older settled states to move w. and secure fertile land at 


AGRICULTURE. 

a merely nominal price. In 1841 these lands were opened 
to preemption by actual settlers, and 1862 a Homestead 
Act was passed which enables a citizen to secure a quarter 
section of land by residing thereon a specified time and 
paying very small fees. This has immensely increased the 
production of grain, and enabled us to export enormous 
quantities; but it has greatly reduced the profits of the 
farmers at the e. who have a large part of their capital in¬ 
vested in land. In 1850 Congress began granting land to 
promote the building of railroads in the w. portion of our 
then inhabited area, and many millions of acres have since 
been given to corporations engaged in this work. 

A few stone drains (see Drainage) had been previously 
made but under-drainage with tile was not begun till 
about 1836, and it w T as many years before it became exten¬ 
sive. Irrigation (q.v.) was commenced 1847 by the Mor¬ 
mons in Utah; but, elsewhere, owing to the low price of 
land which did not require such costly treatment, received 
little attention till about 1883, since wffiich time large areas 
of arid ground have been reclaimed by it. Soon after 
1840 guano became knowm as a valuable fertilizer, and 
ground bones also came into considerable use for the same 
purpose. Chemical investigations of the substances which 
plants take from the soil, led to the manufacture of com¬ 
mercial fertilizers (see Fertilizers) which became popu¬ 
lar in the older settled states, and had reached (1893) a sale 
of about $45,000,000 per year. There has also been greatly 
increased attention to the saving of manure. 

Though A. is not conducted in this country, with the care 
which it receives in some of the most densely populated 
countries of the Old World, it has, sincel850, made marvel¬ 
lous progress. There is still a tendency to cultivate too 
large areas, to make insufficient use of fertilizing materials; 
and when the soil shows signs of approaching exhaustion, to 
move w. to new land, there to repeat the process of wear¬ 
ing out the soil. But there is a counter current of grow¬ 
ing strength, and the thorough cultivation of small areas 
is becoming more common. This is true especially in the 
vicinity of large cities, where, by high manuring and thor¬ 
ough cultivation, the land is made to produce enormous 
crops. Another error has been the production, in certain 
sections, of wffieat, corn, and recently of cotton, very far 
out of proportion to the quantity of other crops. The 
remedy, already adopted to a great extent, is found in a sys¬ 
tem of diversified farming. But in the latter half of the 
19th c. vast areas have been settled; an extensive territory, 
which is part of what was known as the Great American 
Desert, has been brought under cultivation and made one of 
the most productive portions of the country; the number of 
farm animals has increased many fold, and the quality has 
been greatly improved; the dairy interest has assumed en¬ 
ormous proportions, immense quantities of fruit of nu¬ 
merous classes and highly improved varieties are now 
produced, and several crops which had been scarcely 
known have come into extensive cultivation. As a class 
the farmers of the U. S. manifest a restless activity com- 


^tiRICULTURE. 

binect witn a degree of intelligence shown in few other 
lands, and a strong desire to avail themselves of all the 
assistance offered by science and invention. 

The principal cereal crops of the country are Indian corn 
(which for more than half a century has been at the head in 
point of production), of which only a very small propor¬ 
tion is exported; and wheat, of which for many years, the 
United States has produced more than any other country 
in the world, and has sometimes exported, as grain and 
flour, more than 150,000,000 bushels a year. Both these 
crops are grown throughout the country, but principally 
in the n., n.w., and s.w. portions. Oats are grown in vast 
and rapidly increasing quantities, principally at the n., 
where also barley and rye are important crops. Hay 
and potatoes are leading products in all the n. states, and 
sweet potatoes are largely grown in the warmer parts of 
the country. The United States is by far the largest cob 
ton-growing country in the world, and nearly 70 per cent, 
of the crop is exported. This is grown at the s., in some 
portions of which, sugar (q.v.) is also produced in large 
quantities, while smaller yields from different sources are 
secured at the n. Rice is grown in considerable quantities 
in a few of the s, states, and tobacco is an important crop 
in several of the states e. of the Mississippi river, both s. 
and n. A large number of other crops, more or less 
widely distributed and, in the aggregate, of very great 
value, are grown. Fruits of all the various kinds suited 
to temperate regions and in excellent varieties suited to 
almost every kind of soil and climate abound, and in Fla. 
and Cal. the growing of sub-tropical fruits is a large and 
rapidly increasing business. Of domestic animals, hogs 
are the most numerous, and horses the most valuable, fol¬ 
lowed by sheep in point of numbers and oxen and other 
cattle in respect to value. Large herds of cattle and flocks 
of sheep are kept on ranches in the w. and s.w. parts of 
the country. Live stock, meat, dairy goods, and other 
animal products, are exported to a considerable extent (see 
Imports and Exports). For yield of crops and condition 
of the live stock interest see titles of the various states, 
crops, and animals; also United States of America— 
Agriculture. 

In Canada the govt, gives much encouragement to A. 
An agricultural college and 5 experiment farms have been 
established, and a member of the cabinet is at the head of 
the dept, which looks after agriculture! interests. There 
are numerous societies, and about 20 agricultural and live 
stock journals are well conducted. Much attention is 
given to live stock and to dairy farming; large quantities 
of wheat are grown, and in the far n.w. are immense 
tracts of land specially suited to this grain, which have 
not yet been brought under cultivation. Barley, oats and 
rye are prominent crops, and Indian corn is grown in 
some regions. Fruit-growing also is an important agri¬ 
cultural interest. Large exportations of the various pro¬ 
ducts named are annually made.—In Mexico, owing to 
the extent of the country and great differences in altitude, 


AGRICULTURE. 

the agricultural products have a very wide diversity of 
character. The plants of tropical countries may be found 
on some of the plains, while only a short distance away, 
on an elevated plateau or a mountain side, are seen those 
of cooler parts of the temperate zone. Great numbers of 
cattle and sheep are kept, maize, wheat and other grains 
are grown, and in some regions tobacco, cotton, coffee, 
and sugar-cane are produced. The fruits of temperate 
regions are grown to some extent, and those of tropical 
and sub-tropical climates abound. The present adminis¬ 
tration is favorable to A., and a school for instruction in 
its principles is maintained; but till a recent period, the in¬ 
stability of the govt, has prevented rapid development of 
the immense resources of a large portion of the country. 

South America has about the same area as N. America, 
which is twice that of Europe. Leaving out of the ac¬ 
count the gre.ii mountainous regions, and some large 
plains, either useless or of very uncertain value for culti¬ 
vation, there are about 4,228,000 sq. m. of land which can 
be readily brought to produce farm crops. This is an 
area more than 1,250,000 sq. m. larger than the entire land 
surface of the U. S., including all the territories except 
Alaska which is almost unavailable for agriculture. Ex¬ 
cept where modified by altitude, the products of S. Ameri¬ 
ca are largely those of sub-tropical and tropical regions. 
In some portions are vast pampas, or plains, on which 
great numbers of cattle, sheep and goats, are pastured, 
and on some elevated plains the llama, alpaca, and kin¬ 
dred animals are kept. Among the products of the soil 
are coffee, which in enormous quantities is grown in the 
most advanced agricultural countries for exportation, 
sugar-cane, cotton, tobacco, rice, Indian corn, wheat, rye, 
oats, barley, flax, and potatoes. Some varieties of apples, 
pears, peaches, and similar fruits are grown; grapes 
abound, as do also oranges, pineapples, and bananas in 
many sections. As would be expected from the general 
condition of society and education, A. has been but slightly 
developed; and it is to its immense possibilities, rather 
than to anything that has been accomplished in A., that 
this vast region attracts attention. 

For a long period the British govt, has taken an active 
interest in A., and now appropriates $1,500,000 a year for 
its benefit. Colleges are well attended, many agricultural 
societies and journals are sustained, and practical A. has 
reached high development as regards both the various 
crops produced and the live stock interest An experi¬ 
ment farm established at Rothamsted, 1843, by Sir John 
B. Lawes (who has continued to pay its expenses and has 
provided an endowment for its future needs), has been 
conducted by him with the aid of Dr. J. H. Gilbert, and 
is by far the most famous institution of the kind in the 
world.—Germany appropriates nearly $3,000, 00 per year 
for promotion of A., and gives special attention to culti¬ 
vation of the sugar beet, and to forestry. Scientific inves¬ 
tigation of agricultural principles has long been made by 
numerous scholars with great care and skill, and the work 


AGRICULTURE. 

is still carried on with undiminished zeal.—Austria pays 
about $4,000,000 for the benefit of her farmers. A. is not 
as fully developed as horticulture, and in some districts is 
extremely backward. In some regions the live stock in¬ 
terest is neglected, but in others it is fostered by the govt, 
and carried to high perfection. The Russian govt, makes 
considerable appropriations for A., but on account of the 
system land tenure, and the conditions of soil and climate, 
and of education and society,it is in a low condition, though 
some portions of the empire are far in advance of others. 
The rate of production of the grain crops, wheat, rye, 
oats, and barley, varies greatly in different seasons; and 
provinces which in some years have large surplus, occa¬ 
sionally have to depend on others to supply food for home 
consumption.—The French govt, gives much encourage¬ 
ment to A., which in spite of the serious drawbacks of 
extreme subdivision of the land, and a high rate of taxa¬ 
tion, has reached advanced development. A large propor¬ 
tion of the land has been brought under cultivation. Next 
to the United States, France is the greatest wheat-grow¬ 
ing region in the world, and large quantities of oats, 
rye, barley, buckwheat, and Indian corn are produced. 
The beet root is largely grown for sugar, and the vine¬ 
yards, though suffering greatly from attacks of the phyl¬ 
loxera, are widely celebrated. The live-stock interest 
is highly developed.—In Belgium and Holland the land 
is in very small holdings, but it is cultivated with 
great care and skill. In Holland, especially, the livestock 
and dairy interest has attained great expansion and suc¬ 
cess.—In Italy more than 65 per cent, of the people are 
engaged in A., but with widely varying degrees of success. 
In some districts transportation facilities are so deficient, 
that surplus products of the farm have no value. Wheat, 
Indian corn, rice, wine, oil, and oranges, are among lead¬ 
ing productions.—In Spain, as w T ould be expected from 
the general condition of govt, and society, A. is more 
backward than in some countries with far less natural ad¬ 
vantages. In the cooler regions the live stock industry is 
prominent; but in the s. portions, various cereals, oil, and 
the fruits of tropical and sub tropical countries are pro¬ 
duced, and wine is made in great quantities. 

Large portions of the vast continent of xAsia have great 
agricultural resources; but, as a rule, they are very poorly 
developed though the aggregate production is immense. 
Immense quantities of wheat are grown in India, China, 
Japan, Turkestan, and other countries. Rye, oats, and 
barley are grown in the colder regions, and cotton is largely 
produced in India and other more limited areas. Tea is 
a staple product of China, Ceylon, and India. Arabia, 
India, the Dutch colonies, and Ceylon produce coffee. 
The sugar-cane thrives in the s. and s.w. parts of the con¬ 
tinent, opium is largely produced in India and China, jute 
and tobacco are extensively grown in India, and rice is a 
prominent crop in China, India, Japan, and Turkestan. 
The silkworm is extensively grown, the various fruits 
suited to the climates of the different countries are pro- 


AGRICULTURE. 

duced, and on the elevated plains of the interior, vast 
numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep, supply most of the 
wants of a large nomadic population. 

As a large part of the great continent of Africa is as 
yet unexplored, its capacities for A. can only be vaguely 
estimated. It is supposed that more than 40 per cent, of 
the surface is practically a desert, and that about 35 per 
cent, is covered with grass but has no trees. Thus the 
forest and arable lands combined, make less than one- 
fourth of the country. Over vast areas the rainfall is in¬ 
sufficient for the growth of crops, and there are no facilities 
for irrigation. By the sinking of artesian wells, a consider¬ 
able area of the desert of Sahara has been made produc¬ 
tive, but this method of reclamation is costly and in many 
regions unavailable. In Egypt A. is pursued with con¬ 
siderable success: wheat, barley, Indian corn, tobacco, 
cotton, and sugar-cane are among the crops. In S. Africa 
also, A. has become a somewhat important interest. Cape 
Colony has a splendid climate for the vine, which is 
largely, though poorly, cultivated. Tobacco also is exten¬ 
sively grown, with other farm crops, and various fruits. 
Sheep and goats, including the common goat and the 
Angora, are kept in large numbers. 

Only a small portion of the continental island of Aus¬ 
tralia has been settled. It is largely within the temperate 
zone, but the rainfcfU is exceedingly irregular, and the 
farmers and live stock owners suffer heavy losses from 
alternate droughts and floods. The cattle industry is 
prominent, sheep are kept in great numbers, and large 
quantities of wool are exported. There is considerable 
export of wheat, and Indian corn and other cereals are 
largely grown. In some parts cotton and sugar are among 
the products, tobacco is cultivated to some extent, pota¬ 
toes form a common crop, and the fruits of temperate and 
of sub-tropical regions are well represented. Much has 
been done in constructing artificial lakes, and sinking 
wells to provide water for live stock in time of drought; 
and great expense has been incurred in an effort, very far 
from successful, to exterminate the rabbits which have 
multiplied amazingly, and have become terribly destruc¬ 
tive in pastures as well as in cultivated fields. 

For fuller information regarding the agricultural re¬ 
sources of the various countries of the world, and all 
classes of domestic animals, see their several titles.—Sub. 
jects connected with Agriculture which are treated in 
this work are: Agricultural Chemistry, Apple, Barley, 
Beet, Bones as Manure, Broom Corn, Buckwheat, Butter, 
Cheese, Clover, Cultivated Plants, Cultivation, Diseases 
of Plants, Ensilage, Farm,.Fence, Fertilizer, Fig, Flax, 
Floriculture, Fodder, Fruit, Gardening, Grafting, Grasses, 
Guano, Gypsum, Harrow, Hay, Hemp, Hop, Pox e-shoe- 
ing, Hybrid, Indian Corn, Insects, Irrigation, Jute. 
Lime, Lucerne, Mangel Wurzel, Manure, Milk, Mushroom, 
Nitrogen, Nursery, Oat, Oleomargarine, Onion, Orange, 
Orchard, Pasture, Pea, Peach, Peanut, Pear, Phosphate 
Rock, Pineapple, Plow, Plum, Potato, Quince, Reaping, 


AGRTGENTUM—AGRIMONY. 


Rice, Rotation of Crops, Rye, Seed, Soil, Sowing of Seed, 
Straw, Subsoiling, Sugar Beet, Sugar Cane, Tobacco, 
Turnip, and many kindred topics (q.v.). 

AGRIGENTUM, ag'ri-jeriturn (Gr. Akragas), the mod¬ 
ern Girgenti: town on the s. coast of Sicily, lat. 37° 17' n., 
and long. 13° 28' e.; founded by a colony from Gela b.c. 
582, and, in the earlier ages, one of the most important 
places in the island. In its palmy days, it is said to have 
contained 200,000 inhabitants. After being at first free, and 
then subject to tyrants, it was demolished by the Carthagin¬ 
ians b.c. 405, but very soon rose again. In the course of 
the Punic wars, it was compelled to submit to the Romans. 
From a.d. 825 to 1086, it was in the possession of the Sara¬ 
cens, from whom it was conquered by Count Roger Guis- 
card. The modern city contains (1901) 25,024 inhabitants, 
is the capital of the province of the same name, and exhibits 
numerous and splendid ruins, which afford inexhaustible 
materials for pictorial representation. Among the best pre¬ 
served of these remains of antiquity is the Temple of Con¬ 
cord, of which only the roof and part of the front are want¬ 
ing. The most extensive of the temples was that of Jupiter, 
340 ft. long, 120 ft. high, and 160 ft. wide, which, at the 
time of its destruction, appears to have been unfinished. 
Only the basement and some fragments remain. Consider¬ 
able ruins of the temples of Juno Lucina, of Hercules, and 
JEsculapius, are still found. The trade of the modern city 
is inconsiderable. Some corn, fruit, oil, etc., is exported, 
but the harbor is little frequented. 

AGRIMONY, n. ag'ri-mon'i, also Ag'rimonia, n. ■ mb ’- 
ni-a [L. Gr. agrimbriia —fromGr. argos, white]: a genus of 
plants of the natural order Rosacece (q.v.), sub-order Poten- 
tillece. The calyx is five-cleft, without bracts; the hardened 


tube at length invests two 
carpels, and is covered 
with hooked bristles.— 
The Common Agrimony 
(A. Eupatoria ) is a native 
of N. America and parts 
of Europe, growing in 
borders of fields, on way- 
sides, etc ; producing a 
spike of yellow flowers. 
It has an upright habit, 
attains a height of two 
feet or more, and has in¬ 
terruptedly pinnate leaves 
with the leaflets serrate 
and dow r ny beneath. The 
flowers are small and yel¬ 
low, in close racemes. 
The whole plant has a 
pleasant, slightly aroma- 
atic smell, and is bitter 



Common Agrimony (Agrimonia Eu¬ 
patoria). 


and styptic. A decoction of it is used as a gargle; the dried 
leaves form a kind of herb tea; and the root has some celeb- 





AGRIPPA. 

rity as a vermifuge. Very similar to this is A. suaveolens, 
a native of Virginia, the Carolinas, etc., very fragrant. A. 
parvifolia is found in s. N. Y. and south and west. 

AGRIPPA, d-grlp'd, Cornelius Henry: 1486-1535; b. 
Cologne of a noble family: a remarkable character, distin¬ 
guished as writer, philosopher and physician,who united great 
ability and extensive acquirements with quackery. He led an 
adventurous and unsettled life, quite in the spirit of his times. 
As early as 1509,he was appointed teacher of theology at Dole, 
in Franche Comte, and attracted great attention by his lec¬ 
tures; but having drawn upon himself the hatred of the 
monks by his bitter satires, he was accused of heresy, and 
forced to leave Dole. He next taught theology for some 
time in Cologne, occupying himself at the same time with 
alchemy, and then went to Italy, where he took military 
service under Maximilian I., and was knighted. He was 
afterwards made doctor of laws and of medicine, and gave 
lectures at Pavia, until, burdened with debt, he fled to Ca- 
sale. After a time, he was appointed syndic of Metz; but 
in 1520 he was again in Cologne, having excited the hostil¬ 
ity of the inquisition and the monks by his defense of a 
witch. His old enemies, the monks, persecuted him still in 
Cologne, so that he went to Freiburg in Switzerland, where 
lie began to practice as a physician. In 1524, he went again 
to Metz, and there gained such a reputation that the mother 
of Francis I. chose him as her physician. As he declined 
to prophesy the issue of the campaign that Francis I. under¬ 
took in 1525 in Italy, he lost his post, and went to Holland. 
Here he wrote his celebrated book, De Incertitudine et 
Vanitate Scientiarum (Colog. 1527), a biting satire on the 
sciences as they then existed. An accusation against him 
having been brought before Charles V., on account of this 
book, he again became a fugitive, and repaired to Lyons. 
He there found the hatred he had early excited in France 
not yet extinguished, and was imprisoned; but being liber¬ 
ated, through the exertions of his friends, he retired to Gre¬ 
noble, where he died. A. was a clear-headed man, and had 
the merit of successfully combating many of the prejudices 
of his age. His book, De Occulta^Philosophia , containing a 
systematic account of the Cabbala (q.v.), directly contra¬ 
dicts the above work. A complete collection of his writ¬ 
ings appeared at Lyons, 2 vols. without date (about 1550). 
See Life of A., and analysis of his works, by H. Morley 
(1856). 

AGRIPPA, a-grip'a, Herod, I.: son of Aristobulus and 
Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great: d. a.d. 44, in 
the 55th year of his age. He was educated at Rome, and 
lived there in a very extravagant style, giving splendid en¬ 
tertainments, especially to the princes of the imperial family, 
and scattering his money lavishly in gifts to the freedrnen 
of the emperor, until his debts rendered it unsafe for him 
to remain longer in the city. He then took refuge in Idu¬ 
mea. From this period almost to the death of Tiberius, he 
suffered a variety of misfortunes, but having formed a 
friendship with Caligula, the latter, on his accession to the 


AGRIPPA—AGRIPPINA. 

throne, gave him the tetrarchies of Abilene, Batansea, Tra 
chonitis, and Auranitis. After the banishment of Herod 
Antipas, he received his tetrarchy also—namely, Galilee 
and Perea. Claudius, whom A. helped to secure the pos 
session of the empire, added to his dominions Judaea and 
Samaria, and he was thus the ruler of a more extensive ter 
ritory than even Herod the Great had been. His govern 
ment was mild towards the Jews, with whom he was re 
markably popular; but he severely persecuted the Christians. 
He caused James, the brother of John, and the head of the 
church at Jerusalem, to be beheaded, and Peter to be 
thrown into prison. He died of a peculiarly loathsome dis¬ 
ease at Caesarea, in Palestine, while celebrating games in 
honor of the emperor. The account given of this in the 
Acts of the Apostles substantially agrees with that of 
Josephus. 

AGRIPPA, Herod, II.; 27-96: son of Agrippa I. He 
was at Rome when his father died, and only 17 years of 
age. Claudius, therefore, resolved to detain him for some 
time, and in the mean while retransformed the kingdom into 
a Roman province, but presented him with the little terri¬ 
tory of Chalcis, when his uncle Herod, who was its ruler, 
died. In 53 he left Rome, and received from the emperor 
nearly the whole of his paternal possessions, which were 
subsequently enlarged by Nero. Like his father, A. was 
fond of fine buildings, a taste which he had probably ac¬ 
quired by his long sojourn at Rome. He spent great sums 
in adorning Jerusalem, Berytus, and other cities; but he 
was not prudent in the distribution of his favors, or just in 
his treatment of the high-priests, so that he failed to secure 
the good-will of the Jews. He did all in his power, how¬ 
ever, to dissuade them from rebelling against the Romans; 
but when he found his advice and warnings neglected, he 
abandoned his countrymen, and joined the imperial troops. 
When Jerusalem was taken, he went with his sister to live 
at Rome, where he was made praetor, and where lie died in 
the 70th year of his age—the last of the Herods. It was be¬ 
fore him that the apostle Paul made his memorable defense 

AGRIPPA, Marcus Yipsanius: b.c. 63-12: a Roman, 
who, though not of high birth, rose to an exalted position 
through his own talents. He first espoused Marcella, the 
niece, and then Julia, the daughter of Octavius. He was 
eminent both in war and in peace; and as a general, coun¬ 
selor, and friend of the emperor, did good service to him 
and to the Roman state. As a general, he laid the founda¬ 
tion for the sole dominion of Octavius, and commanded his 
fleet in the battle of Actium (31 b.c.). He was generous, 
upright, and a friend to the arts; Rome owed to him the 
restoration and construction of several aqueducts, and of 
the Pantheon, besides other public works of ornament and 
utility. 

AGRIPPINA, ag'rip-pi! nd: d. a.d. 33: daughter of M 
Yipsanius Agrippa, by his wife Julia: one of the most he¬ 
roic and virtuous women of antiquity. She was married to 
Caesar Germanicus (see Germanicus), whom she accompa- 


AGRIPPINA— AGUADO. 

nied in all his campaigns. She openly accused Tiberius 
before the senate of having hired the murderers of her hus¬ 
band; and the tyrant, who hated her for her virtues, and 
the esteem in which she was held by the people, banished 
her to the island of Pandataria, near Naples, where she vol¬ 
untarily died of hunger. The antiquarian museum at Dres¬ 
den possesses four excellent busts of her. 

AGRIPPINA, daughter of Agrippina (above): b. Cologne; 
d. a.d. 60: one of the most detestable women that have 
lived. In her second widowhood, she induced the em¬ 
peror Claudius, her own uncle, to marry her, and espoused 
his daughter, although already betrothed to another, to her 
son Nero. In order to bring the latter to the throne, she 
ruined many rich and noble Romans, excluded Britannicus, 
the son of Claudius by Messalina, and finally poisoned the 
emperor, her husband. She then endeavored to govern the 
empire through her son Nero, who was chosen emperor; 
but her ascendency proving intolerable, Nero caused her to 
be put to death. She enlarged aud adorned her native city, 
Cologne, which received from her the name of Colonia 
Agrippina. 

AGRISE, v. a-grlz' [AS. agriscm, to dread, to fear 
greatly]: in OE., to terrify; to disfigure; to be terrified. 

AGRONOMY, n. d-gron'd-mi [Gr. agros, a field: nomos, 
a law]: the science of agriculture. Agron'omist, n. - mist , 
one who studies scientific farming. Agronomical, a. dg'- 
rdn-dm'ik-dl, pertaining to the scientific management of 
farms. 

AGROUND, ad. d-grownd' [AS. a, on, and ground]: on 
the ground; among seamen, stranded; run ashore. 

AGTELEK, dg-td-lek', Cavern of (in Hungarian, Barad- 
la, i.e., a suffocating place): one of the largest and most re¬ 
markable stalactitic caverns of Europe; near the village of 
Agtelek, in the county of Gomor, not far from the road 
from Pesth to Kaschau. It opens at the foot of a mountain 
with an entrance scarcely 3£ ft. high by 5 ft. wide. It con¬ 
sists of a labyrinth of caverns communicating with one 
another, many of wldch it is difficult, and even dangerous, to 
explore when the streams that flow through them are high. 
Numerous stalactitic structures occur in all the caverns, 
which, from their singular shapes, have given rise to the 
various names of ‘ the Great Church/ * the Mosaic Altar,’ 
‘ the Image of the Virgin,’ etc. The largest and most im¬ 
posing of these caverns, situated about 200 paces from the 
entrance, is called the Flower Garden. It is 96 ft. high, 90 
ft. wide, and nearly 900 ft. long in a straight line. 

AGUADO, d-gwd'do , Alexander Maria, Marquis de 
Las Marismas del Guadalquivir: 1784-1842; b. Seville, 
Spain: one of the wealthiest bankers of modern times. He 
was descended from a Jewish family, and in his youth was 
a soldier. During the Spanish war of independence, he 
fought with distinction on the side of Joseph, rose in the 
French army to the rank of colonel, and acted as aide-de- 
camp to Marshal Soult, but retired in 1815, and began a 


AGUAR DIEN TE—AGUE. 

commission business in Paris. In this he soon realized such 
wealth as enabled him to found a bank. Good fortune, 
energy, and boldness, with a singular talent for concerting 
schemes, advanced him in a short time to be one of the 
first bankers in Paris. He also obtained a political reputa¬ 
tion by negotiating the Spanish loans of 1823-28-30, and ’31. 
In these operations, the Spanish government frequently in¬ 
vested him with unlimited powers, which he dexterously em¬ 
ployed to save his country from national bankruptcy. Ferdi¬ 
nand VII. conferred on him the title of Marquis de Las Maris 
raas del Guadalquiver. His services were also recompensed 
by privileges in mining and in executing public undertakings. 
All the Spanish bonds issuing from his house received the 
name of Aguados. It was through A. that the Greek loan 
of 1834 was effected. He was naturalized in France in 1828, 
and a his death left a fortune of above 60,000,000 francs, of 
which he had invested part in landed property: the castle of 
Chateau-Margaux, celebrated for its wine, belonged to him. 
His distinguished collection of pictures gave occasion to 
Gavard for the publication of the Oalerie A, (Paris, 
1837-42). 

AGUARDIENTE, n. dg-icdr'de-en'te [Sp. aguardiente , 
burning hot-water; brandy—from L. aqua, water; ardens, 
burning]: a strong raw spirit of Portugal and Spain; brandy, 
or any particularly strong liquor. 

AGUAS CALIENTES, a'gwds kd-le-en'tes: a well-built 
town in Mexico, province of Zacatecas; n. lat. 21° 53' and 
w. long. 101° 45 ; in a plain 6,000 ft. above the sea-level, 
and on a stream of the same name, which is tributary to 
the Rio Grande de Santiago. Besides the cultivation of 
fields and gardens, the manufacture of woolen cloth is very 
considerable, and is carried on on the factory system. . The 
town is favorably situated for trade, as the great road from 
Mexico to Sonora and Durango is here crossed by that from 
San Louis Potosi to Gaudalaxara. The environs abound in 
hot springs, from which the town takes its name. Pop. 
(1900) 35,042. 

AGUE, v. a'gu [OF. agu or ague; Fr. aigit, sharp, keen 
—from L. acutus , sharp]: to cause to shiver: N. intermit¬ 
tent fever, attended with cold fits and shivering. Aguing, 
imp. a'gu-lng. Agued, pp. d'gud: Adj. struck with an 
ague; chill; shivering. Aguish, a. d'gu-ish, somewhat cold 
and shivering. 

AGUE, a'gu, or Intermittent Fever, or Fever and 
Ague : fever characterized by sudden rise of tempera¬ 
ture during the paroxysm, equally sudden fall at its 
termination, and by regularity in the times of accession. 
It belongs to the class of malarial or paroxysmal fevers 
(see Malaria), and is the type of the class. A person 
whose system has once been subjected to the phenomena 
of a regular attack is, for the remainder of his life, 
liable to a recurrence of the malady, even though he be 
not exposed to the action of its cause. Three principal 
forms of A. have long been recognized—namely, quo¬ 
tidian, recurring in 24 hours; tertian, in 48 hours; quar- 


AGUE. 

tan , in 72 hours. The quartan type has been noted 
from early times for the tenacity with which it clings to 
its victims: the quartan type is of least frequent occur¬ 
rence. Medical statistics relating to the health of the 
federal soldiers in the war of secession show that, of 
98,237 cases of intermittent fevers, 51,623 were of the 
quotidian type, 44,857 of the tertian, and only 1,757 of 
the quartan. Less frequent or obscure types are the 
quintan, sextan, septan—5, 6, and 7 days respectively 
.(after the Roman fashion of reckoning; but 4, 5, 6, after 
ours); and even an octan (or 8-day period) has been 
noted. Of more interest than these more or less theo¬ 
retical types (beyond the quartan) is the change of typo. 
Change from quotidian to tertian is frequent; less fre¬ 
quent is change from quotidian to quartan: vice versa, 
the types of less frequency of accession are changed 
into those of greater frequency. Sometimes the par¬ 
oxysm comes twice in a. day: double quotidian. A par¬ 
oxysm may take place every day; but, because it has 
different characters on alternate days, the A. is then 
called, not quotidian, but double tertian. There is also a 
double and a triple quartan. But these forms, except 
double tertian, are rare. 

The premonitory symptoms of A. are much the same 
as in all febrile disorders—viz., pain in the back and 
lower extremities, languor, lassitude, gastric irritation, 
loss of appetite, nausea, and, sometimes, vomiting: in 
some cases there are frequent calls to micturate, the urine 
being pale and highly acid. Then follow in succession 
the 3 stages, cold, hot, and sweating, succeeded by the 
interval or apyretic period, lasting for hours, according 
to the type of the disease. In the cold stage, the patient 
experiences a chill in the back; then rigors set in, at 
first faintly, becoming quickly more distinct, until the 
teeth chatter and the patient feels cold all over, and 
demands more coverings: the skin shrivels, the nails 
become blue, and there is a sensation of great discom¬ 
fort. But the feeling of cold is purely subjective, the 
thermometer, even during the rigors, indicating a tem¬ 
perature 2 or 3 degrees above normal in the mouth 
or in the rectum, though the skin, from contraction of 
the superficial vessels, is colder than normally it is. 
Other phenomena of the cold stage are gastric irrita¬ 
tion, foul tongue, quickened respiration. As the hot 
stage sets in, the patient grows warm all over, the face 
flushes, the pulse rises in frequency and volume, the 
skin grows hot, and the patient becomes restless, seek¬ 
ing ease for his aching head, back, and limbs in frequent 
change of posture; the tongue is usually dry, often bile- 
tinted ; the bowels constipated. In the sweating stage, 
at first, beads of perspiration appear on the brow and 
face, and the hands become moist; soon, to the great 
relief of the sufferer, the whole body sweats freely, the 
temperature begins to decline, and the paroxysm is at an 
end. Its average duration is 6 hours. 

The rapidity of the rise of temperature to 105°, 106°, 


AGUE. 

and sometimes 107°, and the equal rapidity of its fall 
when the sweating stage begins, are facts of great diag¬ 
nostic value. According to Wunderlich, nothing like this 
is to be seen in any other disease, except cases of relapse 
in typhoid, the febrile paroxysms in acute tuberculosis, 
and pyaemia. As soon as the sweating stage begins, 
the temperature declines—at first slowly, then as rap¬ 
idly as it rose; when the defervescence is complete, a 
point one or two degrees below normal is reached, and 
there the temperature stands during the apyretie 
period. If the paroxysms be cut short by quinine, we 
may still detect, at the hour of expected attack, a distinct 
rise of the temperature, though none of the other 
symptoms of a paroxysm may occur, and the patient 
may be hardly sensible of it. 

A. may be complicated by attacks of various diseases 
of greater or less severity—attacks often governed by 
climatic causes, by the habits of the individual patient, 
or by the fact that he has suffered previously from one 
or another of such diseases as pneumonia, bronchitis, 
asthma, dysentery, diarrhea, or epilepsy. Pneumonia 
is,' of all complications, the most formidable. The 
rapidity with which consolidation of the lungs takes 
place in cases of intermittent fevers is very remarkable. 
Death from uncomplicated ague is very rare; but the 
indirect mortality from the malarial cachexia, occurring 
either per se or as a complication of other diseases, is 
Very great. 

Keeping in view the fact that every paroxysm of in¬ 
termittent fevers, particularly in a hot climate, is a step, 
however short, on the road to the cachectic condition, 
the importance of breaking the recurrence of the 
paroxysms is apparent. That must be the first object 
aimed at in the treatment. The second object is hardly 
less important—namely, to improve the condition of the 
blood, to prevent further degeneration of organs, and to 
restore, as far as may be, affected tissues to their nor¬ 
mal condition. There is no drug known to medical 
science that can arrest the stages of a true ague when 
once it has entered on its first or cold stage. Therefore, 
while the fit is on, all that can be done is to mitigate 
the patient’s discomfort by supplying him with abun¬ 
dance of warm covering during the cold stage ; if this is 
protracted unduly, draughts of warm tea should be 
given him: and should symptoms of collapse appear, at 
the end of the hot stage, restoratives and stimulants 
should be administered. Emetics are not to be em¬ 
ployed, unless the patient’s stomach should happen to 
be oppressed by a recent meal. 

But in the ‘ interval,’ after the paroxysm is past, en¬ 
ergetic efforts must be made to bring the patient under 
the influence of quinine. At once the most effective 
and the most economical plan is to administer quinine, 
in solution, in a 10-grain dose at the end of the sweat¬ 
ing stage, and to repeat it in 4 to 6 hours. The remedy 
should be continued daily so long as the clinical ther- 


AGUERO—AGUESSEAU. 

□ammeter indicates a rise of temperature at the time o! 
expected attack, even if there be no sign of a regular 
cold stage. Four weeks after the fever has been sub¬ 
dued, the patient should be once again brought fully 
under the influence of quinine. The diet should be 
nutritious and easy of digestion. 

Pernicious or Malignant Intermittent Fever differs from 
A. in many important respects, particularly in its great 
fatality; but it may be regarded as an aggravated form 
of A. In the United States, it prevails chiefly in the 
southern and southwestern states. 

It is one of the most fatal of diseases. Its pernicious 
character may be masked in the first or the second 
paroxysm, while the third may be of the most foudroy- 
ant type. One of the most characteristic symptoms is 
delirium, which usually appears in the first paroxysm; 
or, instead of becoming delirious, the patient may fall 
into coma; or delirium may be followed by coma. Some¬ 
times there are epileptiform convulsions. Symptoms 
resembling those of cholera sometimes appear—vomit¬ 
ing and purging, followed by great prostration, and col¬ 
lapse. Often there is profuse perspiration, and the ex¬ 
tremities become cold. The pulse is feeble and irregu¬ 
lar, and the respiration is labored. 

A measure of relief may be afforded to the patient by 
the application of heat in every available way, as by 
bottles of hot water, hot bricks, warm blankets; by the 
use of mustard plasters; and by the administration of 
stimulants. When the paroxysm is past, recourse is to 
be had to quinine. The patient’s strength must be sus¬ 
tained with a nourishing and easily digested diet. The 
beneficial effect of wine in such cases is obvious. 

A.GUERO, Joaquin de: Cuban revolutionist: 1816— 
1851, Aug. 12. He was a slave-owner, but freed his 
slaves 1843; was leader of an insurrection 1851, and, 
being defeated and taken prisoner, was shot to dea Jh. 

AGUESSEAU, d-ga-so, Henri Franc; is d’: 1668-1751; 
b. Limoge: a distinguished lawyer and chancellor of France, 
and pronounced by Voltaire to have been the most learned 
magistrate that France ever possessed. He received his earli¬ 
est education from his father; afterwards devoted himself to 
the study of law, became avocat-general at Paris in 1690, and 
at the age f 32, procureur-general of the parliament. In 
this office h effected many improvements in the laws and in 
the administration of justice. He was noticeable for great 
benevolen during a famine which occurred in the winter of 
i709, applying all the means in his power for the alleviation 
of the calamity. As a steady defender of the rights of the 
people, and of the Gailican Church, he successfully opposed 
the decrees of Louis XIV. and the Chancellor Voisin in 
favor of the papal bull Unigenitus (q.v.). During the gov¬ 
ernment of the Duke of Orleans, he became chancellor; but 
in the following year fell into disgrace by opposing Law’s 
system of finance, and retired to his country-seat at Fresnes. 
When, however, the ruin induced by Law’s system pro¬ 
duced a general outcry of dissatisfaction. A. was reinstated. 


AGUILAR DE LA FIIONTERA—AHASUERUS. 

in order to appease the people. But liis well-meant efforts 
could not retrieve the desperate state of affairs. A. was 
afterwards exiled a second time, in consequence of his. op- 
posing Cardinal Dubois; and though he, 1727, obtained 
from Cardinal Fleury permission to return, yet he did not 
again resume the office of chancellor till 1737. He resigned 
1750. His works, consisting of pleadings and speeches at 
the openings of the parliament, occupy 13 vols. (Paris, 
1759-89; Paris, 1819). 

AGUINALDO, Emilio, chief of Filipino insurgents in 
the insurrection of 1896 and after the Spanish-Ameijcan 
War of 1898; b. in 1870 at Imus, Province of Cavite, 
Luzon. In 1888 he w r ent to Hong Kong, where he gained 
a knowledge of warfare. His general ability and magnetic 
personality gave him much influence among his country¬ 
men. When the rebellion against Spain broke out in 1896 
he was at the head of the diplomatic party to which Spain 
paid a large sum of money in order to induce the leaders to 
lay down their arms. A quarrel arose over the division of 
this money, and Aguinaldo went to Singapore, where he 
met the United States consul just prior to the Spanish- 
American War. On the recommendation of the consul Com¬ 
modore Dewey asked to have Aguinaldo sent to him. The 
latter reached Cavite after the battle of Manila Bay, and 
was allowed to organize the Filipinos against the Spanish. 
On 1898, June 12, he organized the so-called Filipino Re¬ 
public, over wdiicli he placed himself as president. After 
the treaty of peace, which ceded the Philippine Islands 
to the United States, he organized a conspiracy among 
the natives to massacre all the Americans and Europeans 
in Manila. This plot was soon discovered and frustrated, 
but in 1899, Feb. 4, his forces attacked the Americans. 
Shortly afterward the rainy season set in and operations 
against the Filipinos had to be postponed, but early iu 1900 
the insurrection was broken up, and Aguinaldo was cap¬ 
tured in Palanon, Isabella Province, Luzon, by Gen. Funs- 
ton, 1901, March 23. In 1902 he presented to Gov. Taft a 
plan for the relief of the Filipinos. 

AHAB, a'hab: king of Israel (from b.c. 918 to 897): son 
and successor of Omri. He married Jezebel, the daughter 
of Ethbaal, king of Sidon; through whose injurious influ¬ 
ence the Phoenician worship of Baal was introduced, the 
king himself seduced to idolatry, and the priests and 
prophets of Jehovah cruelly persecuted. Yet the prophets 
retained their influence over the people; and Elijah dared 
openly to attack the priests of Baal, and reprove the wick¬ 
edness of the king with the most severe threatenings of pun¬ 
ishment. A. prosecuted three wars, with various success, 
against Benhadad, king of Syria; but in the last campaign 
he was killed by an arrow. His whole family was after¬ 
wards extirpated under king Jehu. 

AHASUERUS, a-has'u-e'rus: name or rather, perhaps, 
the title, by which several kings of Media and Persia are 
mentioned in Scripture. The best known of these is Esther’s 
husband (see Esther), probably the same as the Persian 


AHEAD—AHMEDNUGGUR. 

king Xerxes; the Hebrew form of his name (Achaschve- 
rosch) pointing to the old Persian form of the name Xerxes 
(Klischy arschan). 

AHEAD, ad. d-hed [AS. a, at or on, and head]: in ad¬ 
vance; further forward than another. 

AHEIGHT, ad. d-hU, also Ahigh, ad. d-hl' [AS. a , on, 
and height ]: in OE on high; aloft. 

AHMEDABAD, d'med-d-bdd' or more properly Ahmada- 
bad: chief town in the dist. of the same name, in the presi¬ 
dency of Bombay; is on the left bank of the Sabermutty, 
which How t s nearly due s. into the Gulf of Cambay. It w 7 as 
built 1412, by Ahmed or Ahmad Shah, and underwent all 
the vicissitudes of government incident to the cities of Hin¬ 
dustan, till the year 1818, when it finally came under the 
pow T er of the British. It was formerly one of the largest 
and most magnificent capitals in the East—in the opinion of 
a native writer, ‘ the handsomest city in Hindustan; per¬ 
haps in the world.’ Its architectural relics are gorgeous, 
even in the midst of decay. The Jumna or Juma’ah 
Masjid, or Great Mosque, rises from the centre of the city, 
adorned by two superbly decorated minarets, ‘ each of which 
contains a circular flight of steps, leading to a gallery near 
the summit. Its domes are supported by lofty columns, 
regularly di&posed; the concave of these cupolas is -richly 
ornamented with mosaic and fret w T ork. The pavement is 
of the finest marble.’ The mosque of Sujaat Khan is ex¬ 
tremely elegant. There is likewise an ivory mosque, which 
has obtained that name from the circumstance, that although 
built of white marble, it is ‘ curiously lined with ivory, and 
inlaid with a profusion of gems, to imitate natural flowers, 
bordered by a silver foliage on mother-of-pearl.’ There are 
also the Fire Temple and the Tower of Silence of the Parsees. 
A. once abounded in gardens, aqueducts, reservoirs, etc.; 
but these, especially the gardens, are now r sadly defaced and 
injured. Its prosperity has been almost w r holly destroyed 
by the rapacity of the Mahrattas, although at one time it 
w r as famous for its manufacture of rich fabrics of silk and 
cotton, articles of gold, silver, steel, and enamel. ‘ It em¬ 
ployed many artists in portrait-painting, and miniatures/ 
and had extensive trade in indigo, cotton, and opium. The 
old city-walls, built in 1485, which had in the course of ages, 
and through the assaults of enemies, become very dilapi¬ 
dated, were repaired in 1834 at an expense of 250,000 
rupees. Water was also conveyed from the river through 
the city by means of pipes. Pop. (1901) 185,889. The 
dist. of A. in Guzerat has an area of 3,800 sq. m., and a 
population of 830,000. 

AHMEDNUGGUR, or Ahmadnuggur, d'med-nvg’ger: 
important town in the presidency of Bombay; 122 m. e. of 
the city of Bombay. It was founded in 1494 by Ahmad 
Nizam Shah. During the reign of his son, Boorhan Nizam 
Shah, it had high prosperity; but after his death, it witnessed 
an incessant series of wars, confusions, and murders. In 
1797, it fell into the hands of the Mahrattas; and in 1803 w r as 
surrendered, after a trivial resistance of two days, to Gen- 


AHMEDNUGGUR -AICH METAL. 

eral Wellesley. It was, however, shortly afterwards restored 
to the Peishwa; hut in 1817, the fort was again occupied 
by the British. The town has increased rapidly since it 
came under British protection and rule. It possesses a 
most singular defense, in addition to its wall; this consists 
of an 4 immense prick ly-pear hedge about 20 ft. high, 
which is so full of sap that no tire will kindle it, and so 
vigorous that it is almost impossible to force one’s way 
through it.’ A. contains an English church and a dhurm 
salah (or place of entertainment for travellers) capable of 
holding 250 persons. It also possesses a good supply of 
water by means of aqueducts. There are several places of 
the same name in Hindustan. Pop. 35,000. Area of the 
dist. of A., 6,650 sq. m.; pop. 775,000. 

AHMEDNUGGUR, or Edur: a Rajpoot state of Guzerat, 
in the Mahi Kanta agency, politically connected with the 
presidency of Bombay. It is under the rule of the Rajah 
of Edur, subject to British sovereignty. Pop. estimated 
over 217,000.—The principal town is Ahmednugger, on 
the banks of the Haut Mati, a branch of the Sabarmati, in 
an extensive plain, 92 miles n.n.w. from Baroda; sur¬ 
rounded by a tine old stone wall. Pop. 9,000. 

AHMEDPUR, a-med-por': town of India, in the native 
state of Bhawulpur, 25 m. s.w. from Bhawulpur. The 
houses are mostly built of mud; but there is a large and 
lofty mosque, with four tall minarets. There are manufac¬ 
tures of matchlocks, gunpowder, cotton, and silk. Pop. 
estimated 30,000, though other estimates make it much less. 

AHOY, int. a-hoy' [AS. a , intensive: Dut. hui] : an 
exclamation used in hailing a boat; attend ye—a sailor’s 
call; a call to a person. 

AHRIMAN, ah're-man' [in the Zend, aflhro mainyus, i.e., 
the malignant spirit]: in the later dualistic doctrine of the 
followers of Zoroaster, the personification of malignity, the 
original source of all moral and physical evil, the chief of 
the devils and malignant spirits, the king of darkness and of 
death, the eternal enemy and opponent of Ormuzd and of 
his kingdom of light. See Zoroaster. 

A HULL, ad. a-hul' [AS. a, on, and hull): maritime 
term, used to denote the position of a ship when all her 
sails are furled, and her helm lashed on the lee-side; 
in such a position, she lies nearly with her sid^ to the 
wind, but with the head turned a little towards the di¬ 
rection of the wind. Nautical language comprises a large 
number of words formed on a principle similar to that 
of ahead, with the vowel a (a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon 
preposition on, meaning on, in, at) prefixed to a noun. Such 
are the following: aback, abaft, aboard, abreast, a-cockbill, 
adrift, afloat, afore, aground, ahead, a hull, a-lee, aloft, 
aloof, amain, amidships, an-end, apeak, ashore, astern, atrip, 
avast, a-weather, a-weigh. See the articles under some of 
these titles. 

AICH-METAL, ach -: an alloy of copper and zinc with a 
small addition of iron—sometimes used in the manufacture 
of cannon. 


AID—AIDE-T01 ET LE CIEL T’AIDERA. 

AID, n. dd [F. aider , to aid; aide, an assistant—from 
mid. L. aiddre, to help—from L. ddjutdre, to assist]: help; 
relief; assistance; a person who gives help: V. to help; to 
support; to relieve. Aid ing, imp. Aid ed, pp. Aid er, 
n. one who. Aidant, a. dd'dnt, in OE., helping; helpful. 
Aidance, n. ad'dm, help; assistance. Aid'ful, a. giving 
help. Aid less, a. destitute of help.—S yn. of ‘aid, v.’: to 
help; assist; succor; relieve; sustain; support. 

AID AN, a'ddn, Saint: middle of 7th c.: one of those 
distinguished monks of the early Scoto-Irish Church, who 
were received into the calendar of saints by a sort of accla¬ 
mation, and without the ceremony of canonization. He was 
the first efficient missionary who propagated Christianity in 
the north of England. Oswald, the celebrated king of 
Northumbria, requested the community of Iona to send to 
his court one of their brethren who would teach the Christian 
religion to his people. As the history has come down to us, 
the first person sent was a certain Cormac, who was too 
dogmatic and intolerant to be a successful missionary. On 
his returning after a failure, A., who possessed the patience, 
geniality, and popular manners fitted for the task, was suc¬ 
cessful. He left a great reputation, and, as the earliest 
promulgator of Christianity in the northern districts, is 
generally counted the first in the lists of the bishops of 
Durham. 

AIDE DE CAMP, n. dd'de-Jcong, plu. Aides-de-camp 
[F. aide, an assistant; de camp, of camp]: in an army , an 
officer who serves on the personal staff of a general, or in 
court to wait upon the sovereign. As a military officer he 
may be regarded as a kind of superior confidential attendant 
upon a general in active service. The A. is the organ of the 
* general. He carries all orders on the field of battle; these 
he is to deliver in the plainest terms, so as to be distinctly 
understood; and when so understood, the orders are to be as 
implicitly obeyed as if the general himself were present and 
speaking. An A. also acts as secretary to the general, and 
assists him in his correspondence, when he has not specific¬ 
ally a military secretary. He aids likewise in dispensing 
the courtesies of the general’s house or tent. The aides-de- 
camp in the U. S. army vary in number from two for a 
brig. gen. to six for a general. In England, besides these 
aides-de-camp to generals, the queen has power to appoint 
any number of aides-de camp to herself, in her capacity of 
nominal head of the army. There are no particular duties 
attached to the office; but it is much sought after, both as 
an honor, and as conferring on the holder the rank of colonel 
in the army. In the year 1880, there were no fewer than 
86 military aides-de-camp to the queen, of whom a certain 
proportion were peers of the realm. In addition there are 
naval aides-de-camp to the queen, about 12 in number. 

AIDE-TOI ET LE CIEL T’AIDERA, dd-twa a le siel 
t’dd-ra (Help yourself, and Heaven will help you): a moral 
aphorism, the cry of certain French political writers to the 
middle classes, about 1824, and became the watchword of 
a society formed to agitate voters in opposition to the govern 

Vol. 1 — 11 


AIDIN—AIGRETTE. 

rnent, by means strictly legitimate. Most of its founders 
and active members belonged to tHe party of Doctrinaires 
(q.v.), as Guizot, who was president for some time, Duckatel, 
Duvergier de Hauranne,Dubois,Remusat, Thiers,Cavaignac, 
etc. Le Globe newspaper was the organ of the association, 
and afterwards Le National. It had a great share in bring¬ 
ing about the revolution, 1830, July, and was at first 
countenanced by the new government; but was dissolved, 
1832. 

AIDIN, i-den', or Guzel-Hissar: town of Asiatic Turkey, 
on the river Meander, in the pachalic of Anatolia, built out 
of the ruins of the ancient Tralles, which was on a plateau 
above the present town. It is 60 m. s.e. of Smyrna, is four 
miles in circuit, and carries on a trade next in importance 
to that of Smyrna. It. is adorned, like all eastern cities, 
with numerous mosques and other religious edifices, and has 
a picturesque appearance. Pop. estimated 35,000-60,000; 
with 6,000 houses. 

AIDONE, l-do'nd: town of Sicily, province of Caltani- 
setta, 20 m. e. by s. from Caltanisetta. It crowns a lofty 
height, commanding a view of the great plain of Catania. 

It was one of the settlements of the Lombards, who accom¬ 
panied Roger the Norman in his conquest of Sicily. The 
road which leads to the town is very rugged, bordered by 
luxuriant prickly pears. Pop. 6,920. 

AIDS: in feudal times mere benevolences granted by a 
tenant to his lord in distress; wdiich gradually came to be 
regarded as matters of right. A. were demanded for three 
principal objects: 1st, to ransom the person of the lord 
when taken prisoner; 2d, to make his eldest son a knight; 
and 3d, to provide a suitable portion to his eldest daughter 
on her marriage. These A. were abolished by 12 Car. II. * 
c. 24. 

Aid of the King is where the king’s tenants pray A. of 
the K. on account of rent demanded of them by others. In 
such cases, the proceedings are stopped till the king’s or 
queen’s counsel are heard to say what they think fit for 
avoiding the king’s prejudice. 

AIGRE, n. a'ger: see Eagre. 

AIGRET, n. a'gret, also Egret, n. e'gret [F. aigrette ]: 
the little white heron; in hot., the feathery down of the 
thistle. 

AIGRETTE, dgret': a French word, denoting the down 
or plume (botanically, pappus) attached to many vegetable 
seeds, as the thistle and dandelion. It is also used in ref¬ 
erence to the feathery tuft on the heads of several birds, as 
the heron; and in English zoology the name aigret or egret 
(q ; v.) is applied to the smaller white heron, an elegant bird, 
with a white body and a feathery crest. Hence the term 
A. came to designate the long, delicate white feathers stuck 
upright in a lady’s head-dress. Recently, the usage has 
been still further extended to any head-dress resembling a 
plume, even a bouquet of flowers, fastened with precious 
stones. 


AIGUES-MORTES—AILETTES. 

AIGUES-MORTES, aig-mort' {Aquae Mortuat ': small town 
in France—pop. about 4,000—in the dept, of Gard, which 
claims to have been founded by the Roman Marius. It is in 
an extensive marsh impregnated with sea-salt, and is about 
3 m. from the Mediterranean, with which it is connected 
by a canal. It was from A. M. that St. Louis sailed in 1248, 
and again in 1270, for the Crusades—a proof that the sea 
then reached this spot. In 1538, Francis I. had an interview 
at A. M. with Charles Y. 

AIGUILLE, n. d'gwel [F. aiguille , needle—from mid. L. 
acuc'ld, a needle—from L. acic'uld, dim. of dcus, a needle]: 
applied to the sharp serrated peaks of lofty mountains; an 
instr. for piercing holes for the lodgment of powder when 
blasting. Aigtjlet, n. d'gu-let, or Aiglet, n. ag let, a 
point or tag on fringes. 

AIGUILLETTE, d'gil-let', or Aigulet: a part of the 
decorations of military dress; in Britain, formerly worn on 
the right shoulder by general officers of various grades; now 
worn chiefly by officers of the Life-Guards and Horse- 
Guards. It is composed of gold or silver cords and loops. 

AI GULET: a rope called a lashing-rope, used in ships- 
of-war for securing the breeching of a gun. 

AIKEN, a'ken: town; co. seat of Aiken co., S. C.; 17 m. 
n.e. of Augusta, Ga., 120 m. n.w. from Charleston, S. C. 
It is laid out with care and taste, has excellent hotels and 
boarding-houses; and its salubrious climate makes it a 
favorite winter resort for invalids, especially sufferers from 
lung disorders. A. has 7 churches, a public hall, and 
several schools. Pop. (1890) 2,302; (1900) 3,4i4. 

AIL, v. dl [AS. eglian, to pain; egle, troublesome: Goth. 
agio, affliction; aglus or agls, difficult; ailing]: to be sick; 
to trouble; to be in pain. Ail'ing, imp: Adj. unwell; full 
of sickness. Ailed, pp. did. Ail'ment, n. sickness; 
trouble; slight disease. 

AILANTUS, n. d-lan'tiis, often improperly Ailanthus 
[from ailanto, tree of heaven, name in the Moluccas 
Islands]: genus of trees of nat. order Simarubacece . The 
common species, A. glandnlosa or Chinese Sumach, has 
very long and pinnate leaves, with an odd leaflet resembling 
the ash. The leaves are food for a species of silkworm. 
The styles are combined at the base; the fruit consists of 
3-5 samarce (or winged achenia —q.v.). Its growth is 
rapid, and its propagation is usually by its abundant root- 
suckers. It is largely planted for shade in s. Europe and 
in parts of the United States, and is common in England. 
The A. is hardy, and thrives even in poor soils. Its tim¬ 
ber is valuable for some uses. As the odor of the flowers 
of male trees is offensive, only female trees, which have 
inodorous flowers, should be grown. 

AILETTES, dl-let' [Fr. little wings]: appendages to the 
armor worn by knights in the 13th c.; of leather, covered 
with cloth, and worn behind or at the side of the shoulders. 
A. are figured on many effigies, etc. 


AILSA CRAIG—AINMULLER. 

AILSA CRAIG, also, krdg: remarkable islet about 10 m, 
from tlies. coast of Ayrshire, opposite Girvan, lat. 55° 15' 12" 
n.; long. 5° T w. Rising abruptly out of the sea to a height 
of 1,114 ft., it is a most striking object, even at a distance. 
It is about 2 m. in circumference, and is accessible at only 
one po nt, where the accumulation of debris has formed a 
rough beach. The rock may be described generally as a 
mass of trap, assuming in some places a distinct columnar 
form, with dimensions far exceeding those of the basaltic 
pillars of Staffa, On the n.w., perpendicular cliffs rise 200 
to 300 ft.; on the other sides, the Craig descends to the sea 
with a steep slope, covered with grass and wild flowers, with 
numerous scattered fragments of rock. The only inhabi¬ 
tants are goats, rabbits, and wild fowl. Solan geese, in 
particular, breed in the cliffs in countless numbers. About 
200 ft. from the summit are some springs, and on the ledge 
of a crag on the eastern front are the remains of an ancient 
stronghold. 

AILURUS FjULGENS: see Panda. 

AIM, v. dm [OF. esmer, to estimate—from L. cestimdre, 
to value— lit ., to calculate the distance of the object or 
point desired to be struck]: to throw at an object; to direct 
a weapon to; to try to strike with a missive weapon; to 
endeavor; to purpose or design; in OB., to guess or conjec¬ 
ture: N. the object or point intended to be struck; pur¬ 
pose; intention Aim ing, imp. Aimed, pp. dmd. Aim er, 
n. one who. Aimless, a. dm'les, without aim or purpose. 
Aimlessly, ad. -li. —Syn. of ‘aim, n.’: object; end; view; 
scope; design; purpose; scheme; drift; intention;— of ‘ aim, 
v.’: to point; level; aspire; direct. 

AIMON: see Aymon. 

AIN, an: river in France, rises in the mountains of the 
Jura, flows through the departments of Jura and Ain, and 
after a course of about 100 in., falls into the Rhone, 18 m. 
above Lyon. 

AIN, an: a frontier dept, of France; bounded on the n. 
by the departments of Jura and Saone et-Loire, on the e. it 
is separated from Switzerland and Savoy by the Rhone, 
which also divides it from Isere on the s., while on the w. 
the Saone separates it from the departments of the Rhone 
and Saone-et-Loire. The e. is mountainous; but the s. 
portion of the part w. of the Ain forms an argillaceous 
plateau, abounding with marshes, which occasion epidemic 
fevers. This dep. contains five arrondissements—Bourg, 
Belley, Gex, Nantua, Trevoux—or 35 cantons. Area, 2,230 
sq. m. Pop. (1901) 350,416. Chief town, Bourg. 

AINMULLER, in'mul-er, Maximilian Emanuel: 1807- 
70; b. Munich: restorer of the art of painting on glass. He 
began the study of architecture, but afterwards entered the 
royal porcelain manufactory as decorator; and there he first 
overcame the technical difficulties in glass-painting. A 
separate institution was established for the art; and A., as 
inspector, brought its work near to perfection. He first is 
said to have conceived the happy thought of laying colored 


AINOS—AINSWORTH. 

glass on colored, instead of laying colored glass on white, 
thus giving the command of above 100 variously colored 
glasses, in all gradations of tint. He was also the first, in com 
junction with Wehrstorfer, to execute pictures on glass, and 
thus revive the art of miniature glass-painting. Not only 
technical improvements and inventions were his contribution 
to the art; his artistic culture qualified him also to aid the 
regeneration of taste that has accompanied it. The first 
work of the new institution w r as the restoration of the win¬ 
dows of the cathedral of Ratisbon, 1826-33, to which A. 
contributed the ornamentation, painting several of the 
figures. He made a like contribution to the splendid 
windows of the church of Maria-Hilf, Munich, 1833-38. In 
the contribution of king Ludwig of Bavaria to the cathedral 
of Cologne, and the numerous other windows executed at 
Munich for all parts of the world, A. displayed the highest 
artistic faculty. One of his most important and successful 
undertakings was providing the fine windows of the Glasgow 
cathedral as recently restored, including more than 100 
biblical and historical pictures. A. also acquired a reputa¬ 
tion as an architectural painter in oil. 

AINOS, I'noz: a race inhabiting Yesso (q. v.) and Saghalin. 
See also Japan. 

AINSWORTH, anz'werth, Robert: 1660-1743; b. Wood- 
vale, near Manchester, England; d. near London: author of 
a Latin Dictionary extensively used in the last c. He was 
educated at Bolton, and taught a school there for some time; 
afterwards was engaged for many years in educational pur¬ 
suits in London. In 1714, he commenced his Dictionary 
(Latin-English, and English-Latin), which, however, was not 
published 'until 1736. It has been superseded by more 
accurate and philosophical lexicons, such as Riddell’s, and 
more recently by Smith’s, Andrews’s, and others. 

AINSWORTH, William Francis : b. Exeter, Eng¬ 
land, 1807-1896, a relation of Robert: English physician, 
geologist, and traveller. He studied medicine at Edin¬ 
burgh, whither he returned from foreign travel, 1828, and 
there conducted the publication of the Journal of Natural 
and Geographical Science, and delivered lectures on geology. 
In 1835 he was attached as physician and geologist to the 
Euphrates expedition under Col. Chesney, and returned, 
1837, through Kurdistan, the Taurus, and Asia Minor. In 
the following year he went again to Asia Minor, being sent 
with Rassam and Russell by the Geographical Soc., and the 
Soc. for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge. The ob¬ 
jects were chiefly to explore the course of the Halys, and to 
visit the Christians in Kurdistan. On his return (1841) he 
published Researches in Assyria, etc. He has published also 
The Claims of the Christian Aborigines in the East, and 
Travels in the Track of the 10,000. He has edited Lares 
and Penates, or Cilicia and its Governors; On an Indo- 
European Telegraph by the Valley of the Tigris , a project 
which the Turkish government has since carried out; All 
Round the World; The Illustrated Universal Gazetteer, etc. 


AINSWORTH—AIR. 

He was a member of many foreign learned societies, and 
one of the founders of the West London Hospital. 

AINSWORTH, William Harrison: 1805-82; b. Man¬ 
chester, Eng., where his father was a solicitor: well known 
writer of fiction. His creative fancy began early to show 
itself in ballads and tales, in the local newspapers, and in 
contributions to the London Magazine and similar periodi¬ 
cals. He entered a writer’s office; but forsook law for liter¬ 
ature, and began a publishing business in London, which, 
however, he soon gave up in disappointment. He had pre¬ 
viously published his first novel, Sir John Chiverton (1825). 
After spending some time on the continent, he returned to 
England, and wrote Eookwood (1884), which was favorably 
received. It was followed by Crichton (1837) and Jack 
Sheppard (1839). A. edited for a time Bentley's Miscellany , 
and in 1842 began his own Ainsicorth’s Magazine. He pub. 
the Lancashire Witches in 1848; six years later appeared the 
Star Chamber; in 1860, Ovingdean Orange; the Lord 
Mayor of London was pub. 1862, Cardinal Pole, 1863, and 
John Law, the Projector, 1864. More recent are the Spanish 
Match, the Constable de Bourbon, Old Court, Middleton 
Pomphret, Merrie England , The Leaguer of Lathom (1876), 
Stanley Brereton (1881). The ‘Lancashire Novelist’ was 
honored with a banquet in his native city in 1881. 

AIN’T, ant: colloqial contr. for ‘am not’; improper 
contr. for ‘ is not’: Ar’n’t, colloquial for ‘ are not.’ 

AINTAB, in-tab': a town of Syria, near the source of the 
Kowek, an affluent of the Euphrates, 59 m. n.n.e from 
Aleppo. It is tolerably well built: the houses are mostly of 
stone. It is well supplied with water, pure streams of 
which flow constantly through the streets. It has a castle 
built upon a mound, resting on rock, and of very striking 
appearance. The chief trade is in hides and leather; but 
cotton, sheep’s and goat’s wool, wax, wheat, and rice are 
also of commercial importance, being chief articles of prod¬ 
uce in the surrounding district. A. is supposed by some 
to be the ancient Antiochia ad Taurum. Pop. 20,000, com¬ 
posed of Turks, Greeks, and Armenians. 

AIR, n. dr [F. air —from Gr. or L. dir, air: It. aria, 
tune, air]: the atmosphere; a gas; a light breeze; a tune or 
melody; look or mien; affected manner. Airs, n. plu. show 
of pride; haughtiness. Air, v. to dry; to expose to the air; 
to parade ostentatiously before the public. Airing, imp. 
Aired, pp. ard. Airy, a. dr'i, high in air; light like air; 
~ trifling; vain. Airily, ad. ar'i-li. Air ing, n. a ride or 
walk in the open air. Airless, a. wanting fresh air. 
Airiness, n. ar'i-nes, the state of being opened freely to the 
air; lightness of manner; gayety; jauntiness. Air-tight, so 
close and compact as to prevent the passage of air. Air¬ 
bed, a large air tight bag filled with air for the repose of 
ailing persons. Air-bladder, a vesicle filled with air; 
among fishes, a lonir silvery fibrous tunic within the ab¬ 
domen of fishes, which is filled with air, and regulates 
their specific gravity with reference to that of water. Air- 
cells, cavities in vegetable and animal structures filled 


AIR—AIR-BEDS. 

with air. Air-chamber, a large cell or cavity filled with 
air. Air gun. a musket or guu in which compressed air, 
instead of powder, is made the propelling agent. Air-hole, 
an opening to admit or discharge air. Air-pipe, a pipe for 
the escape or supply of air. Air-plants, plants rooted on 
others, and suspended, as it were, in the air. Air-pump, a 
machine for exhausting or pumping out the air from ves¬ 
sels. Air-shaft, a passage for the free admission and 
circulation of air into mines and subterraneous excavations. 
Air-thermometer, a thermometer in w r hich air is em¬ 
ployed instead of mercury or spirits of wine. Air-vessels 
or Air-sacs, spiral ducts in plants containing air, analogous 
to lungs in animals. The air is a compound of gases con¬ 
stituting the substance of our atmosphere. Formerly, all 
aeriform tluids were called ‘ airs,’ but in this sense the 
word gas is now used. For the chief properties of air, and 
the phenomena that they give rise to, see Atmosphere: 
Aerodynamics: Aerostatics: Air-pump: Barometer: 
Balloon: Flawing; etc. Note. — Air, in the sense of ‘ tune 
or melody,’ is derived from It. aria , through F. air , in the 
secondary signification of tune or song. See Aria. Dr. 
Mackay derives air from Gael, aireamh , to number or 
compute.— Syn. of ‘air, n.’: manner; mien; demeanor; 
look, appearance; carriage. 

AIR, or Asben, ds-ben': kingdom in the n. of the 
Soudan. Agades (q.v.) is the cap., and residence of the 
sultan, but his power is in large measure merely nominal. 
The country is inhabited principally by three large tribes— 
the Kel-owi, the Kel-geres, and Itisan, each of which has 
numerous subdivisions. There are, besides, the Kel-n- 
Negarru, the Imghad, etc. The word kel means ‘people,’ 
but specially denotes settled people, not nomads: thus, 
Kel-owi is people settled in the valley of Owi. Many of 
the tribes and families live not in fixed dwellings, but in 
movable tents of mats. The valleys of A. are naturally 
rich, but are poorly cultivated. Food and clothing are im¬ 
ported. The population, which is very considerable could 
not be sustained were it not for the salt-trade of Bilma, a 
town lying to the e. of A., in the Tebu country. Although 
the valleys of A. are in the region of the tropics, the climate 
is comparatively temperate. See Barth’s Travels in Central 
Africa, vol. I. 

AIR-BEDS and AIR-CUSHIONS: valuable in many 
cases of sickness. Air-beds were known at the beginning of 
the 18th c., but being made of leather, were expensive. 
After the invention of air-tight or Macintosh cloth their cost 
became more moderate. An air-bed is a sack in the form 
of a mattress, divided into a number of air-tight compart¬ 
ments; a projection at one end forms a bolster. Each com¬ 
partment has a valve, through which the air is blown in by 
a bellows. The advantages of such beds are cleanness, 
coolness, lightness, and elasticity. The travelling-cushion is 
another contrivance of the same kind. Recently vulcanized 
India-rubber has been used instead of cloth. 


AIR-BL ADDER-AIR-CELLS. 

AIR-BLADDER, or Swimming-Bladder, in Fishes; 
an organ supposed to contract or expand as the fish 
rises or sinks in the water. Without more proof of 
this, it is enough to say that its office is hydrostatic. 
One use may be to adapt specific gravity to quan¬ 
tity or absence of food ingested. It is in the 
abdomen, under the spine; and it is very various in size 
and form in different kinds of fishes. It usually has an 
opening into the oesophagus, or into the stomach, but ap¬ 
parently only for the ejection, not for the admission of air. 
In some fishes, it has no opening. The air with which the 
A. is filled appears to be the result of secretion; and in 
fresh-water fishes, consists in general almost entirely of 
nitrogen, but in sea-fishes contains a large proportion of 
oxygen, in deep-sea fishes amounting in some specimens to 
87 per cent. The A. is in some fishes very small; in others, 
entirely wanting, particularly in fishes that are destined to 
live chiefly at the bottom of the water, as flat fishes, eels, 



Air-Bladder of Carp: 

Consisting of two parts—B and C, joined by a narrow neck 
A D, a canal communicating with sesophagus, E. 


etc.; but there are remarkable instances of its absence alsc 
in species of very different habits, such as the common 
mackerel, while it exists in other species of the same genus 
or family. The A. of fishes affords the finest isinglass. 


AIR-CELLS, or Air Sacks, in Birds: remarkable cavi¬ 
ties connected with the respiratory system: distributed along 

the inside of the whole cavity of 
the chest and abdomen; and in 
birds of strong wing and rapid 
flight, often send prolongations 
into the bones. They are con¬ 
nected with the extremely active 
respiratory system, and communi¬ 
cate with the lungs, giving an im¬ 
mense extension to the surface 
with which the air inhaled comes 
in contact. In the lungs of the 
mammalia, the cells into which 
air is conveyed by minute rami¬ 
fications of the windpipe, in order 
to be brought into contact with 
- - „ ... the blood distributed on their 

c, heart; d, stomach; walls, are very small; in man, 

e, intestines. only about one-hundredth part of 

an inch in diameter. See Birds: 
Respiration: and for the breathing apparatus of the lower 
forms of life, Gills. Air-cells, or air-sacs, may be said to 
form the whole respiratory apparatus in some of the lower 



aa 


Lungs, etc., of Ostrich: 









AIR-CELLS—AIRDRIE. 

kinds of animals (see Annelida), while in others, higher m 
the scale of organization, particularly in insects, air-tubes 
arising from these ramify throughout the whole body. The 
air-tubes of insects are formed of a spiral fibre within a 
membranous coat, like the spiral vessels of plants, so that 
they have great elasticity. 

AIR CELLS in Plants: cavities containing air in the 
stems or leaves. The orifices of the intercellular passages 
are closed up, so as to prevent the juices of the plant from 
entering them. They are very variable in size, figure, and 
arrangement, but are formed according to a uniform rule in 
each particular species in which they are found. They are 
large and numerous in many aquatic plants, evidently serv¬ 
ing the purpose of buoying them up in the water. Besides 
A. of regular form, there are irregular cavities, also called 
by the same name, which seem to be formed by the tear¬ 
ing of the cellular tissue in the rapid growth of the plant, 
as in grasses and umbelliferous plants. 

AIRD, ard, Thomas: 1802-76; b. Bowden, Roxburgh' 
shire, Scotland: a poet. He studied at the schools in his 
native county, from which he passed to the Univ. of Edin¬ 
burgh, and lie made the friendship of many distinguished 
men, especially Prof. John Wilson, who was accustomed to 
speak of him in high terms. He edited (1835-64) The Dum¬ 
fries Herald, a new journal, started on Conservative prin¬ 
ciples. The Devil’s Dream, his best-known poem, has a 
certain sublimity of conception, and much pathos. Whether 
the scenes are colossal, as in The Devil’s Dream, or minute, 
as in The Summer’s Day, there is the same clear, vigorous, 
and picturesque word-painting; but A.’s poetry has never 
become popular, and he did not fully realize the expecta¬ 
tions raised by his early works. In 1827 he published 
Religious Characteristics, a piece of exalted prose-poetry; in 
1845, the Old Bachelor, a volume of tales and sketches; in 
1848, a collected edition of his poems—a second edition, 
1856—and in 1852 he edited the select poems of David Mac¬ 
beth Moir (the 4 Delta ’ of Blackwood), prefixing a memoir 
for the benefit of Dr. Moir’s family. See Life and Poems 
edited by J. Wallace (1878). 

AIRDRIE, dr'-dre: flourishing town in Lanarkshire, 11 
m. e. of Glasgow. The high-road between Edinburgh and 
Glasgow intersecting it, forms its principal street. It has 
risen rapidly, and is now one of the most flourishing inland 
towns in Scotland. Little more than a century ago it con¬ 
sisted of a solitary farm-house or two; but the abundance of 
iron and coal in the vicinity has given it a growth like that 
of an American city (see Gartsherrie). The Monkland 
canal and the Caledonian railway receive the produce of 
the coal pits and iron mines. The town has some neat 
buildings, is well paved, and lighted with gas. The weav 
ing of cotton goods for the Glasgow manufacturers is car¬ 
ried on to a considerable extent, as is also the distillation of 
spirits, silk-weaving, and paper-making. It unites with 
Falkirk in sending a member to parliament. Pop. (1901) 
22,288. 


AIRE—AIR-GUN. 

AIRE or Aire-Sur-L’Adour, dr silr-ld-dor' (anc. Vicus 
Julius)-, a town of the dept, of Landes, France, on the left 
bank of the Adour, 76 m. s. from Bordeaux. It is a bishop’s 
seat, and its cathedral, which has been often destroyed and 
rebuilt, is one of the most ancient in France. A. lias been 
a place of consequence from the days of the Roman conquest 
of Gaul, and was the cap. of the Visigoths under Alaric, 
but is now much decayed, and diminishing in population. 
It has hat manufactories and tanneries. Pop. 8,000. 

AIRE or Aire-Sur-Le-Lys, dr sur-la-les': town of the 
dept, of Pas-de-Calais, Fiance, on the Lys, 80 m. s.e. from 
Calais. It is a fortress of the third class; the town well 
built, but its situation low and marshy. The barracks can 
contain 6,000 men. There are manufactures of woolen 
stuffs, linen yarn, thread, hats, starch, Dutch tiles, and 
soap; also some trade in grain. Osier-work is carried on 
to some extent. Pop. 5,000. 

AIR-ENGINE: see Caloric Engine. 

AIR-GUN: instrument for throwing bullets or other pro¬ 
jectiles, by the force of compressed air instead of gunpow¬ 
der. Various forms of construction have been adopted. 
The most usual plan is to insert a condensing syringe in the 
stock of the gun. The piston of this syringe is worked by 
an apparatus which passes through to the exterior of the 
gun; and this working causes a small body of air to be con¬ 
densed into a chamber. The chamber has a valve opening 
into the barrel, just behind the place where the bullet i9 
lodged. The gun is loaded from the muzzle, as ordinary 
muskets or fowling-pieces; and there is at that time just 
behind it a small body of highly compressed air, ready to 
rush out at any opening. This opportunity is afforded by a 
movement of the trigger, which opens the valve; the air 
rushes forth with such impetuosity as to propel the bullet. 
By a certain management of the trigger, tw r o or three bullets, 
successively and separately introduced, can be thrown by 
one mass of condensed air. Another form of A. contains 
several bullets in a receptacle or channel under the barrel; 
by the movement of a cock or lever, one of these bullets can 
readily be shifted into the barrel; and thus several succes¬ 
sive discharges can be made after one loading—on a prin¬ 
ciple somewhat analogous to that of the revolving pistol 
Some varieties of A. have the condensing syringe detached, 
by which means, a more powerful condensation of air may 
be produced; this done, the air-chamber is replaced in its 
proper position behind the bullet in the barrel Those air- 
guns which present the external appearance of stout walking- 
sticks, and are thence called air-canes, have a chamber withm 
the handle for containing condensed air, which can be un¬ 
screwed, and subjected to the action of the condensing 
syringe. One inventor has devised a form of A. with two 
barrels—one of small bore for the reception of the bullets, 
and another of larger bore for the reservoir of condensed 
air; the condensing syringe being within the stock of the 
gun. An attempt has more recently been made to combine 
the action of elastic springs with that of compressed air, in 


AIR-PLANTS—AIR-PUM P. 

an A.; springs of gutta-percha, or of vulcanized India-rubber 
are employed in substitution of, or in co-operation with a 
condensing syringe. No form of A. hitherto made has had 
power enough to propel a bullet to any considerable dis¬ 
tance; and therefore the instrument is scarcely available it 
war; there are, however, circumstances in which such an 
arm may be useful—seeing that there is no expense for gun¬ 
powder, no noise, no smoke, no unpleasant odor. The A. 
was known in France more than two centuries ago; and the 
ancients were acquainted with some kind of apparatus by 
which air was made to act upon the shorter arm of a lever, 
while the larger arm impelled a bullet. 

AIR-PLANTS: see Epiphytes. 

AIR'PUMP: instrument for removing the air from a vessel. 
The essential part is a hollow brass or glass cylinder, in which 
an air tight piston is made to move up and down by a rod. 
From the bottom of the cylinder, a connecting tube leads to 
the space which is to be exhausted, which is usually formed 
by placing a bell-glass, called the receiver, with edges ground 
smooth, and smeared with lard, on a flat, smooth plate or 
table. When the piston is at the bottom of the barrel, 



Air-pump. 


aDd is then drawn up, it lifts out the air from the barrel, 
and a portion of the air under the receiver, by its own ex¬ 
pansive force, passes through the connecting tube, and oc¬ 
cupies the space below the piston, which would otherwise be 
a vacuum. The air in the receiver and barrel is thus rarefied. 
The piston is now forced down, and the effect of this is to 
close a valve placed at the mouth of the connecting tube, 
and opening inwards into the barrel. The air in the barrel 
is thus cut off from returning into the receiver, and, as it 


















































AIR SHIP—AIRY. 

Becomes condensed, forces up a valve in the piston, which 
opens outwards, and thus escapes into the atmosphere. 
When the piston reaches the bottom, and begins to ascend 
again, this valve closes; and the some process is repeated as 
at the first ascent. Each stroke thus diminishes the quantity 
of air in the receiver; but from the nature of the process, it 
is evident that the exhaustion can never be complete. Even 
theoretically, there must always be a portion left, though 
that portion may be rendered less than any assignable quan¬ 
tity; and practically the process is limited by the elastic force 
of the remaining air being no longer sufficient to open the 
valves. The degree of rarefaction is indicated by a gauge on 
the principle of the barometer. By means of the partial 
vacuum formed by the A., a great many interesting experi¬ 
ments can be performed, illustrating the effects of atrnos 
pheric pressure, and other mechanical properties of gases. 
—The A. was invented by Otto Guericke (q.v.), 1654; and 
though many improvements and varieties of structure have 
been devised, the principle of all is the same. Two barrels 
are generally used, so as to double the effect of one stroke. In 
some air-pumps, stop-cocks turned by the hand take the 
place of valves; and in others, the entrance of the connecting 
tube into the cylinder is such that the piston is not required. 

AIR SHIP: see Aerial Navigation. 

AIRY, dr -i. Sir George Biddell, k.c.b,, f.r.s. : b, 
Alnwick, 1801,June27-1892, Jan.4. AstronomerRoval 1835 
1881. In 1819 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge; in 
1822 he.w r as elected Scholar; in 1823 he took the degree of 
b a. , with the honor of Senior Wrangler, and in 1826 that 
of m.a. In 1826 he was elevated to the chair of science 
founded by Lucas, which he rescued from the reproach of 
being a sinecure by delivering a course of public lectures on 
experimental philosophy. In 1828 he was made Plumian 
professor, and was intrusted with the management of the 
newly-erected Cambridge Observatory. On account of his 
severe and unintermitting labors, his income w r as augmented 
from the funds of the university. He 'published his obser¬ 
vations (Astronomical Observations: Cambridge, 1829-38, 9 
vols.), arranged in a clear and simple manner, and they 
have served as a model ever since for those of Greenwich 
and other observatories. In 1835 the office of Astronomer 
Royal became vacant, and A. was appointed to it by Lord 
Auckland, First Lord of the Admiralty. He had introduced 
new or more nearly perfect scientific instruments, more 
rapid methods of calculation, and researches in magnetism, 
meteorology, photography, etc. He contributed the well- 
known article on * Gravitation,’ to the Penny Cyclopaedia 
(1837). Equally excellent and popular is his treatise on 
Trigonometry, written for the Encyclopaedia Metropolitans 
(1855). He had deservedly obtained the reputation of being 
one of the most able and indefatigable of living savans. He 
served on the Royal Commission appointed in 1868 to in¬ 
quire into the standard weights and measures. In 1869, he 
communicated to the Royal Astronomical Soc. a remarkable 
discovery on ‘ Atmospheric Chromatic Dispersion, as affect' 
mg Telescopic Observation, and the mode of correcting it' 


AISLE—AIX. 

He became a Companion (civil) of the Bath in 1871, and a 
Knight Commander in 1872. A. was an f.r.s.; an Hon. 
Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Cor. Member 
of the French Institute, d.c.l. of Oxford, and ll.d. of 
Cambridge and Edinburgh. 

AISLE, n. U [F. aisle or aile, a wing—from L. did, a 
wing]: wing of a house; the side passages of a church— 
the middle passage is called the nave. Aisled, a. lid, hav¬ 
ing aisles. 



AISLE: any lateral division of any part of a church, 

whether nave, choir, or transept. 
The number of aisles varies in 
the churches of different coun¬ 
tries. In England there is only 
one on each side of the nave or 
choir; in most foreign countries 
there are usually two, and at 
Cologne there are even three. 
The continental edifices, it 
would seem, have antiquity in 
their favor for this arrangement. 
See Basilica. The wrnrd is 
often incorrectly applied to the 
open space in the nave of 
churches between the seats of 
the congregation. 

AISNE, an: tributary of the 
Oise, France; rises in the dept, 
of Meuse, and flows n.w. 
through the depts. of Marne and 
Ardennes, and then w. through that of Aisne and part of 
Oise, where it falls into the river Oise, above Compiegne. 
Its course extends to 150 m., of which 70 are navigable. 


Aisle (Melrose Abbey). 


AISNE: a dept, in the n. of France, formed of a part of 
ancient Picardy and the Isle of France. It belongs to the 
basin of the Seine, and is intersected by the river A., and 
by other navigable streams and canals. The soil is fertile; 
the chief culture is wheat, and other grain. Its rich 
meadows supply Paris with hay. Area, 2,830 sq. miles. It is 
the seat of considerable cotton and other manufactures, the 
centre of which is St. Quentin (q.v.), and at St. Gobin is the 
famous manufactory of mirrors. The dept, is divided into 
5 arrondissements and 37 cantons. Pop. (1891) 545,493. 
The chief town is Laon (q.v.). 

AIT, n. at [a contr. of eyot —from eye, an island]: a small 
flat island in a river. 


AIX, dks: town in France, formerly cap. of Provence, 
now the chief town of an arrondissement in the dept, of the 
Bouches du-Rhone. It is believed to have been built by the 
Roman consul C. Sextius, b.c. 120, on account of the min¬ 
eral springs in the neighborhood, and thence called Aqua? 
Sextiae. A. is the seat of a court of appeal; and has an 
academy for theology and law, and a public library with 
nearly 100,000 vols.,"and 1.100 MSS. The baptistery of the 



















































AIX. 

cathedral is believed to have been originally a temple of 
Apollo. The numerous public fountains give the place a 
pleasant appearance: one has a sculpture of the Good King 
Rene, by David. There is also an old clock-tower, the 
machinery of which, when the clock strikes, sets various 
quaint-looking figures in motion. The industry of this 
again flourishing town consists chiefly in the cultivation of 
the olive, in cotton spinning, leather-dressing, and trade in 
oil, wine, almonds, etc. The warm springs are slightly sul¬ 
phureous, with a temperature 90° to 100° F., clear and 
transparent as the purest well-water, almost free from smell, 
yet with a slightly bitter taste. They have the reputation of 
improving the beauty of the skin, and are on this account 
especially frequented by women. The field on which 
Marius defeated the Teutones lies in the plain between A. 
and Arles. In the middle ages, under the counts of 
Provence (see Rene), A. was long the literary capital of 
Southern Europe. Pop. (1881) 23,887; (1893) 29,000. 

AIX (Aqua Gratiance Allobrogum ): small town of Savoy, 
in a delightful valley near Lake Bourget, seven m. n. from 
Chambery. It was a much frequented bathing-place in the 
times of the Roman empire, and among its numerous re¬ 
mains of ancient times are the arch of Pomponius, the ruins 
of a temple and of a vaporarium. The king of Sardinia has 
a palace here. The hot springs, two in number, are of 
sulphureous quality, and of a temperature above 100° F. 
They are used both for drinking and as baths, and attract 
annually above 2,000 visitors. Pop. of A. about 3,000. 


AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, aks-ld-shd-pel' (Ger. Aachen); 
cap. of a district in Rhenish Prussia. It is in a fertile 
hollow, surrounded by heights, and watered by the Wurm; 
n. lat. 50° 47', e. long. 6° 5'; pop. (1900)185,245, of whom 
a very small proportion are Protestants. A. is the centre 
of numerous thriving manufactories, especially for spinning 
and weaving woolen fabrics, and for needle and pin-making. 
There are also immense manufactures of machinery, bells, 
glass buttons, chemicals, cigars, etc. As a principal station 
on the Belgian-Rhenish railways, A. is an important staple 
place of Prussian trade. The city is rich in historical asso¬ 
ciations. It emerges from historical obscurity about the 
time of Pepin, and Charlemagne established its world-wide 
celebrity. Whether it was the birthplace of Charlemagne, is 
doubtful, but it became his grave, 814. In 79C, Charlemagne 
caused the palace, called the Imperial Palace, to be entirely 
rebuilt, as well as the chapel, in which Pepin had celebrated 
Christmas in 765. The two buildings w T ere connected by a 
colonnade, which fell into ruins a short time before the em¬ 
peror’s death, probably from the effects of an earthquake. 
The present town-house has been built on the ruins of the 
palace; the chapel, after being destroyed by the Normans, 
was rebuilt on the ancient plan by Otho III., 983, and forms 
the nucleus of the present cathedral. This ancient cathe¬ 
dral is in the form of an octagon, which, with various addi¬ 
tions round it, forms, on the outside, a sixteen-sided figure. 
In the middle of the octagon, a stone with the inscription 
‘ Caholo Magno,’ marks the grave of Charlemagne. Otho 
III. opened the vault in 997. The body of the emperor 
was found in a wonderful state of preservation, seated upon 
a marble chair, dressed in his robes, his sceptre in his hand, 
the Gospel on his knee, a piece of the holy cross on his head, 
and a pilgrim’s scrip attached to his girdle. Otho caused 
the tomb to be built up again, after repairing the injuries of 
the arch. In 1165, when the emperor Frederick I. caused 
the vault to be re-opened, the bones of the great emperor 
were enshrined in a casket of gold and silver, and a large and 
beautifully-wrought chandelier was hung up over the tomb 
as a memorial. In 1215 Frederick II. caused the remains 
of the emperor to be inclosed in a costly chest, in which 
they are yet kept in the sacristy. The marble chair was, in 
later times, overlaid with gold plates, and used till 1558 at 
the imperial coronations, as a throne for the newly-crowned 
emperor. The imperial insignia were removed to Vienna 
in 1795. In the 14th c., a choir in the Gothic style was 
added to the e. side of the octagon, which had been built in 
the Byzantine stvle; while on the w. side, a square belfry was 
joined to it, as well as two small round towers, with wind¬ 
ing stairs leading to the treasury. Here are kept the so- 
called ‘great relics,’ which, once in seven years, in the 
month of July, are still shown to the people, from the 
gallery of the tower. This spectacle attracts many thou¬ 
sands of strangers. Much has of late years been done to 
restore this venerable pile. The columns brought by Charle¬ 
magne from the palace of the exarch at Ravenna, to 

decorate the interior of the octagon, had been carried off by 

* 


AIX-L A-CH APELLE. 

tlie French; and although part of them had been restored 
at the peace of Paris, they were not replaced in the building 
till recently. 

The town-house—which incloses the remains of the Im¬ 
perial Palace—adorns the market-place, having the Bell or 
Market Tower on the left, and on the right the Granus 
Tower, a memorial of old Roman times. The coronation- 
hall, 162 ft. long, 60 ft. wide, in the interior of the town- 
house, was, in the last c., divided in the middle by a wooden 
partition This noble hall, in which thirty-five German 
emperors and fourteen empresses have been crowned, has 
been restored to its original form, and the walls have been 
lately decorated with large fresco-paintings of scenes from 
the life of Charlemagne, by Rethel. Before the town-house 
stands a beautiful fountain, with a bronze statue of Charle¬ 
magne. In the church of the Franciscans are to be seen a 
fine picture of the Taking Down of Christ from the Cross, 
by Yandyck, and two other pictures representing the Cruci¬ 
fixion, by A. Diepenbeeck. At a short distance from A., 
and surrounded by the river, stands Frankenburg, once the 
favorite abode of Charlemagne and of Fastrada, and rich in 
legends. It has been rebuilt from its romantic ruins. As 
a town A. has recently been much improved. It now has 
many fine buildings, among which are several large and 
splendid hotels. From being a quiet old city of historical 
interest, it has become a centre of manufacturing industry. 
In 1870, a new Polytechnic School was erected. A. was 
formerly noted for its gambling-tables; but these are no 
longer allowed. 

The name of Aix or Aachen is evidently derived from the 
springs, for which the place has been always famous. See 
Aa. The name Aquis Granum, which it received about the 
3d c., may possibly be derived from Granus, one of the 
names of Apollo, who was worshiped by the Romans near 
springs. The French name, A., refers to the chapel of the 
palace. Charlemagne granted extraordinary privileges to 
this city. The citizens were exempted, in all parts of the 
empire, from personal and military service, from imprison¬ 
ment, and from all taxes. The city also possessed the right 
of sanctuary: ‘ the air of A. made all free, even outlaws.’ 
In the middle ages, this free imperial city (then included in 
the circle of Westphalia) contained more than 100,000 in¬ 
habitants; and held an important place among the confeder¬ 
ated cities of the Rhine. The emperors were crowned in A, 
from Louis the Pious to Ferdinand I. (813-1531). Seventeen 
imperial diets and 11 provincial councils were held within 
its walls. The removal of the coronations to Frankfort, the 
religious contests of the 16tli and 17th centuries, a great fire 
which in 1656 consumed about 4,000 houses in the city, 
combined with other causes to bring into decay this once 
flourishing community. In 1793, Jan., and again in 1794, 
A. was occupied by the French. By the treaties concluded 
at Campo Formio and Luneville, it was formally ceded to 
France, and became the cap. of the department of Roer; at 
length, in 1815, the city fell to Prussia. See Quix Geschichte 
cter Stadt A. (History of A ), 1841. 


AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

The Mineral Springs of A., of which six are hot, and 
two cold, were known in the time of Charlemagne, and were 
much frequenied as early as 1170. The hot springs are 
strongly sulphurous, and contain also hydrochlorates. The 
temperature varies from 111°-136° F. They act chiefly on 
the liver, and on the mucous surfaces and skin, and are 
therefore efficacious in cases of gout, rheumatism, cuta¬ 
neous diseases, etc. The most remarkable is the ‘Em¬ 
peror’s Spring,’ which rises in the middle of the Hotel 
Kaiserbad. The baths themselves are from four to five ft. 
deep, and are built quite in the old Roman style. The cold 
springs are chalybeate, and not so copious. The new 
‘ Eisenquelle ’ (iron spring), first discovered in 1829, is 
provided with an elegant bath-house. The well-proved 
medicinal virtues of the mineral springs of A. bring yearly 
to the city many thousands of strangers. 

Treaties of Peace, and Congress of A.—The first 
Peace of A. ended the war carried on between France and 
Spain for the possession of the Spanish Netherlands. On 
the death of Philip IV., Louis XIV. laid claim to a large 
portion of those territories in the name of his wife, Maria 
Theresa, the daughter of Philip, urging the law of succes¬ 
sion prevailing in Brabant and Namur respecting private 
property. The victorious progress of Louis was checked by 
the triple alliance between England, Holland, and Sweden; 
and a treaty of peace was concluded at A. in 1668, by which 
France retained possession of the fortresses of Charleroi, 
Lille, etc., which she had already taken. 

The second Peace of A. concluded the war respecting the 
succession of Maria Theresa to the empire. See Succession, 
Wars of. After the war had been carried on with various 
success for eight years, peace was concluded in 1748. In 
general, the possessions of the several states remained as 
before the war. Austria ceded Parma and Placentia to the 
Spanish infante, Philip; and the possession of Silesia was 
guaranteed to Prussia. The privilege of the Assiento Treaty 
(q.v.) was anew confirmed to England for four years, and 
the pretender was expelled from France. Owing chiefly to 
the exertions of her minister, Kaunitz, Austria came off 
with but small sacrifice, while England, notwithstanding 
her splendid victories, derived little solid advantage, and 
was left with a debt raised to £80,000,000. 

The Congress of A. was held in 1818, for regulating the 
affairs of Europe after the war. It began on the 30th Sept, 
and ended Nov. 21. Its principal object was the with¬ 
drawal from France of the army of occupation, 150,000 
strong, as well as the receiving of France again into the 
alliance of the Great Powers. The emperors of Russia and 
Austria, and the king of Prussia, were personally present. 
The plenipotentiaries were Metternich, -Castlereagh, and 
Wellington, Hardenberg and Bernstorff, Nesselrode and 
Capo d’lstrias, with Richelieu on the part of France. France 
having engaged to complete the payment of the stipulated 
sums of money, was admitted to take part in the delibera¬ 
tions, and the five great powers assembled, signed a protocol 


AJACCIO—AJMEER. 

announcing a policy, known as that of the ‘ Holy Alii 
ance ’ (q.v.) 

AJACCIO, a-ydt'chd: chief town of the island of Corsica, 
which forms a dept, of France. The chief employments 
are the anchovy and pearl fisheries, and the trade in wine 
and olive oil, which the neighborhood produces in abun¬ 
dance, and of good quality. The harbor is protected by a 
strong fort. A. is remarkable as the birthplace of Napoleon; 
the house is still to be seen. Pop. (1896) 20,561. 

xiJAN, a-zhan': a portion of the e. coast of Africa, ex¬ 
tending from Cape Guardafui nearly to the equator. 

AJAR, ad. d-jdr' [Scot, on char; AS. on cyrre, to a side, 
on the turn: AS. ceoi'ran, to turn: Swiss, ackar, ajar]: a 
little opened; half open. 

AJAX, a'jaks: name of two of the Greek heroes of the 
Trojan war. One of them was called A. the Less, or the 
Locrian, being the son of Oileus, king of the Locrians. At 
the head of forty Locrian ships, he sailed against Troy, and 
was one of the bravest of the Greek heroes; in swiftness of 
foot he excelled all except Achilles. When Cassandra fled 
to the temple of Minerva, after the taking of Troy, it is said 
that A. tore her from it by force, and dragged her away 
captive. Other legends are to the effect that he even 
violated the prophetess in the temple. Though he excul¬ 
pated himself by an oath when accused of this crime by 
Ulysses, yet he did not escape the vengeance of the goddess, 
who caused him to be engulfed in the waves. 

The other A., called by the Greeks the Greater, was the 
son oJ Telamon, king of Salamis, and, by his mother’s side, 
a grandson of xEacus. He sailed against Troy with twelve 
- ships, and is represented b} r Homer as, next to Achilles, the 
bravest and handsomest of the Greeks. After the death of 
Achilles, A. and Ulysses contended for the arms of the hero, 
and the prize was adjudged to Ulysses, which threw A. into 
such a state of rage and despair that he killed himself with 
his sword. This melancholy fate is the subject of one of 
the extant tragedies of Sophocles. 

AJMEER, dj-mer': one of the districts of Hindustan, 
directly under the government of India, lat. 25° 43-26° 42'; 
long. 74° 22'-75° 33'. Its length from s.e. to n.w. is about 
80 m.; breadth, 50; 2,661 sq. miles. The surface townrds 
the s.e. is generally level. In the n., n.w., and w., it is 
broken by mountains and hills of the-Aravulli range. The 
mountain of Taragurh, above the city of Ajmeer, contains 
carbonate of lead, manganese, copper, and abundance of iron 
ore. The general elevation of the plain of A is about 2,000 
ft., and the frosts in the winter are sometimes severe. 
Strong breezes are prevalent, and the climate on the whole 
is healthy. The scarcity of water, however, often occasions 
great distress. The only permanent stream is the Koree, 
the water of which is so impregnated with mineral salts as 
to be unfit for drink except during the rains. To com¬ 
pensate for this deficiency, water-tanks are numerous. The 
staple crop is bajra (Bolens spicatus). Sheep are reared in 
great numbers, and wool is cheap, affording the material of 


.AJMEER—AKBAR. 

clothing to the lower orders. Among the more prevalent 
diseases are small-pox and ophthalmia. The present limits 
of this district do not correspond to its former importance. 
In the 12th c., at the time of the Mussulman invasion, the 
sultan of A. and Delhi was the most powerful monarch in 
India. Under Akbar also, who acquired this territory in 
1559, A. was a large and important province. It afterwards 
fell into the hands of the Mahrattas, from whom it was 
wrested by the British in 1817. The principal race of in¬ 
habitants are the Rajpoots, conquerors of the native Bheels, 
Mhairs, and Neenas. Pop. (1881) 460,722; of whom about 
60,000 are Mussulmans, the rest Hindus; (1891) 542,858. 

AJMEER: ancient city of Hindustan, cap. of the British 
district of A., 228 m. w. from Agra, in a picturesque and 
rocky valley, at the foot of the mountain of Taragurh, 
which is crowned by a fort, formerly strong, now disman¬ 
tled. The city is surrounded by a stone wall, with five 
lofty and handsome gateways on the w. and n. Most of the 
streets are narrow and dirty, but some of them are spacious, 
and contain many fine residences, besides several mosques 
and temples of very massive architecture. A. is the seat of a 
British political agency, a medical school, and an English 
and Oriental school. The tomb of the Mussulman saint, 
Kwajah, within the town, is held in great veneration, and 
pilgrimages are made to it even by Hindus. The em¬ 
peror Akbar journej'ed to it from Agra on foot in 1570, in 
fulfilment of a vow after the visit of his son Jehanghir. In 
Oct., a great annual fair is held in honor of the saint, at 
w T hich ridiculous miracles are pretended to be wrought. 
Pop. (1871), 84,763; (1891) 68,843. 

AJURUOCA, d-zJw-ro o'kd: town of the province of Minas 
Geraes, Brazil, 100 m. n.w. from Rio de Janeiro, in a fertile 
country at the n. base of the Sierra Mantiqueira, on the river 
Ajuruoca, one of the head waters of the Parana. The sur¬ 
rounding district formerly yielded much gold, wilich has ap¬ 
parently been exhausted; but it produces excellent crops of 
tobacco, millet, mandioc, sugar, and coffee. Swine are 
reared for the market of Rio de Janeiro. Pop. (including 
dist.) about 12,000. 

AKABAH, Gulf of: see Red Sea. 

AKBAR, ak'ber{ i.e. ,‘Very Great’), properly Jelal-ed-din- 
Mohammed, Emperor of Hindustan: 1542-1605: the greatest 
Asiatic monarch of modern times. His father, Humayun, 
was deprived of the throne by usurpers, and took refuge in 
Persia; and on the way thither, in the town of Amerkote, 
A. was born. Humayun recovered the throne of Delhi 
after an exile of 12 years; but .died wuthin a year. The 
young prince at first committed the administration to a 
regent-minister; but finding his authority degenerating into 
tyranny, he, by a bold stroke, shook it off, and took the 
powder into his own hands, 1558. At this time, only a few 
of the many provinces once subdued by the Mongol invaders 
were actually subject to the throne of Delhi; in ten or twelve 
years, A.’s empire embraced the whole of Hindustan s of the 
Deccan; but although great in subduing, A. was yet greater 


AKBARPUR—AKENSIDE. 

in ruling. The wisdom, vigor, and humanity with which 
he organized and administered his vast dominions, are unex¬ 
ampled in the east. He promoted commerce by constructing 
roads, establishing a uniform system of weights and meas¬ 
ures, and a vigorous police. He exercised the utmost vigi¬ 
lance over his viceroys of provinces and other officers, to see 
that no extortion was practiced, and that justice was impar¬ 
tially administered to all classes of his subjects. For the 
adjustment of taxation, the lands were accurately measured, 
and the statistics taken, not only of the population, but of 
the resources of each province. For a Mohammedan, the 
tolerance with which he treated other religions was wonder¬ 
ful. He was fond of inquiries as to religious beliefs; and 
Portuguese missionaries from Goa were sent at his request 
to give him an account of the Christian faith. He even at¬ 
tempted to promulgate a new religion of his own, which, 
however, never took root. Literature received great encour¬ 
agement. Schools were established for the education both 
of Hindus and Mohammedans; and numbers of Hindu works 
were translated from Sanscrit into Persian. Abu-1-Fazl, 
the able minister of A., has left a valuable history of his 
master’s reign, entitled Akbar-nameh (History of A.); the 
third vol., containing a description of A.’s empire, derived 
from the statistical inquiries above mentioned, and entitled 
Ayin-i-Akbari (Institutes of A.), has been translated into 
English by Gladwin (3 vols., Calcutta, 1786; and London, 
1800). A.’s latter days were embittered by the death of two 
of his sons from dissipation, and the rebellious conduct of 
the third, Selim (known as Jehanghir), who succeeded his 
father at his death. 

AKBARPUR, ak'ber-por': a town of India, in the British 
dist. of Cawnpore, 28 m. w. from Cawnpore, on the route 
from Cawnpore to Etawa. It is the capital of a pergunnah 
of the same name. Pop. 6,330. 

AKE, n. ok: another spelling of Ache, which see. 

AKEE, d-ke (Gupania Blighia sapida ); fruit tree belong 
ing to the natural order Sapindacece (q.v.), native of Guinea, 
introduced into Jamaica in the end of last century. It 
grows to the height of 20-25 ft. or upwards, with numerous 
branches and alternate pinnate leaves, resembling those of 
the ash ; The flowers are small, white, on axillary racemes; 
the fruit is about the size of a goose’s egg, with three cells 
and three seeds, and its succulent aril has a grateful subacid 
flavor. The fruit is little inferior to a nectarine. Boiled 
down with sugar and cinnamon, it is used as a remedy for 
diarrhea. The distilled water of the flowers is used by negro 
Women as a cosmetic. The A. sometimes produces fruit in 
hot-houses in Britain, but to obtain this, the roots should be 
cramped in pots.—The Aki of New Zealand is a totally 
different plant, Metrosideros buxifolia, of the natural order 
Myrtacxm, a shrub, which sends out lateral roots, and so 
attains the summits of the loftiest trees. 

A KEMPIS, Thomas: see Kempis, Thomas a. 
AKENSIDE, a'ken-sld, Mark: 1721-70; b. Newcastle-on- 
Tyne, where his father was a butcher; d. London: author 


I 


AKERS—AKHLAT. 

of the didactic poem, The Pleasures of the Imagination, and 
some medical works. He began to study for the Presb. 
ministry, but soon turned to the study of medicine. He 
graduated as a physician at Leyden 1744, and practiced at 
Northampton, then at Hampstead, and finally in London, 
but with small success as a physician, owing, it is said, to 
his haughty and pedantic manner. He gained praise for 
some medical writings. At Leyden, he had formed an 
intimacy with Jeremiah Dyson, and this rich and gener¬ 
ous friend allowed him £300 a year. His later poetry, 
chiefly odes and hymns, did not attain the popularity of 
his Pleasures of the Imagination, written in his 23d year. 
In Peregrine Pickle, Smollett has satirically sketched his 
character. A. has little originality, and is lacking in emo¬ 
tion: he has a rapid and stately march of lofty and often 
graceful words. A complete ed. of his works was pub. 
London 1773. 

AKERS, d'kerz, Benjamin Paul: sculptor: 1825, July 
10—1861, May 21; b. Saccarappa, Me. He received an or¬ 
dinary country school education, worked in a printing 
office in Portland, and had his attention turned to sculp¬ 
ture by seeing a plaster cast. He studied the art in Bos¬ 
ton and Portland, and made busts of Longfellow and 
others, and ideal heads. In 1851 he went to Italy, where 
he remained two years; and returned there 1855 and 1859, 
when his health broke down. Among his principal works 
are Peace, Una and the Lion , Isaiah, The Dead Pearl- 
Dicer, Milton, Diana and Endymion, Paul and Francesca , 
etc. He died in Philadelphia. 

AKETON, dk'ton: a name for a portion of armor used in 
the feudal times, called the Gambeson (q.v.). 

AKHALZIKH, a-kdl-zek', or Akiska, d-kis'ka: town of 
Russian Armenia, 90 m. w. from Tiflis, on the left bank of 
the Dalka, an affluent of the Kur. It is in a valley of the 
Keldir mountains, at such an elevation above the sea, that 
the winter is severe, although the summer is very hot. A. 
was anciently called Keldir or Chaldir. It is without walls, 
but has a strong citadel on a rock. The mosque of SultaD 
Ahmed, built on the model of St. Sophia, in Constantinople, 
has a library which was accounted one of the most valuable 
in the east; but the Russians, after acquiring possession of 
A., carried off great part of its most valuable treasures to 
St. Petersburg. Maize, wheat, barley, flax, cotton, silk, 
grapes, figs, and honey are produced in the surrounding 
district. The town has some manufactures, and an active 
trade with various places on the Black Sea. Pop. about 
15,000, two-thirds of w r hom are Armenians. 

AK-HISSAR, ak'his-sdr' (anc. Thyatira): town of Asia 
Minor, in Anatolia, 52 m. n.e. from Smyrna, on somewhat 
elevated ground in the valley of the Hyllus. The streets 
are paved with carved stone, and other relics of antiquity 
abound; but there are no ruins of ancient buildings. Cotton 
goods are exported. Pop. estimated 10,000, of whom two- 
thirds are Turks, the remainder mostly Greeks. 

AKHLAT, ak-ldt', or Ardish. ar-desh': town of Asiatic 


AKHMIM—AKRON. 

Turkey, in the vilayet of Van, and 58 m. n.w. from Van. 
It is on the n.w. shore of Lake Van, and surrounded by a 
double wall and moat, and further protected by towers and 
a citadel. The old city of A., at a little distance from the 
present town in a ravine, was the residence of the kings of 
Armenia, and the scene of many conflicts between the 
Greeks, Armenians, and Persians; and was completely de¬ 
stroyed by earthquake 1246.—Pop. estimated 6.000. 

AKHMIM: see Ekhmin. 

AKHTYRKA, ak-ter'kd: a town of European Russia, in 
the govt, of Kharkov, 58 m. n.w. from Kharkov, on the 
small river A., an affluent of the Dnieper. It was founded 
by the Poles in 1641. It has manufactures of light textile 
fabrics, and a great annual fair. The neighborhood is very 
fertile. Pop. about 25,000. 

AKIMBO, a. a-kim'bo [AS. a , at or on; W. cam; It. 
sghembo, crooked, athwart: Gr. skambos, crooked, bow-leg¬ 
ged]: arched; crooked; bent. 

AKIN, a. a-kin' [AS. a for of, and cyn, family]: of kin 
or near kin; related to by blood; having the same properties. 

AL [L.l: a prefix, being another form of ad, signifying 

to’: in Ar. al, with its form el, signifies the. 

AKJERMANN, dk'yer-mdn', or Akkermann, d'ker-mdn': 
town of Russia, in Bessarabia, on the Black Sea, at the 
mouth of the Dniester, with a citadel and harbor. It is the 
Alba Julia of the Romans; and called, by the Poles, Bialo- 
grod, which, as well as A., signifies the white town. It is of 
some importance, on account of its harbor, fortifications, 
commerce, and especially its extensive salt pits. Pop. (1880), 
28,944; (1897) 28,303. 

The Treaty supplementary of that of Bucharest (1812) 
concluded at A. in 1826, between Russia and Turkey, 
secured to Russia the free navigation of the Black Sea, and 
indemnification for losses sustained by her subjecis from the 
Barbary corsairs; the institution of divans in Moldavia and 
Wallachia, and the power of re-electing the hospodars after 
their term of office; and the restoration of the privileges of 
Servia, in which Turkish troops were only to retain pos¬ 
session of the fortresses. The boundaries in Asia were 
to remain as they then stood, Russia consequently re¬ 
taining the Turkish fortresses of which she had gained pos¬ 
session. The non fulfilment of this treaty on the part of 
the Porte occasioned the war of 1828, terminated by the 
peace of Adrianople. 

AKRON, dk'rbn: city, cap. of Summit co., Ohio; at in¬ 
tersection of the Pennsylvania and Ohio and the Ohio 
and Erie canals, and on six railroads; 40 m. s. by e. of 
Cleveland, 246 m. n.e. of Cincinnati. It is a beautiful and 
enterprising city, 400 ft. above Lake Erie, being the high¬ 
est ground on the line of the canal, between the lake and 
the Ohio river. The canals and the Little Cuyahoga river 
furnish water power for mills, etc. The manufactures 
are extensive, including agricultural implements, min¬ 
ing machinery, rubber goods, pottery, sewer-pipe, flour, 
matches, and many other articles. One of the most im- 


AKSHEHR—AKYAB. 

portant and sources of wealth is the clay fields of Akron, 
which produce some of the finest clay in the world. It is 
made into sewer-pipes, fire-brick, tiliug, and all kinds of 
pottery. In tbe vicinity of A. are immense beds of mineral 
for fire-proof paint, which is largely exported. According to 
the U. S. census, the manufacturing industries of A. for the 
year ending 1900, May 31, were as follows: number of 
industrial establishments 431; capital employed $24,199,- 
310; hands 9,630; wages $3,971,307; cost of materials $13,- 
474,282; value of products $23,610,099; per cent, of in¬ 
crease since 1890: capital 50; wage-earners 18; wages 19; 
expenses 54; materials 31; value products 29. Statistics of 
education for 1889 show 11 public school buildings with 
accommodation for 4,700 pupils; a total of 89 teachers, and 
average daily attendance 3,925. There is a business col¬ 
lege opened 1866, having about 50 pupils; and Buchtel 
College (Univ.) opened 1872. There are 3 national banks 
(combined capital $575,000), 3 state banks (cap. $350,000), 
and 2 fire insurance companies. A. has one daily paper, 
one Sunday, 2 tri-weekly, 4 weekly, one semi-monthly 
(organ of Buchtel College), and 4 monthly publications, of 
which one is agricultural, one educational, one literary, 
and one devoted to taxidermy and kindred subjects. 
There are free public libraries, and several parks. A. was 
settled 1825. Pop. (1890) 27,702; (1900)27,702. 

AKSHEHR, dk-sM’hr' [ White City, anc. Philomel ion]: 
city of Asiatic Turkey, in the pashalic of Karaman, 5 m. 
s. of the salt lake of Akslielir, at the entrance of an exten¬ 
sive mountain valley. The houses rise in successive ter¬ 
races on the slope of a hill. There is here a celebrated 
carpet manufactory. Pop. estimated 6,000. 

AK-SU, dk-sd’: town of eastern Turkestan, 260 m. n.e. 
from Yarkand, on an affluent of the Tarim, and on the s. 
base of the Thiamshan mountains. It was formerly the 
residence of the kings of Kashgar and Yarkand. While 
eastern Turkestan formed part of the Chinese Empire, it 
was an important garrison town. In 1867, it was captured 
by the Atalik-Gkazee. In 1716, it was nearly destroyed by 
an earthquake, and in the beginning of the.present c., suf¬ 
fered terribly from an inundation. It is celebrated for its 
manufactures of cotton cloth and saddlery. It is much re¬ 
sorted to by caravans, as an entrepot of commerce between 
Russia, Tartary, and China. Sheep and cattle are exten¬ 
sively reared in the neighborhood. Pop. variously esti¬ 
mated from 6,000 to 20,000 and upwards. See Turkestan, 
Eastern. 

AKYAB, dk-ydb': town of Farther India, chief seaport 
of the dist. of Akyab or Aracan Proper, cap. .of the province 
of Aracan. It was formerly called Twet-twe, and some¬ 
times still receives that name. It is on the e. side of the 
island of Akyab, at the mouth of the Kuladyne or Cola- 
dyne. The houses are well built, the streets broadband 
regular. The town is rapidly rising in importance. Light¬ 
houses ha vo been erected. Port. 37,038.—The District of 
A. has 5,535 sq. m.; pop. over 670,000. 


Alabama. 

ALABAMA, al-a-bd'ma : state; one of the United States 
of America; 21st in order of admission into the Union, 
4th (1880) in cotton, 5th in mules and molasses, 6th in 
sugar and oorn, 7th in rice and iron ore, 16th in agricult¬ 
ure, 17th in pop., 32d in manufactures; name of Creek In¬ 
dian origin, meaning ‘here we rest.’ 

Location and Area. —A. is in lat. 30° 15'—35° n., long. 
84° 56'—88° 48' w.; bounded n. by Tenn., e. by Ga. and 
Fla., s. by Fla. and the Gulf of Mexico, w r . by Miss.; ex¬ 
treme length n. and s. 336 m., extreme breadth 200 m., 
average 154 m.; 52,250 sq. m. (33,440,000 acres); gulf-coast 
60 m.; navigable rivers 1,500 m.; cap. Montgomery. 

Topography. —The surface is generally low and nearly 
level, trending from the hills of the Blue Ridge, in the 
n.e., to the Gulf. The n. part comprises the fertile val¬ 
ley of the Tennessee river, and a continuation of the great 
central iron region, and is succeeded by the mineral. 
Black, and pine belts, the last in the extreme s. The min¬ 
eral belt abounds in coal, iron ore, gold, and limestone; 
the Black belt is a prairie on which nearly all the cotton 
of the state is raised; the valley of the Tennessee river is 
very fertile, and yields cotton, corn, cereals, and fruit, be¬ 
sides supplying excellent grazing; and the pine belt yields 
rosin, tar, turpentine, and turpentine-oil in abundance. 
Dense and valuable forests of cypress are found in nu¬ 
merous swamps near the large rivers. The Tennessee 
river enters the state in the n.e. corner, takes a circu¬ 
lar dip of nearly |°, and flows outward in the n.w. corner, 
toward the Ohio river, which it joins at Paducah. The 
Mobile river, its tributaries, the Alabama and Tombigbee, 
and their affluents, the Black Warrior, Cahawba, Coosa, 
and Tallapoosa, drain the greater part of the state, and 
discharge into Mobile Bay. All these streams are naviga¬ 
ble for a considerable distance, and might be artificially 
improved to great advantage. The Perdido river sepa¬ 
rates A. from Fla. Mobile Bay is the largest and finest 
on the Gulf of Mexico; Grand, Bonsecours, and Perdido 
bays are too shallow to possess commercial value. 

Climate. —The climate is temperate and semi-tropical; 
particularly enjoyable and healthful in the n., where frost 
is seldom seen and intense heat seldom felt; warmer, 
with cool nights and light frost, in the central part; avid 
hot, with heavy dews and cool nights, in the s. July is 
the hottest month, and fruit-trees begin to blossom early 
in Feb. The temperature ranges 82° to 18° F. in winter, 
105° to 60° in summer; mean for year a little over 60°. 

Geology. —The Silurian, carboniferous, cretaceous, and 
tertiary systems are represented in the rock formations. 
The Silurian afid tertiary are here distinguished by a num¬ 
ber of valuable mineral springs, some of which, as Blount, 
St. Clair, Bladen, Tallahatta, and Talladega, have become 
popular resorts. The mineral region of the n. portion 
extends from the n.e. corner s.w. about 160 m., andhasan 
average width of 80 m. The central portion shows lime¬ 
stone and chalk, and the s. alluvial and diluvial deposits. 
The economic provisions of the state are coal, iron, white 


ALABAMA. 

marble, granite, soapstone, flagstone, graphite, potter's, 
porcelain, and fire clays, and some gold (discovered 1836), 
silver, copper, and lead. The coal measures contain bitu¬ 
minous coal in seams 1 to 8 ft. thick. Bed Mountain, 
extending across the state more than 100 m., has in its 
whole course a solid vein of red ore 2 to 8 ft. thick. Brown 
hematite ore is found in Bibb, Shelby, Jefferson, Talladega, 
St. Clair, and Claiborne counties. In the n. portion of 
A. are white, rod, cup, pin, and post oak, hickory, chest¬ 
nut, poplar, cedar, elm, mulberry, and pine; and in the 
centre and s., where the trees become draped with Span¬ 
ish moss, are live-oak, cypress, yellow pine, and magno¬ 
lia. The principal fruit-trees are apple, pear, plum, and 
peach in the n,, and pomegrate, olive, apricot, scup- 
pernong grape, and orange in the s. 

Zoology .—Game is quite abundant, including deer, wild 
turkey, wild pigeon, partridge, rabbit, and gray squirrel; 
the opossum, raccoon, wild cat, prairie-wolf, fox, and 
bear are occasionally met; lizards, and the moccasin and 
milk-snake—both very venomous—occupy the swamp re¬ 
gions ; and alligators are found in some of the rivers and 
bayous. Terrapins, turtles, a large variety of fish, and 
singing and bright-plumage birds also are abundant. 

Agriculture. —In 1890 the faun-lands covered 19,- 
853,000 acres (of which 7,698,343 were improved); they 
comprised 157,772 farms, valued, with fences and build¬ 
ings, at $111,051,390, and contained implements and 
machinery valued at $4 511,645. The live-stock on hand 
was valued at $30,776,730. The total yield in farm 
products was valued at $66,240,190. The chief prod¬ 
ucts (1880) were: barley 5,281 bush.; Indian corn 25,- 
451,278; oats 3,039,639; rye 28,402;' wheat 1,529,657; 
hay 10,363 tons; lice 810,889 lbs.; cotton 699,654 bales; 
Irish potatoes 334,925 bushels; sweet potatoes 3,448, 
819; tobacco 452,426 lbs.; wool 762,207; sugar 94 hogs¬ 
heads: molasses 795,199 gallons; milk 267,387; butter 
7,997,719 lbs.; and cheese 14,091. The live-stock com¬ 
prised; 113,950 horses; 121,081 mules and asses; 75,534 
working oxen; 271,443 milch cows; 404,213 other cattle; 
347,538 sheep; and 1,252,462 swine. The value of or¬ 
chard products was $3* 2,263.—Official reports (1890) gave: 
corn, 30,073,036 bushels, from 2,127,548 acres; oats, 3,231,- 
085 bushels, 344,831 acres: wheat, 208,591 bushels, 39,641 
acres; rye, 14,618 bushels, 2,190 acres; and (1902) corn, 
23,223,623 bushels; oats, 2,320,141; wheat, 632,916. The 
farm animals 1903, Jan. 1, comprised: horses, 147,769, 
value $7,846,319; mules, 155,339, $10,856,028; milch cows, 
234.792, $4,371,827; oxen and other cattle, 399,319, $2,- 
975,843; sheep, 212,797, $330,558; swine, 1,114,083, $5,- 
102,500—total head 2,264,099; value $31,483,075. 

Manufactures. —A. had (1890) 2,977 manufacturing estab 
/ishments, employing 33,821 hands, using a capital of 
$46,122,571, paying in wages $12,676,029, using materials 
valued at $28,432,28!, and yielding products valued at 
$51,226,605. The chief industry according to capital em 



ALABAMA. 

ployed was the manufacture of iron aud steel,^whicli had 
85 establishments, employed a capital of $17,879,588, paid 
wages $'3,522,008, materials $7,425,844, and received $12,- 
544,227 for products. Next were lumber and other mill 
products 
capit: 

362, a , . . 

the cotton goods with 13 establishments, having a capital 
of $2,853,015, and paying out $447,173 in wages. The 
material used was valued at $1,459,048, and the total 
amount received for the products was $2,190,77L Foun¬ 
dry aud machine-shop products, engaging 41 establishments 
and employing a capital of $2,855,253, came next. These 
paid $844,944 wages, the material handled cost $817,023, 
and the amount received for products was $2,195,913. 
These are followed by steam railroad cars, excluding op¬ 
eration of railroad companies, 3 establishments, $1,950,044 
capital, $542,549 wages, $1,287,806 materials, $2,023,930 
products; flouring aud grist-mill products, 702 establish¬ 
ments, $1,410,730 capital, paying $266,459 wages, work¬ 
ing materials valued at $2,471,828, and $3,060,452 prod¬ 
ucts. In 1892-3 cotton acreage was 2,271,634, and cotton 
mills had 213,858 spindles and 3,903 looms. The output 
of iron ore was (1890) 1,897,815 long tons, (1891) 1,986,830; 
the production of pig-iron (1892) was 915,296 long tons; 
number of furnaces 1893, Jan. 1, in blast 28, out of blast 
24, total 52. In 1900 there were 5,602 manufacturing 
establishments, with $70,370,081 capital and a combined 
output valued at $80,741,449. The cotton crop of 1902 was 
1,011,325 bales. In 1901 A. ranked fifth among the coal- 
producing States, with an output of 9,099,052 short tons, 
spot value $10,000,892, and the same year the production 
of iron, chiefly red hematite, was 2,801,732 long tons. 

Commerce .—In 1880 A. had 43 steam-vessels of 7,168 
tons and 73 sailing-vessels of 7,936 tons—total 116 vessels, 
15,104 tons; 130 vessels of 61,471 tons entered its only 
port, Mobile, and 156 vessels of 69,181 tons cleared. Im¬ 
ports were $743,890; exports, chiefly cotton, $7,187,703; 
foreign exports $1,037. In 1889 the state comprised one 
U. S. customs district, headquarters at Mobile, and one 
internal-revenue district, headquarters at Montgomery. 
During the year ending 1889, June 30, domestic exports 
were $3,202,245; imports$125,329; entrances: American, 
59 vessels of 20,190 tons, foreign, 103 vessels of 67,091, 
total 162 vessels, 87,281 tons; clearances: American, 54 
vessels of 15,212 tons, foreign, 103 vessels of 68,629 tons, 
total 157 vessels, 83,841 tons; 15 foreign steamers of 
18,757 tons entered, and 20 of 23,753 tons cleared; 130 
American vessels of 10,312-50 tons were registered at the 
custom-house at Mobile. During the calendar year 1902 
the imports of merchandise aggregated in value $4,584,- 
548, and the exports $11,989,917, an increase in both ac¬ 
counts over the preceding year. 

Railroads .—In 1880 there were 1787 m. of main and 
132 m. of side tracks, total value of railroad property 


ALABAMA. 

$17,574,583; (1890) 3,422; (1901) about 4,415, with a total 
investment of over $115,000,000. 

t Religion. —According to the revised census report on sta¬ 
tistics of churches issued 1895, A. had in the census 
year 6,383 religious organizations, 6,013 church edifices 
(and 389 halls used for religious purposes), 559,171 commu¬ 
nicants, and church property valued at $6,768,477. The 
following table gives in detail the denominational statistics, 
omitting halls in column of ‘ edifices 


Denominations. 

Organi¬ 

zations 

Edifices. 

Members- 

Value of 
church prop. 

Advent. 

15 

13 



Reg. Bapt., S. 

1,495 

1,373 

98,185 

<{P Udd 

1,170,219 

Reg. Bapt., Colored. 

1,374 

1,341 

142,437 

795,384 

Freewill Bapt. 

15 

13 

847 

1,245 

Primitiv Bapt. 

384 

349 

15,441 

132,414 

OtherBapt. 

34 

•33 

1.495 

11.100 

Rom. Cath. 

70 

42 

13,230 

602.750 

Christians . 

10 

9 

687 

5,625 

Congregational. 

28 

22 

1,683 

91,755 

Disciples of Christ. 

201 

128 

9,201 

78,185 

Jewish congregations.... 

8 

5 

3,168 

103.500 

Latter-day Saints. 

14 

2 

592 

350 

Lutheran Gen. Synod_ 

1 

1 

175 

2,000 

Luth. United Synod. 

3 

1 

75 

1,200 

Lutheran Syn. Confer_ 

5 

5 

534 

12,200 

Luth. Ind. Synods. 

1 


7 


Meth. Episc'. 

318 

289 

18,517 

248,300 

Meth. Episc., S. 

1,101 

1,050 

£87,912 

1,123,523 

Meth. Prot.,. 

77 

72 

4,432 

79,850 

African Meth. 

710 

814 

129,107 

813,265 

Other Meth. 

65 

59 

2,596 

14,050 

Presb., N. 

5 

4 

152 

17.300 

Presb., S . 

172 

142 

10,560 

573,400 

Cumberland Presb. 

202 

175 

10,494 

213,905 

Associate Presb. 

5 

5 

220 

13,150 

Ref. Presb . 

1 

1 

76 

1,500 

Prot. Episc. 

58 

59 

6,085 

655,752 

Universalist. 

10 

6 

365 

3,500 

Ind. bodies. 

1 


150 



The state with w. Fla. constitutes the Rom. Cath. dio¬ 
cese of Mobile, and alone, the Prot. Episc. diocese of A., 
with a bishop resident at Spring Hill and an asst, bishop at 
Montgomery. 

At the eighth international Sunday-school convention, 
held in Boston, 1896, June 23-26, there were reported in 
A. 3,850 evangelical Sunday schools, 23,725 officers and 
teachers, and 205,240 scholars—total members 228,965, a 
gain of 2,254 in three years. 

Education .—The biennial report of the supt. of educa¬ 
tion, closing with the school-year 1893-4, showed: Esti¬ 
mated number of children of school age 608,000; enrolled 
in public schools 306,014; in average daily attendance 185,- 
100; public school districts 6,608; public schools 6,687; 
value of school property $1,373,000, receipts $780,953; and 
expenditures $663,359, of which $618,668 was for teach¬ 
ers’ salaries. A preliminary report for 1895-6 showed 
an estimated school population of 322,644 white chil¬ 
dren and 268,113 colored—total, 590,757, and a total en¬ 
rollment of 319,526. For secondary instruction there were 













































ALABAMA. 

5l public high schools, -with 109 instructors, S,593 pupils in 
secondary grades and 6,182 below such grades, 7,850 vols. 
in the libraries, grounds and buildings valued at $170,250, 
and income $63,239. The private secondary schools num¬ 
bered 79 and had 181 instructors, 3,304 pupils in second¬ 
ary grades and 4,172 below those grades, 17,287 vols. in 
the libraries, grounds and buildings valued at $519,830, 
and income $85,481. Six public normal schools reported 
65 instructors, 1,498 students in all depts., 336 pupils in 
model classes, and income $61,598; and 5 private normal 
schools reported 102 instructors, 1,454 students in all depts., 
grounds and buildings valued at $220,000, and income $72,- 
172. The public and private normal schools and colleges 
with normal classes had in all 355 students preparing for 
teaching. Of the private secondary schools, 64 were non¬ 
sectarian, and 15 were under the auspices of religious de¬ 
nominations. There were 9 universities and colleges of 
liberal arts, with a total of 95 professors and instructors, 
1,558 students in all depts. (1,215 males and 345 females), 
37,000 vols. in the libraries, grounds and buildings valued 
at $880,500, scientific apparatus and libraries $154,375, pro¬ 
ductive funds $365,000, and income (1894-5) $106,625. Of 
all colleges, 3 were for males only, and 6 were co-educa- 
tioual. The colleges exclusively for women numbered 11, 
and had a total of 115 instructors, 1,390 students, 15,416 
vols. in the libraries, grounds and buildings valued at 
$430,000, scientific apparatus and libraries $18,775, and in¬ 
come $127,537. The A. Polytechnic Institute had 22 in¬ 
structors, 271 students in all depts., 8 fellowships, 11 schol¬ 
arships, 9,939 vols. in the library, grounds and buildings 
valued at $135,000, scientific apparatus and libraries $86,- 
000, productive funds $253,500, and income $56,059. 

Public normal schools were maintained at Florence, 
Jacksonville, Livingston (girls), Troy, Huntsville (colored), 
Montgomery (colored), and Tuskegee (colored). The col¬ 
leges of liberal arts were: Blount College, Blountsville; St. 
Bernard College, Cullman; Howard College, East Lake; 
Southern University, Greensboro; Lafayette College, La¬ 
fayette; Linesville College, Linesville; Selma Univ., Selma; 
Spring Hill College, Spring Hill; and the Univ. of A., 
University Station. The principal colleges for women 
were: Athens Female College (Meth. Episc.), Athens; 
Bailey Springs Univ. (non-sect.), Bailey Springs; East 
Lake Athenaeum (non-sect.), East Lake; Union Female 
College (non-sect.), Eufaula; Judson Female Institute 
(Bapt.), Marion; Marion Female Seminary (non-sect.), 
Marion; Central Female College (Bapt.), Tuscaloosa; and 
the A. Conference Female College (Meth. Episc.), Tuske¬ 
gee. The Huntsville Female Seminary was closed 1894-5, 
and the Huntsville Female College was removed to Gads¬ 
den, and named the Jones College for Young Ladies. The 
State Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Auburn, 
had an experiment station staff of 6, faculty 22, students 
in all depts. 252, vols. in library 9,939, scientific pam¬ 
phlets 8.000, area under cultivation 140 acres, value $3,000, 
and buildings and equipments valued at $197,260. A simi¬ 
lar institution for colored students at Normal had ex- 


ALABAMA. 

pei imental staff 2, faculty 11, students 172, vols. in library 
1.985, area under cultivation 230 acres, value $10,000, and 
buildings and equipments valued at $7,450. 

Illiteracy. —In 1880 there were 851,780 persons 10 years 
old and upward enumerated, of whom 370,279 were un¬ 
able to read, and 433,447 unable to write. The whites un¬ 
able to write numbered 111,767. The percentage of total 
illiterates was 50 9; of native white illiterates 25; and of for¬ 
eign white illiterates 7*7. In 1890 the number 10 years old 
and upward enumerated was 1,069,545, of whom 438,535 
were classified as illiterates, 41 per cent. Of 590,115 whites, 
107.335, or 18'2 percent., were illiterates; of native whites 
106,235, or 18 4 per cent.; and of foreign whites 1,100, or 
7 9 per cent., were so classified. The colored population 
of same age limit numbered 479,430, of 331,200, or 69T per 
cent., were illiterate. 

Libraries .—According to the govt, report on public 
libraries in the United States of 1,000 vols. and upward 
each 1900, A. had 43 libraries, containing 196,521 bound 
vols., and 29,588 pamphlets. The libraries comprised 9 
general, 15 school, 11 college, 2 college society, 2 theo¬ 
logical, 2 state, 1 medical, 1 Y. M. C. A., 1 scientific, and 
others not classified. 

Periodicals.— In 1902 there were 232 newspapers and peri¬ 
odicals, of which 20 were daily, 3 semi-weekly, 183 weekly, 
3 by-weekly, 6 semi-monthly, and 17 monthly publications. 

Finances .—The report of the state treas. for the fiscal 
year ending 1896, Sep. 30, showed balance at beginning 
of year $18,366, receipts from all sources $1,999,930, total 
$2,018,296, disbursements for all purposes $1,959,977, arid 
balance $58,319. The assessed valuation of taxable prop¬ 
erty 1895 was $241,338,025, and the amount of taxes 
$1,328,817; and in 1901 the assessed valuation was $284,- 
622,937, the tax rate was 5^- mills, and amount of taxes 
$1,565,437. The total bonded debt was $9,357,600. 

Banking. —1895, Oct. 31, there were 26 national banks in 
operation and 12 in liquidation; cap. of active banks 
$3,585,000, deposits $5,586,282, loans and discounts 
$6,319,975, and resources $1,559,949. There were also 17 
state banks with cap. $858,500, deposits $817,022 re¬ 
sources $1,981,889, and surplus $253,287; and 7 private 
banks with cap. $435,050-, deposits $512,609, and resources 
$1,085,596. 

Post-offices .—1896, Jan. 1, the total number was 2,213, 
of which 3 were first class, 3 second *class, 30 third class 
(36 presidential), and 2,177 fourth class. There were 310 
money-order offices and 16 limited money-order offices. 

Cotton Industry. —The cotton crop 1895 was reported as 
1,000,000 bales. In that year there were 26 cotton mills in 
operation in the state, with a total of 164,898 spindles, 
2,756 looms, and 517 cards. Of all mills, 21 reported an 
aggregate capital of $3,678,000. The largest plant was at 
Huntsville, which had $650,000 capital, 25,000 spindles, 
and 750 looms, and the next two largest, at Gadsden and 
Rome, had nearly the same capital and equipment, and 
were operated by Mass, corporations. Two other mills 


ALABAMA. 

were capitalized at $500,000 each. In 189G the number of 
spindles had increased to 186,269, and looms 3,170. 

. History. —1539, May, Hernando De Soto (q.v.), in his 
romantic quest of the new El Dorado, landed at Espiritu 
Santo Bay, Fla., whence with his companions he penetra¬ 
ted to the interior, passing n. through Fla. and Ga., as 
far as lat. 35° n., and thens., reaching the site of Mobile 
1540, Oct. 18, and soon afterward having a severe engage¬ 
ment with the natives. This event was the genesis of the 
recorded history of A. No permanent settlement was 
made till 1702, when the French gov. of La., Bienville, 
moved the seat of the colony from Biloxi to Mobile Bay, 
and established a settlement, which was nearly broken 
up by famine a few years afterward. In 1711 the French 
platted the present city of Mobile, and all their settle¬ 
ments in this region were considered a part of La. colony 
till 1763, when, by the treaty of Paris, France ceded the 
territory to Great Britain. In 1783 the portion of the 
present state s. of lat. 31° n. was ceded by Great Britain 
to Spain, which made it a part of w. Fla., while the rest 
of the country was acquired by the United States, which 
subsequently claimed the Spanish part also under the La. 
purchase—a claim that Spain did not concede till 1819. 
After its acquisition by the United States, the greater 
portion of A. was considered a part of Ga., though S. C. 
claimed a strip 12 m. wide, along the s. boundary of Tenn.; 
and was incorporated in the Miss. Terr. 1802. In 1803 the 
portion of Fla. w. of the Perdido river was ceded to the 
United States by its treaty with France. During the war 
between the United States and Great Britain 1812-14, por¬ 
tions of Fla. were occupied by the British, and captured 
from them by the Americans under Gen. Jackson, and 
subsequently were restored to Spain. After two-years’ 
negotiations between Spain and the United States, the 
former ceded all of Fla. to the latter 1821, July; and thus 
the portion of A. s. of lat. 31° n. also became American. 
While the war with Great Britain was in progress, A. was 
subject to a prolonged war with the Creek Indians, during 
which 480 whites were killed and 400 wounded, and 1,617 
Indians killed. The Indians were ultimately defeated by 
Gen. Jackson, and forced to surrender three-quarters of 
their territory in A. Immigration began to increase after 
the settlement of the Indian troubles. Miss, was set off 
from the terr. of Miss, as a state and the terr. of A. 
organized 1817 ; and A. was set off from the terr. and ad¬ 
mitted as a state 1819, Dec. 14. From that time till 1860, 
A. prospered exceptionally, becoming one of the largest 
slave-holding-states in the s., and the first state in annual 
product of cotton. When the famous Charleston conven¬ 
tion refused to adopt a strong pro-slavery platform 1860, 
Apr., the delegates from A. withdrew in a body; and as 
soon as it was ascertained that Abraham Lincoln had 
been elected pres., the state sent commissioners to the 
other southern states, urging secession and the estab^ 
lishment of an independent s. confederacy. 1861, Jan. 
11, a state convention adopted the ordinance of seces- 


ALABAMA. 

sion; directly afterward the gov. seized the forts at Mo¬ 
bile, U. S. arsenal, munitions of war, and revenue-cutter; 
the state’s representatives in the federal congress re¬ 
signed Jan. 21; delegates from all the southern states 
met in Montgomery Feb. 4, and organized the provisional 
Confederate govt.; and Montgomery was the capital of 
the Confederacy till July, when it was removed to Rich¬ 
mond. The state contributed liberally and promptly to 
the Confederate cause, raised and sent n. several bodies 
of state troops, and escaped bloodshed on its soil through¬ 
out 1861. In 1862, Feb., several Union gun-boats passed 
down the Tennessee river as far as the Muscle Shoals, and 
in Apr. a division of Gen. Buell’s army, under Gen. Mitch- 
el, captured Huntsville and Russellville, and for several 
months held the n. part of the state. No events of im¬ 
portance occurred 1863; but 1864 was notable for the 
naval operations under Admiral Farragut in Mobile Bay 
in Aug., and 1865 for the siege (Mar.) and capture (Apr. 
12) of the city of Mobile by the joint army and naval ex¬ 
pedition under command of Gen. Canby and Com. Thatch¬ 
er, for the capture of Montgomery, Selma, and Chicka¬ 
saw by a U. S. force under Gen. Wilson (Apr.), and for 
the surrender of all the Confederate forces, ships, and 
munitions of war in the state (May). Athens, Monte- 
vallo, Scottsborough, Talladega, and Tuscumbia were 
scenes of conflict also, but none were of importance. A. 
is believed to have contributed more than 120,000 men 
to the Confederate armies, one-third of whom died of 
wounds or disease. 

Immediately after the occupation of Mobile, Lewis E. 
Parsons was appointed provisional gov., and the work of 
reconstructing the state began. On Sep. 25, following, 
a state convention held under milit. auspices declared 
the ordinance of secession and the state war-debt null 
and void, and adopted an ordinance prohibiting slavery 
in the state in the future. Robert M. Patton succeeded 
Parsons as gov. at the close of the year, and no further 
steps of importance were taken till 1867, when the state 
became a part of the 3d military district, under com¬ 
mand of Gen. Pope. By his order a state convention 
was held to form a new constitution and state govt. Nov. 
5. A proposed constitution was submitted to the people 
1868, Feb. 4; and as it received a majority of votes cast 
but not a majority of those registered, it was considered 
as rejected. The 14th amendment to the federal consti¬ 
tution was ratified early in June ; the state was restored 
to representation in congress by an act passed over Pres. 
Johnson’s veto June 25; and it was turned over to the 
civil authorities July 14. The 15th amendment to the 
federal constitution was ratified 1870, and the present 
state constitution adopted 1875. The development, since, 
of its Great coal and iron wealth, through the aid of north¬ 
ern capital and machinery, the planting of numerous 
costly industries previously unknown to the state, the 
great enlargement of its railroad system, and the estab¬ 
lishment of manufacturing corporations with large re- 


ALABAMA. 

sources in Anniston, Huntsville (q.v.), Montgomery (q.v.), 
Selma (q.v.), and elsewhere, have made A. one of the 
most prosperous of southern states. 

Government. —The executive authority is vested by the 
constitution (1875) in a gov. elected for 4 years, salary 
$3,000 per annum; the legislative in a general assembly, 
comprising a senate of 35 members elected for 4 years, 
and a house of representatives of 105 members elected 
for 2 years, salary of each $4 per day and 20 cts. mileage, 
biennial sessions; and the judicial in a supreme court, 
comprising a chief-justice and two associate justices, 
elected by the people for 6 years, the 3 justices choosing 
one of their number chief-justice, salary of each $3,000 
per annum; 8 circuit courts, each with a j udge elected 
by the people; 3 chancery courts, each with a chancellor 
elected by the people; probate courts in each co., each 
with a judge elected by the people for 6 years; court of 
co. commissioners in each co., each composed of the pro¬ 
bate judge and 4 commissioners elected for 4 years; and 
justices of the peace. In case of the gov.’s impeachment, 
removal from office, death, or disability, the duties of his 
office devolve on the pres, of the senate till the next regu¬ 
lar election; and in case of the impeachment, removal 
from office, death, or disability of the pres, of the senate 
while acting as gov., the duties of the office devolve on 
the speaker of the house of representatives. The sec. of 
state receives $1,800 per annum; treas. $2,150; auditor 
$1,800; atty.gen. $1,500; supt. public instruction $2,250; 
state librarian $1,500; 3 railroad commissioners $2,000 
to $3,500 each; 3 U. S. district judges $3,500 each; 2 col¬ 
lectors of internal revenue $2,500 each ; and 16 collectors 
$1,000 to $1,400 each. The general assembly is prohibit¬ 
ed from passing special or local laws in cases which are 
or can be provided for by general laws; and the state 
cannot engage in works of internal improvement, lend 
money on its credit to aid such, be interested in any pri¬ 
vate or corporate enterprise, lend its money or credit 
to any individual, assoc., or corporation, nor authorize 
through the general assembly any co., city, or town to 
so lend its credit or appropriate money. 

The successive govs., with their terms of service, are 
as follows : William W. Bibb 1819-20 ; Thomas Bibb 1820 
-21; Israel Pickens 1821-25; John Murphy 1825-29; Ga¬ 
briel Moore 1829—31; John Gayle 1831-35; Clement C. 
Clay 1835-37 ; Arthur P. Bagby 1837-41; Benjamin Fitz¬ 
patrick 1841-45; Joshua L. Martin 1845-47; Reuben 
Chapman 1847-49; Henry W. Collier 1849-53; John A. 
Winston 1853-57; Andrew B. Moore 1857-61; John G. 
Shorter 1861-63; Thomas H. Watts 1863-65; Lewis E. 
Parsons (provisional) 1865 ; Robert M. Patton 1865-68 ; 
William H. Smith 1868-70; Robert B. Lindsay 1870-72; 
David P. Lewis 1872-74; George S. Houston 1874-78; 
Rufus W. Cobb 1878-82; Edward A. O’Neal 1882 86 : 
Thomas Seay 1886-90; Thos. G. Jones 1890-94; Wm C. 
Oates 1894-96; Joseph F. Johnston 1896-1900; W. J. Sam 
ford 1900—2; William D. Jelks, 1902-6. 


ALABAMA. 

Counties, Cities, and Toicns .—In 1890 A. was divided into 
66 counties. The most populous counties were: Jefferson 
88,501; Montgomery 56,172; Mobile 51,587; Dallas 49.350; 
Madison 38,119; Barbour 34,892; Calhoun 33,835; Ma¬ 
rengo 33,095; Lowndes 31,550; Wilcox 30,816; Tusca¬ 
loosa 30,352: Sumter 29.574; Talladega 29,346; Lee 
28,694; Jackson 28,026; Hale 27,501; Bullock 27,063; 
Chambers 26,319; Tallapoosa 25,460; Henry 24,847; 
Pike 24,423; Russell 24,093; Morgan 24,089; Lauderdale 
23,739; Clarke 22,624; Pickens 22,470; Greene 22,007; 
Etowah 21,926; Elmore 21,732; and cities and towns: 
Mobile 31,076; Birmingham 26,178; Montgomery 21,883. 

Politics .—State elections are held quadrennially on the 
first Monday in Nov.; congressional and presidential 
on Tuesday after the first Monday in Nov. The state govt. 
(1903) was democratic, with a party majority of 35 in the 
senate, 101 in the house, 136 on joint ballot. A. has 11 
electoral votes. Her votes for pres, and vice-pres. have 
been as follows: 1820, James Monroe and Daniel D. 
Tompkins 3; 1824, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van 
Buren 5; 1828, Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun; 
1832, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren; 1836, 
Martin Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson; 1840 Mar¬ 
tin Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson: 1844, James K. 
Polk and George M. Dallas 9; 1848, Lewis Cass and Will¬ 
iam O. Butler; 1852, Franklin Pierce and William R. King; 
1856, James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge; 1860, 
John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane; 1864, no vote; 
1868, U. S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax 8; 1872, U. S. Grant 
and Henry Wilson 10; 1876, Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas 
A. Hendricks; 1880, Winfield S. Hancock and William H. 
English; 1884, Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hen- 
^r’ks* 1888, G^ovor Cleveland nnd Allen G. Thurmnn; 
1892, Grover Cleveland and Adlai E. Stevenson; 1896, 
Win. J. Bryan and Arthur Sewall; 1900, Wm. J. Bryan 
and Adlai E. Stevenson. 

Population, —(1820) white 85,451, free colored 571, slave 
41,879, total 127,901; (1830) white 190,406, free colored 
1,572, slave 117,549, total 309,527; (1840) whi e 335,185, 
free colored 2,039, slave 253.536, total 590,753; (1850) 
white 426,514, free colored 2,265, slave 342,844, total 771,- 
623; (I860) white 526,271, free colored 2,690; slave 435,- 
080, total 964,201; (1870) white 521,384, colored 475,510, 
total 996 894; (1880) white 662,185, colored 600,320, total 
1,262,505; (1890) 1,513,017; (1900) 1,828,697. 

«ALABAMA ' CLAIMS, ‘ The’: claims of the United 
States on Great Britain, based on the action of the Brit, 
govt, relative to an armed vessel of the Confederacy, the 
Alabama, which inflicted terrible injury on the shipping 
of the northern states during the civil war. The Alabama 
was a small vessel, built for speed, carrying a few guns, 
and intended not for fighting but for preying on defense¬ 
less merchant ships. She was built in a British port, and 
never at any time entered a port of the state by which she 
was commissioned. 

Vol. 1 — 12 


ALABAMA. 

\ 

At the beginning of the civil war in 186i, the Confederate 
States had neither ships nor seamen; and the U. S. govt, 
promptly instituted an effective blockade of nearly all 
their ports. The secessionists had no lack of able naval 
officers, for a majority of the senior naval officers of the 
United States were Southern men. Early in 1861, while 
parleying was still going on between the North and 
the South, Capt. Raphael Semmes (q.v.) had been en* 
powered by the Southern leaders to purchase ships and 
stores, and 1861, June, the Confederate States sent to sea 
under his command their first armed cruiser, the Sumter. 
As no Confederate port was open for disposal of his prizes, 
he adopted the system of burning them at sea—allowable 
in an emergency, but as a system approaching piracy in its 
utter dispensing with adjudication before a prize court. 
The Sumter, in about six months, captured and burned 18 
vessels; then was declared unseaworthy at Gibraltar, and 
her successor was the Alabama. 

This vessel, built for the Confederate govt, by Laird & 
Sons, at Birkenhead, England, was a screw steam-sloop, 
1,040 tons register, built of wood, and for speed rather 
than strength. She was bark-rigged and had two engines 
of 350 horse power each; she was pierced for 12 guns, and 
had the means of carrying two heavy pivot guns amid¬ 
ships. Capt. Semmes was, 1862, June, appointed to super¬ 
intend her equipment, and take command of her when 
ready for sea. The Confederate govt, enjoined utmost 
secrecy as to the destination of the vessel, and careful 
avoidance of anything which would give the British govt, 
a pretext for seizing her. The destination of ‘No. 290,’ 
as she was called from her number in the list of steam¬ 
ships constructed by the Lairds, was so well concealed 
that she was nearly finished before it was suspected by the 
emissaries of the United States. It had been held lawful 
to build vessels fora belligerent in neutral ports, and law¬ 
ful to purchase guns and stores in neutral ports, though 
they might be for the equipment of vessels thus built. 
What had been held unlawful, was the equipment with 
guns and warlike stores of a vessel built for a belligerent 
in a neutral port, previous to her leaving the neutral juris- 
diction. Capt. Semmes did not intend to equip his vessel 
at Birkenhead. But the U. S. minister called on the Brit¬ 
ish govt, to detain ‘No. 290,’submitting some evidence 
that she was intended for a Confederate war-vessel. It 
was maintained on the part of the United States that her 
construction was so different from that of vessels built 
for trade, as itself in some measure to constitute an equip¬ 
ment for war. The British govt, consulted the crown 
lawyers, who at first thought the evidence of destination 
insufficient. Afterward, when further evidence had been 
presented, a delay was caused by the illness of the queen's 
advocate. When an opinion favorable to the detention of 
the vessel was at length given, ‘ No. 290 ’ was gone. The 
builders, aware of the danger, had made haste. Under 
pretense of a trial trip, she made her way down the Mer¬ 
sey to Moelfra Bay, where the work remaining was active- 


ALABAMA. 

ly carried on; and warninghaving been given that she was 
to be seized 1882, July 31, on that day ‘ No. 290 ’ steamed 
away from the British coast. The ablest English lawyers 
were of opinion that there had been no infringement of the 
law, but that a case had been presented which the British 
govt, was bound to submit to a court of law. The de¬ 
tention of the vessel during a protracted lawsuit would 
have served the purposes of the United States almost as 
well as her condemnation; and as she must have been de¬ 
tained but for the delay caused by the advocates illness, 
it wms not without reason that the U. S. govt, claimed 
from Great Britain indemnification for the losses conse¬ 
quent on her escape. 

‘ No. 290’ made for Terceira, one of the Western Islands, 
where she arrived Aug. 13; and a few days afterward she 
was joined by the Agrippina , of London, carrying her 
guns, stores, and supply of coal, and by the Bahama, with 
Capt. Semmes and his officers. Aug. 24 she had shipped 
her armament and stores, and was ready for sea; and now 
Capt. Semmes named the vessel the Alabama , and hoisted 
the Confederate flag. The sailors on the Alabama and her 
consorts were Englishmen, all entered for a feigned voy¬ 
age; but with few exceptions they enlisted under Capt. 
Semmes. The crew consisted of 80 men all told; and the 
armament of eight 32-pouuders. The Alabama made her first 
capture Sep. 5. Within 11 days thereafter, she captured and 
burned property whose value exceeded her own cost. The 
people of the United States were filled with indignation 
against Great Britain for permitting the escape of such a 
4 pirate.’ Several fast-sailing cruisers were sent in search 
of her. Capt. Semmes made for the American coast, and 
lay on the track of the California mail-steamers between 
Aspinwall and New York; and captured the Ariel mail- 
steamer, with 140 marines, several U. S. officers, and 500 
other passengers. The passengers and crew of the Ariel 
w T ere too numerous to be taken on board the Alabama; 
and as Capt Semmes found yellow fever raging at Kings¬ 
ton in Jamaica, where he had intended to laud them, he 
was unable to destroy the vessel, and had to set her free, 
taking a bond for a large sum to be paid at the end of the 
war. Cruising off Galveston, Tex., the Alabama (1863, 
Jan. 11) gave battle to the U. S. gunboat Hatteras , an 
old vessel, her inferior in armament, and sunk her after a 
few broadsides. The history of the Alabama consists of a 
monotonous succession of captures in different seas, her 
prizes being merchant-vessels incapable of resistance, 
which were burned, or, when there was convincing evi¬ 
dence of the neutral ownership of her cargo, which did 
not often happen, liberated on bond. She captured in all 
65 vessels; and the value of the property destroyed has 
been estimated at $4,000,000. It was, however, by the 
heavy insurance for war-risks, and still more by the diffi¬ 
culty that she caused in getting freights, that her career 
inflicted the greatest injury on the shipowners of the 
United States. When the pursuit of her became too 
hot on the American coast, she sailed for the Cape of Good 


ALABAMA. 

Hope, and cruised in the eastern seas. Returning to 
Europe, she arrived in the English Channel, 1864; and, 
June 11, entered the French port of Cherbourg to refit and 
supply herself with stores. She had been nearly two years 
at sea, and was in bad condition. Permission to make the 
necessary repairs was given by the authorities of the port 
of Cherbourg. 

But within a few days the U. S. steamer Kearsarge, 
commanded by Capt. John A. Winslow (q.v.), a former 
shipmate of Capt. Semmes, arrived at Cherbourg; and she 
made a demonstration, which the officers and crew of the 
Alabama —aware that their career had been inglorious—re¬ 
garded and resented as a challenge. Capt. Semmes sent 
notice to the U. S. consul that he would sail out and fight 
the Kearsarge. The two ships were, to appearance, equally 
matched; in reality the Kearsarge had considerably the 
advantage in number of crew, armament, speed, and gen¬ 
eral condition; besides that, she was in some degree pro¬ 
tected amidships by a rude armor. The extent of her 
superiority seems to have been unknown to Capt. Semmes. 
The tight took place on Sunday, June 19, outside the 
port of Cherbourg, all Cherbourg gazing at it from the 
neighboring heights. The Kearsarge, having the superi¬ 
ority in sailing, was able to keep at a distance of about 
500 yards from her enemy; her armor in some measure 
protected her from the enemy’s shot, and, as might be 
expected, her guns were better tended than those of her 
adversary. Before the fight had lasted an hour, Capt. 
Semmes found his ship was sinking, and gave orders to 
pull down his flag. The boats were got out, and the 
wounded placed in them; but before the Kearsarge could 
come to the rescue, the Alabama went to the bottom. * The 
boats of the Kearsarge saved many of the crew. Others, 
including Capt. Semmes, were picked up by an English 
yacht, the Deerhound, which had been allowed by Capt. 
Winslow to assist in the rescue. These the Deerhound 
immediately carried within the neutral jurisdiction. 
Semmes and the others saved by this vessel were after¬ 
ward charged with having broken their faith as prisoners 
who had asked for quarter from the Kearsarge; however, 
as regards the Deerhound, the seamen of the Alabama, 
once upon its deck, were entitled to the protection of Great 
Britain, and no previous compact could have deprived 
them of it.—See The Cruise of the Alabama andthe Sumter, 
compiled from the papers of Capt. Semmes. 

The ‘Alabama Question’ was fairly raised in the winter 
of 1862-3, when Mr. Seward, in his diplomatic correspond¬ 
ence, declared that the U. S. govt, held itself entitled at 
a suitable time to demand full compensation for damages 
to American property by the Anglo-rebel vessels; and the 
question never ceased to be a source of irritation between 
the two peoples till its final settlement by special tribunal 
of arbitration. This court met at Geneva, 1871, Dec. 17; 
and the claim for indirect damages to American commerce 
having been /hopped, award was given 1872, Sep. 14, in 
favor of the United States ($15,693,749.86). See Geneva 
Arbitration. 


ALABANDINE—ALAGOAS. 

ALABAIn DIIN E, n. dl d-bdn dm [L. dldbdndicus]: stone 
named from Alabanda, where it was cut and polished; a 
sulphuret of manganese usually in massive granular cr\ r s- 
tals of iron-black color and semi-metallic lustre. 

ALABASTER, n. dl'd-bds'ter [Gr. alabds'trbn] : Adj. 
pertaining to; made of alabaster. The name A. is given to 
two kinds of white stone, chemically distinct, but resem¬ 
bling each other in appearance, and both used for ornamental 
purposes. A. proper is a white, granular, semi-transparent 

variety of gypsum (q.v.) 
or sulphate of lime. It 
occurs in various coun¬ 
tries, the finest near Yol-' 
terra, in Tuscany, w T here 
it is worked into a variety 
of the smaller objects of 
sculpture, vases, time¬ 
piece stands, etc. Gypse¬ 
ous A. of good quality is 
found also in Derbyshire, 
and many ornamental ar¬ 
ticles are made of it at 
Matlock and other places. 
Not being quite insoluble 
in water, it does not bear exposure to the weather; and its 
softness makes the surface easily become rough and opaque. 
Nor is it generally found in sufficient masses for large works. 
The other stone is a compact, crystalline carbonate of lime 
deposited from water in the form of stalagmite, etc. It is 
distinguishable from the gypseous alabaster by its effervesc¬ 
ing w r ith an acid, and by its hardness; real alabaster may be 
scratched with the nail.—The name is derived from Ala- 
bastron, a town in Upper Egypt, where this kind of stone 
was abundant, and w r as manufactured into pots for per¬ 
fumes. A. occurs in N. Y. and Tenn. Imitative forms 
of it, like flowers, are found in the Mammoth Cave, Ky. 

ALABASTRUS, n. dl'd-bds'trus [L. alabaster , a rose-bud 
‘in its green state]: in bot ., the flower-bud while yet green 
and before it opens. 

ALACK, int. d-ldk' [corrupted from alas]: an exclamation 
expressive of sorrow. Alack-a day, an exclamation to ex¬ 
press regret or sorrow. Note. —Because alack would be an 
unusual phonetic change of alas, it is suggested that alack 
is a vulgar corruption of Ah! Lord! or, Ah! Lord Christ! 
thus forming originally a prayer for aid or comfort. 
Alack-a-day, give help or comfort this day. 

ALACRITY, n. d-ldk.'ri-tl [L. alacritas, liveliness, ardor 
—from aldcer , brisk: F. alacrite —from OF. alaigrete ]: 
cheerfulness; gayety; a smart willingness or readiness. 

ALAGOAS, d-ld-go'ds: maritime province of Brazil, 
which formed at one time a dist. of the prov. of Pernam¬ 
buco; is bounded on the n. and w. by Pernambuco, and on 
the s. is divided from the province of Sergipe by the navi¬ 
gable river San Francisco. The country is mountainous in 
the n.w., and low, marshy, and unhealthy on the coast 











ALAIN DE LILLE—ALAMANNI. 

The chief productions are the sugar-cane, cotton-plant, 
mandioc or cassava, maize, rice, etc., and also timber and 
dyewoods. The capital, A., is on the lake Manguaba. 
The name A. is derived from the lakes ilagoas) in which the 
province abounds. Pop. of prov. 511,440. 

ALAIN DE LILLE, a-lang' dth lei, or Alanus ab In- 
SULIS: Flemish scholar: about 1114-1203; b. Lille or 
Ryssel. He was one of the most learned men of his 
time, a Cistercian monk, who for a while held a bish¬ 
opric, which he resigned. He studied alchemy and nat. 
philosophy, besides theology; and wrote on these and 
other subjects, chiefly in verse. Ho was so esteemed for 
his many acquirements, that his birthplace w r as claimed by 
Scotland, Spain, and Sicily. 

ALAIS, d-la': town of the dept, of Gard, France, in a 
fertile plain on the right bank of the Gardon, at the base of 
the Cevennes mountains, 23 m. n.w. from Nimes, with 
which it is connected by railway. It embraced the Prot¬ 
estant cause in the religious wars of France; and Louis XIII., 
in person, accompanied by the Cardinal de Richelieu, be¬ 
sieged it, and having taken it, in 1629, demolished its walls. 
Three years later, the Baron of Alais having taken part in 
the rebellion of Montmorency, the castle w r as destroyed. Prot¬ 
estantism still prevails. A. is a very flourishing town, chiefly 
by reason of the mineral wealth of the surrounding district, 
which produces coal, iron, lead, zinc, and manganese. The 
coal and iron mines are of chief importance. There are 
large iron-foundries in the town and neighborhood. There 
are also manufactures of ribbons, stockings, gloves, vitriol, 
and earthenware. A. is an episcopal seat. Pop. (1896) 
24,382. (1893) 22,000. 

ALAJUELA, d-la-hwa'ld: city of the state of Costa Rica, 
Central America, 23 m. w.n.w. from Cartago, and a little on 
the w. side of the water-shed between the Atlantic and the 
Pacific. It contains many good houses, and has extensive 
suburbs of detached houses, embowered among trees and 
flowering shrubs. The culture of the sugar-cane is the chief 
Industry in this region. Pop., including suburbs, 12,575. 

ALAMANNI, a-ld-mdn'e, Luigi: 1495-1556; b. Florence: 
distinguished Italian poet. His father, of noble birth, was a 
zealous partisan of the Medici, and Luigi stood high in their 
favor, till, in revenge for some real or fancied wrong, he 
conspired against the life of Cardinal Guiliano, the repre¬ 
sentative of Leo X. When this became known, A. fled to 
Venice, and thence, on the accession of the cardinal to the 
papal chair, to France. In 1527, encouraged by the pope’s 
reverses, he returned to Florence, and urged the republic 
to seek the protection of Charles V., by means of Andrea 
Doria’s friendly mediation. The republic declared such a 
proposal treachery, and A. sailed with Doria for Spain. 
Finally, he settled in France, employed as a diplomatist by 
Francis I. and Henry II. He d. v at Amboise. He wrote 
epics, dramas, and minor poems, much admired in their 
day, and the honor of introducing blank verse into Italian 
poetry belongs either to A. or to Trission. 


ALAMEDA-ALAN. 

ALAMEDA, dlamada: town in Alameda co., Cal.; 
on the e. side of the Bay of San Francisco, on a 
peninsula at the mouth of San Antonio Creek; and on 
the Southern Pacific railroad, 8 m. e.s.e. of San Francisco, 
with which it is connected bj r a steam ferry. The town- 
Bite was sold 1852 for $14,000, in 1881 the valuation was 
$5,000,000, the improvements being worth $2,000,000. Its 
manufactures include planinsr and grist mills, powder 
works, nut oil and soap factories, oil refinery, etc. A. is 
well lighted, and has liberal supply of pure water from 
artesian wells. It is a place of residence for persons do-' 
ing business iu San Francisco, and a resort for excursion 
parties, having a number of bathing establishments, and 
being made attractive to visitors by its profusion of mag¬ 
nificent oak trees Pop. (1890) 11,165; (1900) 16,464. 

ALAMO, a la-mo, The [Sp. and Port, alamo , the poplar 
tree, or cottonwood], name of an ancient Spanish mission 
on the San Antonio river, Tex., now in the heart of the city 
of San Antonio. The period of its construction is un¬ 
known It has historical importance from the massacre 
within its walls, during the Texan war against Mexico 
for independence. The mission comprised a convent, 
chapel, and stockaded fort, built for protection against the 
Indians. In 1836, Feb. 23, this position—occupied by Col. 
James Bowie, Col. Win. B. Travis, and Col. David Crockett, 
with 140 men—was besieged by the Mexicans under Gen. 
Santa Anna, 4,000 strong. The siege lasted until Mar. 6, 
when, after a night attack, only 6 of the besieged remained 
alive, including Bowie, Travis, and Crockett, who were 
immediately butchered by order of Santa Anna. Only a 
servant woman and her child escaped the child was after¬ 
ward adopted by the repub. of Texas, and educated at the 
public cost. At the battle of San Jacinto, soon after the 
massacre, Santa Anna was utterly defeated and captured 
by the Texan force, whose battle cry was, ‘Remember the 
Alamo.’ A restoration of the ruins has been undertaken. 

A-LA MODE, ad. d'Id-mod' [F. after the fashion]: ac¬ 
cording to the fashion. A la-mort', ad. -mart' [F. to the 
death]: half dead; desperately; in a depressed state. 

ALAMOS, LOS, Ids d'ld-mds [i.e., The Poplars ]: town of 
Mexico, state of Sonora, dept, of Sinaloa, 110 m. n.n.w. 
from Sinaloa. It is in a barren plain, but in a region famous 
for its silver mines. The houses are mostly of stone or 
brick, covered with stucco Provisions are dear, being 
brought from a distance, and the town is very insufficiently 
supplied with water. Pop. 10,000. 

ALAN (or Allyn, or Allan), al'en, William: Car¬ 
dinal: 1532-1594, Oct. 16; b. Rossall, Lancashire, England. 
He was educated at Oxford, and 1550 was elected fellow of 
Oriel College. In 1568 he founded the English Col¬ 
lege at Douay. In 1587 he was created cardinal. His 
influence, prevented the decay of the Rom. Cath. 
Church in England during his life. He wrote Apology for 
the Seminaries (1581); his Letters and Memorials were re 


ALAND ISLANDS-ALARCON Y MENDOZA. 

printed (1882) edited by Fathers of the Oratory. He died 
In Rome. 

ALAND ISLANDS, aw'land, or bland-: a numerous group 
of small islands and rocks at the entrance of the gulf of 
Bothnia, opposite Abo, about 25 m. from the Swedish coast, 
and 15 from that of Finland. They are called, by the Finns, 
Ahvenanmaa. About 80 of them are inhabited. Although 
these rocky isles are covered with but a thin stratum of soil, 
they bear Scotch fir, spruce, and birch trees, and, with 
proper cultivation, produce barley and oats, besides afford¬ 
ing subsistence to a hardy breed of cattle. The inhabitants 
are of Swedish origin, skilful sailors, fishermen, and seal- 
hunters. Pop. about 16,000. The largest of the islands, 
which gives its name (signifying ‘ Land of Streams ’) to the 
whole group, is about 18 m. long by 14 broad. It is moder¬ 
ately wooded and fruitful; pop. nearly 11,000. These islands 
belonged formerly to Sweden, but were seized by Russia in 
1809. Previous to this, they had several times changed 
hands between these two powers. In 1717, the Swedes 
were defeated by the Russians in a naval engagement near 
Aland, the first important exploit of the Muscovite navy. 
The importance of these islands as a military position led to 
the construction, in the reign of the emperor Nicholas, of 
those strong fortifications at Bomarsund which, in August, 
1854, were destroyed by the Anglo French force, commanded 
by Sir Charles Napier and Baraguay d’Hilliers. Two thou¬ 
sand prisoners were taken. This extensive fortress (supposed 
to have been but the first of an intended series in the Baltic) 
commanded the anchorage of Ytternses, capable of contain¬ 
ing a large fleet. 

ALANGIACE^E, a-lan-ji-a ce-e: a natural order of dicot 
yledonous plants, allied to Myrtacece (q.v.), and containing 
but a very few known species, trees, and large shrubs, of 
which the greater number belong to India. The American 
genus Nyssa, called Tupelo, Pepperidge, or Sour gum, 
formerly classed here. The one-celled fruit, and pendulous 
albuminous seeds, constitute marks of distinction from Myr- 
taceoe. The fruit of Alangium decapetalum and A. hexa 
petalum, natives of the East Indies, are eatable, but muci¬ 
laginous and insipid. The timber is good; the roots are 
aromatic. 

ALARCON Y MENDOZA, d-lar-kbn' e men-db'lhd, Juan 
Ruiz de: one of the most eminent of Spanish dramatists; b. 
Tasco, Mexico, about the end of the 16th c.; d. 1639. He 
belonged to the ancient family of the Ruizes of Alarcon, of 
which a branch had emigrated to America. Having studied 
at the college that had been instituted in Mexico, he removed 
to Spain, where he is mentioned as Relator del real consejo de 
las Indias (Reporter of the royal council of the Indies), 1622. 
His early success, and his haughtiness towards the public 
and his brother writers in his consciousness of superior 
powers, made him the object of venomous epigrams bv the 
most famous poets of the time, in which the deformed" up¬ 
start from New Spain, with his pride and contemptuousness, 
was held up to public ridicule. Even during his lifetime’ 


ALARIC I. 

his best pieces were attributed to others, and were printed 
and represented under the names of more favored poets. 
This early withdrawal and oblivion of his name, together 
with the scarcity of his works, and the eclat of Lope de Ve¬ 
ga’s and Calderon’s dramas, have been the cause that lie has 
seldom been mentioned, and but little appreciated by histo¬ 
rians of literature, even to the latest times. Yet some of the 
best critics rank him next to Calderon and Lope de Vega as 
a dramatic writer. Besides many single or detached pieces 
printed in collections, he published a number in his Comedias 
(vol. i., Madrid, 1628; vol. ii., Barcelona, 1634). Hartzenbusch 
began a collected edition at Madrid, 1848. A. attempted al¬ 
most all the kinds of drama in vogue in his time; and was 
especially eminent in the heroic, as the best specimens of 
which may be mentioned El Tejedor de Segovia and Ganar 
Amigos, or La que mucho vale mucho chesta. A.’s mastery in 
delineating character is shown in the Comedias de Costumbres, 
or character comedies, of which he may be held as the creator. 
The best known are La Verdad Sospechosa (imitated by Cor¬ 
neille in his Menteur) and Las Paredes Oyen (Walls have 
Ears), which are yet represented on the Spanish stage. Of his 
comedies of intrigue, the best specimen is Todo es ventura. 
It does not appear that A. wrote any Autos or sacramental 
allegorical dramas, though his two pieces, El Antichristo and 
Quien mol ande en mad acaba, betray a tendency to ascetic 
mysticism. Lope and Calderon, the coryphaei of that age, 
are the only dramatists that excel A. Combining, in no mean 
degree, the characteristics of both, he excels them m purity 
of language and elevation of moral feeling. 

ALARIC I., dl'a-rik [a form of Athalaric, ‘ ncble ruler ’]: 
d. 410: belonged to one of the noblest families of the Visi¬ 
goths. He makes his first appearance in history in 394, as 
leader of the Gothic auxiliaries of Theodosius in his war with 
Eugenius; but after the death of the former he took advan¬ 
tage of the dissensions and weakness that prevailed in the 
Roman empire to invade, 395, Thrace, Macedon. Thessaly, 
and Illyria, devastating the country, and threatening Con¬ 
stantinople itself. Rufinus, the minister of Arcadius, appears 
to have sacrificed Greece in order to rescue the capital, and 
Athens was obliged to secure its own safety by ransom. A. 
proceeded to plunder and devastate the Peloponnesus, but 
was interrupted by the landing of Stilicho in Elis with the 
troops of the west. Stilicho endeavored to hem in the Goths 
on the Peneius; but A. broke through his lines, and escaped 
with his prisoners and booty to Illyria, of which he was ap¬ 
pointed governor, 396, by the emperor Arcadius, who was 
frightened by his successes, and hoped, by conferring this 
dignity on him, to make him a peaceful subject instead of a 
lawless enemy. In 402 he invaded upper Italy, and Hono- 
rius, the emperor of the west, fled from Rome to the more 
strongly fortified Ravenna. On the way to Gaul, A. was 
met and defeated by Stilicho at Pollentia on the Tanaro; 
but it was not till the following autumn that the result of the 
battle of Verona forced him to retire into Illyria. Through 
the mediation of Stilicho, A. concluded a treaty with Hono 
rius, according to which he was to advance into Epirus, 


ALARIC II. 

and thence attack Arcadius in conjunction with the troops 
of Stilicho. The projected expedition did not take place, yet 
A. demanded indemnification for having undertaken it; and 
Honorius, by the advice of Stilicho, promised him 4,000 
pounds of gold. When, after the death of Stilicho (q.v.), 
Honorius failed to fulfil his promise, A. advanced with an 
army, and invested Rome, which he refused to leave till he 
had obtained the promise of 5,000 pounds of gold, and 30,000 
of silver. But neither did this negotiation produce any satis 
factory result, and A. again besieged Rome, 409. Famine 
soon rendered some arrangement necessary; and in order to 
this, the senate proclaimed Attalus, the prefect of the city, 
emperor instead of Honorius. But A. soon forced him 
publicly to abdicate. The renewed negotiations with Hono¬ 
rius proved equally fruitless with the former, and A. was so 
irritated at a perfidious attempt to fall upon him by surprise 
at Ravenna, that he advanced on Rome for the third time. 
His victorious army entered the city 410, Aug. 24, and con ¬ 
tinued to pillage it for six days, though A. strictly forbade 
his soldiers to dishonor women or destroy religious buildings. 
When A. quitted Rome, it was only to prosecute the conquest 
of Sicily; the occurrence of a storm, however, which his ill- 
constructed vessels were not able to resist, forced him to 
abandon the project for the time; and his death soon after¬ 
wards at Cosenza, in Calabria, prevented his resuming it. 
In order that his remains might not be discovered by the 
Romans, they were deposited in the bed of the river Busento, 
and the captives who had been employed in the work were 
put to death. Rome and all Italy celebrated the death of A. 
with public festivities; and the world enjoyed a momentary 
repose. But A. himself was much less barbarous than his 
followers. He admired and sought to preserve those monu¬ 
ments of civilization with w T hich the Eternal City abounded, 
and checked the excesses of his fierce soldiery. Yet through 
him the Goths learned the way to Rome. See Simonis, 
Vermch einer Geschichtedes A. (Gottingen,1858),and Eicken, 
Der Kampf der Westgoten u. Horner unter A. (Leipz. 1876). 

ALARIC II., eighth king of the West Goths, or Visigoths; 
succeeded his father, 484. He was of a peaceful disposition, 
and wished to live on friendly terms with the Franks. His 
dominions were very extensive. Besides Hispania Tarra- 
conensis and Baetica, he possessed numerous rich provinces 
in Gaul, and formed an alliance, which still further increased 
his power, with Gondeband and Theodoric, the latter of 
whom was his father-in-law and king of the East Goths. 
At length, however, he came into collision with the Frank¬ 
ish monarch, Clovis, whose cupidity had been excited by the 
extent and fertility of the territories over which A. ruled. 
An excuse was found for breaking the peace which existed 
between the two nations, in the fact that A. was a zealous 
Arian. This circumstance had given great offense to many 
of his subjects, who were orthodox Catholics; and ostensibly 
to vindicate the true doctrine, the newly converted bar¬ 
barian, Clovis, declared war against him. The result was 
fatal to A. He was slain by the hand of Clovis himself at 
Vouilie, near Poitiers, and his forces completely routed. 


ALARM—ALA SHEIIR. 

A. is said to have been indolent and luxurious in his 
youth; hut this may simply imply that he was not fond of 
those sanguinary pleasures which captivated his savage con¬ 
temporaries. lie was tolerant in his religious convictions. 
Though an Arian, he did not persecute the Catholics. He 
enacted several useful statutes, and kept a watchful eye on 
all parts of his kingdom. It was during his reign that the 
Breviarium Alaricianum, or code of A., was drawn up. It 
is a selection of imperial statutes and writings of the Roman 
jurisconsults. A. sent copies of it to all his governors, 
ordering them to use it and no other. An edition of it Was 
published by Sichard, at Basle, in 1528. 

ALARM, v. d-ldrm' [F. alarme, alarm, a call to arms; 
alarmer, to frighten—from It. all arme, to arms—from mid. 
L. ad illas armas —from L. ad, anna, arms— lit. , to call to 
arms]; to give a sign to warn of approaching danger; to 
surprise; to arouse to danger: 1ST. an outcry to announce 
danger; sudden surprise; terror. Alarming, imp.; Adj. 
terrifying; awakening. Alarmed, pp. a-larmd'. Alarm - 
ingly, ad. -li, in a manner to excite apprehension. Alarm¬ 
ist, n. d-ldrm! ist, one prone to terrify with danger. —Syn. 
of ‘alarm, n.’; terror; fear; fright; consternation; trepida¬ 
tion; panic; apprehension; affright; dismay; agitation; dis¬ 
quiet; disturbance. 

ALARUM, n. d-ldr'um (see Alarm); in OE., a call to 
arms; a piece of mechanism in a clock by which a loud noise 
is produced at- any fixed time. 

ALARY, a. dl'dr-i [L. aid, a wing]: in OE., wing-like. 
Alate, a. dl'at, winged; furnished with appendages like 
wings. 

ALAS, int. d-lds' [OF. alas— from a! ah, las! wretched 
—from L. ah! lassus, wearied: F. he! las, weary: Prov. 
at las! ah! wretched me! alas!]: an exclamation of sorrow 
or pity. 

ALA-SHEHR, a'ld-sher' [i.e., The Exalted City, ancient 
Philadelphia ;]: city of Asia Minor, pashalic of Anatolia, 75 
m. e.-by-s. from Smyrna, at the n.e. base of Mount Tmolus. 
It was founded by Altai 11 s Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, 
about b.c. 200, and is famous as the seat of one of the 
‘ Seven Churches of Asia.’ It is still a place of considerable 
importance, and carries on a thriving trade by caravans, 
chiefly with Smyrna. It is surrounded by a wall, and is of 
large extent; but the streets are narrow and dirty. There 
are many interesting remains of antiquity. Pop about 
8,000, including 250 Greek families. 



ALASKA. 

ALASKA: a territory of the United States, occupy¬ 
ing the extreme n.w. of America and adjacent islands, 
purchased of Russia by the U. S. in 1867 for the sum 
of $7,200,000. It consists of a great peninsula between 
the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and Bering Sea, together 
with a long coast region between British Columbia and 
the Pacific, and its adjacent islands, and many islands 
between America and Asia. The islands have an aggre¬ 
gate area of over 80,000 sq. m., and the entire area 
of the territory is 590,307 sq. m ., or more than that 
of the original thirteen states. 

The population in 1900 was 63,592, probably in¬ 
creased by 25,000 by the gold immigration in 1901-3. 

The country naturally divides itself into three dis¬ 
tricts: the Yukon district, a wide stretch of rolling 
plains with many lakes, swamps, and peat lands, and 
low ranges of hills besides isolated mountains, watered 
by the great river from which it is named; the Aleu¬ 
tian district, including the islands of that name and 
many others, and the mountains looking towards them, 
mostly of volcanic formation, with many prairies be¬ 
tween the mountains and the sea, and the Sitkan dis¬ 
trict, including 500 m. of coast separating British Co¬ 
lumbia from the Pacific, with the adjacent islands, with 
the greatest mountain region of N. America. 

Among the mountains of A. are Mt. McKinley (20,- 
464 ft. high), the loftiest mountain in N. America; Mt. 
St. Elias (18,024 ft.); Mt, Wrangel (17,500 ft.); Mt. 
Crillon (15,900 ft.); Mt. Fairweather (15,292 ft.); Mt. 
Vancouver (15,666 ft), and Mt. Cook (13,758 ft.). 
Alaska contains the most remarkable glaciers in the 
A r orld, of which the best known are near the head of 
the Sym Canal and Glacier Bay. The Muir Glacier has 
at its discharge a front 200 ft. high and 3 m. wide. 
The Pacific Glacier discharges a great number of ice¬ 
bergs. The Malaspina Glacier has an area of over 500 
sq. m., and its surface elevation is over 1,500 ft. Val¬ 
dez Glacier has a frontage of cliffs of ice 15 m. wide. 
A. abounds in hot and mineral springs. The Yukon 
rises in British Columbia back of the Sitkan district, 
and its course is at first n.w. Turning w. it flows 
through the main body of A. into Bering Sea. It is 
impeded by shallows and islands in the middle of its 
course, and empties by a delta 70 m. wide, with bars 
at its mouth; but it is 2,000 m. long, and for 1,000 m. 
of its course 5 m. wide, and ranks with the Mississippi 
and Amazon as one of the greatest rivers of the world. 

The tribes of the native population were not sepa¬ 
rately enumerated in the census of 1900, but in 1890 
were reported as follows: Innuits or Eskimos, 15,000, 
Aleuts 2,145, Creoles 1,756, Tinneh 5,100, Thlingets 
3,000 and Hydale 788. The white population was 
reported in 1900 as 30,493. The name Eskimo was 
given by their neighbors to the natives in derision, 
meaning raw-fish eaters. They call themselves Innuits, 


ALASKA. 

• 

which means our people. The Alaskans are superior 
physically to the Eskimos of Greenland and Labrador, 
being muscular and often six feet tall, with full beards. 
They speak a common language, but each locality has 
its own dialect. Their dwellings appear as a round 
mound of earth covered with grass, with a small open- 
‘ ing at the top for the escape of smoke, the entrance 
being a small and narrow hallway to the main room, 
which is from 12 to 20 feet in diameter but without 
light or ventilation, while small bedrooms some¬ 
times open into the main room. They live on the 
meat of the moose, reindeer, bear and smaller fur¬ 
bearing animals; and upon fish, the white whale, wal¬ 
rus, seal and various water-fowl. They are inveterate 
smokers, men, women and children. The census of 
1900 reported the native population as 29,536, more 
than half Eskimos. They are willing to work and 
adapt themselves to civilized conditions. 

The chief native occupation is fishing. The waters 
abound in salmon, herring, trout, bass, mackerel, and 
halibut, and the codfish banks rival those of New¬ 
foundland. Whales were formerly common in their 
waters, and were an important dependence for the sup¬ 
port and comfort of the people, and many whalers of 
the Arctic fleet visited them. Fifty whaleships came 
in 1841 and 278 in 1851 in which year the catch was 
valued at $14,000,000; but the business has declined 
till only five or six whaleships come in the course of 
a year. The salmon fishery has grown to great pro¬ 
portions. Immense canning establishments have been 
built, and in 1901 the salmon pack amounted to $6,- 
926,167. In 1899 the canneries employed 1,298 white 
laborers, 830 Eskimos, and 1,859 Chinese. It is not a 
very desirable industry for the country. 

The earliest interest was the seal fishery. The early 
explorers reported great opportunities for fur trade, 
and many Russian adventurers gained wealth in this 
pursuit, while not a few met with disaster. The Rus- 
sian-American Company chartered in 1799, controlled 
the country for half a century, trying to rival the 
British Hudson Bay Company. The most important 
furs were the sealskins taken at the Pribilof Islands, 
and sent to London and Belgium to be dressed, where 
they supplied the most of the sealskins for the mar¬ 
kets of the world. After the purchase of A. by the 
U. S., in 1867, the sealing of the Pribilof Islands was 
leased by the Government to the Alaska Commercial 
Company in 1870 for twenty years. The company em¬ 
ployed four steamers and a number of sai-ing vessels, 
and employed native seal-fishers; paying 40 cents for 
each skin taken. They also paid the Government $55,- 
000 per annum for their franchise, besides an internal 
revenue tax of $2 for each skin, and the company fur¬ 
nished fuel and food for the inhabitants of the islands. 
The skins were sold in Europe for $15 each and it is 


ALASKA. 

estimated that the aggregate value since 1807 has been 
more than $50,000,000. There has been great difficulty 
in enforcing the rules protecting the interests of the 
company and meant to save the seals from unlawful 
and wasteful slaughter. International negotiations 
have not been successful, and tiiere have been great 
fears of their total extermination. 

The mineral resources of A. include extensive coal 
and oil fields, and immense areas of gold-producing 
gravels and mountains of gold, silver, copper, and iron 
ores. Marble of superior quality and inexhaustible 
quantity, bismuth and kaolin, gypsum, graphite, tin, 
amethyst, zoelites, garnets, agates, carnelians, and fossil 
ivory are found, and large quantities of sulphur al¬ 
most pure. Coal deposits have long been known, and 
occasionally utilized by steamers. Silver was pro¬ 
duced in 1899 to the amount of $181,000. 

Gold was first mined about 1870 on Douglas Island 
in southeastern Alaska. Works were erected to crush 
the quartz, and the town of Juneau grew up on the 
mainland opposite. About 1,500 stamps are used con¬ 
tinually. Gold was discovered in the Yukon district of 
Canada in 1886, and in 1887 Circle City was founded 
by miners on the Alaska side of the boundary. But 
the great development of gold-mining was nearly ten 
years late (see Klondike), and in 1898-99 the won¬ 
derful mines were discovered at Cape Nome. The Klon¬ 
dike mines yielded about $7,000,000 in 1901, and the 
entire output of Alaska in 1903 was estimated at 
$20,000,000. This changed all economic conditions in 
A., and Nome grew to have a reputed pop. of 40,000. 

There are two distinctly marked climates in A., that 
of the s.e. district with the coast and islands, affected 
by the warm current of the Pacific, while north of the 
mountains there is a short, almost tropical summer 
with the thermometer during the long days sometimes 
rising to 100°, but in winter falling from 50° to 78° 
below zero. 

The Yukon district along the rivers in .the eastern 
part as limited forests of cottonwoods and Norway 
spruce. Large portions of the Sitkan district have 
dense forests of spruce, hemlock and cedar. The U. S. 
Agricultural Experiment Station in the Yukon valley 
has shown that oats, barley, wheat, and hardy garden 
vegetables can be raised with profit; and the country 
in summer is covered with beautiful wild .Powers, and 
red and black currants, cranberries, raspberries, thim- 
bleberries, gooseberries, killiknickberries, salmonber- 
ries, blueberries, heathberries, and roseberries and in 
some places wild strawberries, and through southern 
A., between the mountains and the sea, the prairies 
are covered with perennial wild grasses. Yet prac¬ 
tically as yet agriculture has very narrow limita¬ 
tions. The Aleutian Islands have no large trees, but 
the coast from Kadiak to British Columbia is cov- 


ALASKA. 

ered with forests, which are more valuable as we go 
south, including white birch and poplar, sometimes of 
great size, as well as extensive forests of spruce, hem¬ 
lock and cedar. 

In view of the decline of the whaling industries, and 
the gradual extinction of walrus, and caribou, the Rev. 
Sheldon Jackson undertook to introduce reindeer from 
Siberia in 1890. At first he could not secure the help 
of the U. S. Government, and in 1891 brought the 
first herd of 16 reindeer across Bering Straits by the 
help of private subscriptions. Later the Government 
assisted the work, Congress appropriating $6,000 in 
1894 and gradually increasing the appropriation to 
$25,000 in 1903, and the Government becoming owner 
of the larger part of the 54 herds, including over 
6,000 reindeer distributed through the country in 1903. 
The reindeer feed in winter on a moss which covers 
vast regions of Siberia and Alaska. Though covered 
with deep and even crusted snow, the deer break 
through and burrow with their broad hoofs until they 
obtain food. An attempt to bring reindeer to Alaska 
in 1898 from Lapland was unsuccessful mainly be¬ 
cause of bad transportation from Seattle; but the 
Lapp herders brought with them have been distributed 
through the country and were employed in teaching 
the work to the natives. Most of the deer are owned 
by the Government, which loans a certain number to 
mission stations or individuals who have shown ability. 
Deer are owned by 60 individuals, of whom 44 are 
Eskimos. The present rate of natural increase doubles 
the number every three year, and even without further 
importation will secure the permanence of this useful 
domestic animal in A. In the winter of 1902-03 rein¬ 
deer teams carried the mail from Nome to Candle 
City on the Arctic Ocean, 260 m., hauling heavy loads 
of passengers and freight in a journey of 8 days, for 
which dog-teams would have required 15 or 20 days. 
The reindeer can travel at night as well as in day¬ 
light. They make also_ good packers in summer, and 
can be ridden in the s’addle. In the winter of 1897- 
98, relief was carried by reindeer to 400 whalers im¬ 
prisoned in the Arctic ice near Point Barrow, who 
would otherwise have perished. The reindeer commu¬ 
nication has been of vital importance in the develop¬ 
ment of the gold-mining communities. The Russian 
Government has substituted reindeer for horses in its 
caravan service in Siberia, with a saving of $60,000 a 
year; and the Alaskan service promises as good re¬ 
sults; while the domestic use of these gentle animals 
promises great and permanent betterment to the na¬ 
tive condition. 

There are excellent harbors in the southern coast, 
accessible all the year as far north as Sitka and 
Juneau. Ocean steamers ply to Nome from the port of 
St. Michael’s, 60 m. from the mouth of the Yukon, as 


ALASKA. 

well as to Victoria, B. C., Seattle, and San Francisco. 
The Yukon is navigable about three months by shal¬ 
low draft stern-wheel steamers, which connect with 
the ocean steamers at St. Michael’s, and ascend the 
river 1,500 m. to Eagle City. From Skagway on an 
inlet 160 m. n.w. from Juneau, a railroad crosses 
White Pass to Whitehouse Rapids, where passengers 
go by steamer on the upper Yukon to Dawson. Tele¬ 
graph lines connect Skagway and White Pass, Eagle 
City and Valdez and there is a cable from St. Michael’s 
to Nome. Among the more important towns which 
have grown up Nome is the largest with a reported 
population in 1902 of 40,000. Juneau had at the same 
time a permanent population of 3,000; Skagway of 
1,500. The census of 1900 included 78 settlements. 

In 1901, 186 American vessels and 127 foreign en¬ 
tered Alaskan ports. Foreign imports of merchandise 
into A. in 1901 amounted to $558,000; exports $2,- 
534,000. Gold to the amount of $15,816,000 was brought 
through A., product mostly of the Yukon district of 
Canada. 

The Russian explorers in their first settlements pre¬ 
pared the way for schools and churches. They founded 
a Russian Greek Church in 1794 at Kadiak, and dur¬ 
ing the century established congregations and chapels 
at every Aleut settlements, as well as at St. Michael 
and at Sitka and Juneau and other towns. In 1902 
they reported 18 Russian ministers in A. They have 
been followed since 1867 by missions of Roman Catholic 
and Protestant churches in America with great de¬ 
votion. The U. S. government has also established 
schools for white and native children in every con¬ 
siderable town. In 1901-02 there were 40 public schools, 
including training schools for girls and boys at Sitka. 
The total enrollment in 1902 was 1,791. The schools 
have been a great part of the care of the missionaries 
and owe much of their effectiveness to their direction 
and charitable labor. Many Swedes, Finns, and Ger¬ 
mans were employed by the Russian-American Fur 
Company, and a Lutheran minister was sent to Sitka 
in their behalf in 1839. Swedish missionaries in more 
recent times, and others from Norway have joined the 
American missionaries and teachers in the work of 
elevation. The public schools are supported by direct 
appropriations by Congress, the first grant being in 
1884 of $25,000. The annual appropriation by Con¬ 
gress has latterly been $30,000, and many incorporated 
towns have added to this, one-half of the fees col¬ 
lected for licenses. 

A. is a territory incompletely organized. From its 
purchase it had at first a military government, a com¬ 
pany of the U. S. army being stationed at Sitka. In 
1877 this was withdrawn, and a naval police sub¬ 
stituted. Alaska has no general legislature, and is 
controlled directly by Congress. Its governor, residing 


ALASKA—ALB. 

at Sitka, surveyor-general, attorneys, and judges are 
appointed by the President of the U. S. Towns of a 
certain size are allowed to incorporate and elect local 
governing bodies. There are three judicial districts 
with headquarters at Juneau, St. MichaePs and Eagle 
City. The three judges appoint commissioners who 
act as justices of the peace, recorders, probate judges, 
etc. Congress adopted a new criminal code in 1899, 
and a civil code in 1900. The homestead law was ex¬ 
tended to A. in 1898. The question of the Canadian 
boundary, after dragging for years, was pressed into 
international importance by the development of the 
Klondike mines. The decision hung upon the mean¬ 
ing of the. treaty signed between Great Britain 
and Russia in 1825. This was referred to arbitrators 
and a modus vivendi agreed upon in 1901, and most of 
the claims of the United States were approved. A 
treaty was signed between the United States and 
Great Britain in January, 1903, and the decision of the 
boundary was referred to an international commission 
which held its first session in London in September, 
1903. 

ALATYAN, a. a-la'ti-an [from Alcitys, which the Tartars 
of Siberia call themselves]: a name used to designate all 
those languages not connected with the two great families 
of speech, Aryan and Semitic. 

ALAUSI, a-loio-se: town of the republic of Ecuador, S. 
America, prov. of Chimborazo, 70 m. e. of Guayaquil, 7,980 
ft. above the sea, in a fertile valley of the Andes. Pop. 6,000. 

ALAVA, d-ld-vd, Doon Miguel Ricardo de: Spanish 
general: 1771—1843; b. Vittoria, of a noble family in the 
prov. of Alava. At first a partisan of France, he changed 
to the English side, 1811; gained the the confidence of Wel¬ 
lington, in whose army he became Spanish commissary. In 
the war of independence, A. distinguished himself. In 1820, 
after the revolution, he became cap. gen. of Aragon. In the 
Cortes 1823, he voted for the sus¬ 
pension of royal authority, and 
when absolute monarchy was re¬ 
established in Spain, he took ref¬ 
uge in Brussells and England, till 
recalled by the regent Christina. 

In 1834 he was Spanish ambassa¬ 
dor to London. Later, he showed 
a new zeal for the moderate sys¬ 
tem, After the insurrection of 
La Granja, he refused to swear to 
the constitution of 1812, and re¬ 
tired to France, where he died. 

ALB, or Alee, n. alb [OF. 
albe —from mid. L. alba, an alb— 
from L. albus, white]: a long 
vestment of white linen extend¬ 
ing to the feet, worn in early times 
by all ecclesiastics at divine service, and now worn by the 










ALBA. 

Rom. Catli. clergy. It differed from tlie more modern sur 
plice (q.v.), which is a modification of it, in having narrower 
and shorter sleeves. At the foot and wrists were embroi¬ 
dered ornaments called apparels. In the ancient church 
newly-baptized persons were obliged to wear a similar 
garment for eight da}^s; and hence catechumens were called 
albati; and the Sunday after Easter, on which they usually 
received baptism, came to be called Dominica in Albis. 
See Whitsunday. 

ALBA, al'bd (ancient Alba Pompeia ): a very ancient ci-fcy 
of n. Italy, in the proviuce of Cuneo, on the right bank 
of the Tanaro, 31 m. s e, from Turin, in a plain surrounded 
by hills. The neighborhood produces much wine and silk, 
besides corn, oil, and fruits. The town has an extensive 
trade in cattle. It is an episcopal seat. The cathedral was 
founded in 1486. Pop. 12,259. 

ALBA, al'bd, or ALYA, al'm , Feiidinand Alvarez 
de Toledo, Duke of, prime-minister, and general of the 
Spanish armies under Charles V. and Philip II.: 1508-82; 
descendant of one of the most illustrious families of Spain. 
He was educated under the eye of his grandfather, who in¬ 
structed him in the arts of war and of government. He 
fought, while yet a youth, at the battle of Pavia, and had 
the custody of Francis I. while a prisoner. He commanded 
under Charles Y. in Hungary, was present at the siege of 
Tunis, and accompanied the expedition against Algiers. 
He defended Perpignan against the dauphin, distinguished 
himself in Navarre and Catalonia, and was in consequence 
created Duke of A. His cautiousness and his taste for 
political intrigue afforded as yet no very high evidence of 
his military talents; and even Charles Y., whom he coun¬ 
selled, when in Hungary, to build a bridge of gold for the 
Turks rather than hazard a decisive battle, seems to have 
intrusted him with the command rather as matter of per¬ 
sonal favor than recognition of his abilities. His pride was 
hurt at the low estimation in which he was held; and his 
real genius began to show itself. The victory which 
Charles Y. gained at Muhlberg over John Frederic, Elector 
of Saxony, 1547, was due to the able generalship of the 
Duke of A. Under his influence, as president of the coun¬ 
cil of war, the captive elector was condemned to death; and 
it was entirely against his wish that the emperor commuted 
the sentence. He took part under the emperor in the ex¬ 
pedition against Henry II., king of France, who had taken 
possession of Metz; but here his exertions, as w r ell as those 
of the emperor, proved unavailing. He was more fortunate 
in Italy against the combined armies of the pope and the 
French king, which he repeatedly defeated during the cam¬ 
paign of 1555. After the abdication of the emperor 
Charles Y. in 1556, he continued to hold the command of 
the army, and overran the states of the church, which, 
after the retreat of the French army, 1557, lay entirely at 
his mercy. He was obliged, however, by the command of 
Philip II., to conclude a peace with Pope Paul IY., and 
restore all his conquests. Being recalled from Italy, he ap- 


ALBA. 

pea rod in 1559 at the court of France, with which Spain 
bad become reconciled by the peace of Chateau-Cambresis, 
1559, April 3; and as proxy for his sovereign, espoused 
Elizabeth, Henry II.’s daughter. 

When the inhabitants of the Netherlands, who had been 
accustomed to freedom, revolted against the tyranny of 
Spain, and especially against the hated inquisition, the 
Duke of A.’s counsel was to suppress the insurrection for 
eibly and with rigor. The king accordingly committed the 
matter to his hands, and sent him to the Netherlands, 1567, 
with unlimited power and a large military force. His first 
step on arriving was to establish what was called the 
‘ Bloody Council/in which he himself at first presided, and 
over which he afterwards appointed the sanguinary Don 
Juan de Vargas. This tribunal condemned all without dis¬ 
tinction whose opinions appeared dubious, or whose wealth 
excited jealousy. The present and the absent, the living 
and the dead, were subjected alike to trial, and their prop¬ 
erty confiscated by the council. A number of the merchants 
and mechanics emigrated to England; above 100,000 aban¬ 
doned their native country, and many others enlisted under 
the banners of the proscribed princes, Louis and William of 
Orange. A., rendered still more savage by a defeat which 
befel 1 his lieutenant, the Duke of Aremberg, put to death 
the counts Egmont and Horn on the scaffold. He after¬ 
wards defeated Prince Louis, and compelled William of 
Orange to retire to Germany; upon which he entered Brus¬ 
sels in the greatest triumph, 1568, Dec. 22. The pope pre 
sented him with a consecrated hat and sword, as Defender 
of the Catholic faith, an honor which, having been hitherto 
conferred only on crowned-heads, increased his insolence to 
the highest degree. He caused a statue to be cast, in which 
he was represented as trampling under foot two human 
figures, representing the nobles and people of the Nether¬ 
lands, and this he set up in Antwerp. His executioners shed 
more blood than his soldiers; and none now withstood his 
arms except Holland and Zealand. But these provinces 
continually renewed their efforts against him, and succeeded 
in destroying the fleet equipped by his orders. This dis¬ 
aster, and perhaps still more the apprehension that he might 
lose the king’s favor, induced him to request that he might 
be recalled. Philip gladly acceded, as he perceived that 
the obstinacy of the rebels was only increased by these 
cruelties, and be was desirous of trying the effect of milder 
measures. A. accordingly resigned the command of the 
troops to Don Louis de Requesens, and (1573, Dec. 18) left 
the country, in which, as he himself boasted, he had exe¬ 
cuted 18,000 men. The war which he had kindled burned 
for sixty-eight years, and cost Spain $800,000,000, her finest 
troops, and the loss of seven of the richest provinces of the 
Netherlands. 

A. wns received at Madrid with the highest distinction, 
but did not long enjoy his former consideration. Don 
Frederic, one of his sons, having seduced one of the queen’s 
ladies of honor under promise of marriage, and being 
arrested on this account, the father assisted him to escape, 


ALBACETE—ALBA LONGA. 

and, in opposition to tlie desire of the king, united him in 
marriage to one of his relatives. He was in consequence 
banished from the court to his castle of Uzeda, where he 
lived two years. But now the troubles in Portugal, the 
crown of which Philip claimed as his hereditary right, in¬ 
duced the king to draw A. anew from his retreat. The 
duke accordingly led an army into Portugal, and drove out 
Don Antonio, who, as grandson of John III., had taken 
possession of the throne. The whole country was speedily 
conquered (1581), and A., with his accustomed cruelty and 
rapacity, seized the treasures of the capital himself, while 
he allowed the soldiers to plunder without mercy the 
suburbs and the surrounding country. Philip, dissatisfied 
with these proceedings, desired to have an investigation of 
the conduct of the duke; but the haughty bearing of the 
latter, and the fear of a revolt, induced him to abandon it. 
A. died at Lisbon, at tlie^age of 74. He had a fine counte¬ 
nance, with a haughty air, and a robust frame; he slept 
little, while he both labored and wrote much. It has been 
said of him, that during sixty years of military service he 
never lost a battle, and never allowed himself to be sur¬ 
prised, 

ALB-^CETE, dl-bd-tha'td: town of Spain, cap. of the 
province J. the same name, in Murcia, 138 m. s.e. from 
Madrid, and a station on the railway from Madrid to Ali¬ 
cante. It stands in a fertile, but treeless plain; is built with 
some regularity, and contains a number of squares and 
many good houses. It is a place of considerable trade, and 
has great cattle-fairs in Sept. It is noted in Spain for the 
manufacture of knives and other steel goods, not, however, 
of superior quality. Pop. 18,976. 

Albacetk, the province, is formed partly from the 
former kingdom of Murcia, partly from New Castile; 5,966 
sq. miles. It is generally hilly, and in some parts moun¬ 
tainous, some of its mountains attaining a height of 5,000 
ft.; but it contains also rich plains and fertile valleys. Agri¬ 
culture is more advanced than in most parts of Spain; corn 
and wine are largely produced, as also oil, hemp, tobacco, 
saffron, fruits of various kinds, and honey. Great numbers 
of sheep, goats, oxen, horses, mules, and asses are reared. 
The mineral wealth of the province appears to be con¬ 
siderable, but is not turned to much account. Pop. (1877) 
(1887) 229,492; (1900) 237,877. 

ALBAINS, n. plu. dl-bdnz', or Aubains, n. plu. aw-bdnz' 
[mid. L. albdnus, a foreigner or alien—from L. aliblndtl , 
elsewhere born]: persons not born in a country; not natives; 
the right which a French king formerty possessed of seizing 
upon the property of foreigners on their death. 

ALBA LONGA, alba Ion'ga: one of the most ancient 
cities of Italy, on the rocky ridge that runs along the e. 
shore of the Alban lake, between the lake and the Alban 
mount. See Albano. According to legendary history, it 
was built by Ascanius, the son of iEneas, about 300 years 
before the foundation of Pome, which is represented as a 
colony of A. Notwithstanding this, the Romans, under 


ALBAN—ALBANIA. 

Tillius Hostilius, destroyed the city, and removed the 
inhabitants to Rome. It seems certain that A. was an im¬ 
portant city long before the existence of Rome, and the 
head of a confederation of Latin towns, and that when it 
was destroyed, many of its inhabitants settled at Rome. 
Some traces of its walls are yet to be seen. 

ALBAN, awl-bdn , Saint: the first martyr of Britain: b. 
Yerulam, 3d c. After having long lived a heathen, was 
converted to Christianity, but put to death at the commence¬ 
ment of Diocletian’s persecution of the Christians. His 
anniversary is June 22. The town of St. Albans (q.v.), 
which bears his name, is believed to stand on the site of his 
birthplace, or the scene of his martyrdom. 

ALBANI, dl-bd'ne: a rich and celebrated family of 
Rome, who came originally from Albania in the 16th c., 
and settled first at Urbino. The great influence of the 
family dates from the accession (1700) of Giovanni Fran¬ 
cesco A. to the papal throne as Clement XI. It has since 
furnished a succession of cardinals. It was Cardinal Ales¬ 
sandro A. (1692-1779) who formed the famous collection of 
objects of art in the Villa A., outside the Porta Salaria at 
Rome. It is still a rich collection, although part of it was 
carried off by the French. The pieces taken away were 
restored in 1815; but the then possessor, being unable to 
pay for their removal to Rome, sold them to the king of 
Bavaria. 

ALBANI, Francesco: 1578-1660; b. and d. Bologna: 
painter of the Bolognese school, of the time of the Caracci. 
He with Guido Reni, studied first under Calvaert, afterward 
under the Caracci. He painted above fifty altar-pieces, 
worthy of the Caracci school; but his inclination anil work 
were more to the representation of scenes of a playful and 
pastoral, or of a mythical kind. He had by his second wife 
a family of twelve children of extraordinary beauty, in whom 
he found exquisite models for his Vcnuses, Galateas, and 
angels’ heads; with the disadvantage, however, of imparting 
a certain uniformity to the countenances of his figures. His 
representation of the Four Seasons, so often imitated, gained 
him great renown. A.’s chief defect is in the expression of 
life and feeling. 

AL BANIA, al-ba'ne-d: the s.w. dist. of European Turkey, 
occupies the w. of the Balkan peninsula from the Bojana 
river to the Gulf of Arta. To the n. it is bounded since 
1878-80 by Montenegro, Dulcigno, and Bosnia; on the 
south it is separated, since 1881, from Greece by the 
Arta river. Upper A. was Illyria; Lower A. ancient Epirus. 
On the e. boundary forming the water-shed of the peninsula, 
rises the range of the Bora-dagh {dagh, in Turkish, means 
mountain), and the Pindus. The first detaches itself from 
the wild masses of the Tshar-dagh and Argentaro mountains; 
and w. of it lie parallel chains, inclosing on the one side, 
long elevated valleys, and sinking on the other in terraces 
down to level strips along the coast, consisting mostly of un¬ 
healthy swamps and lagoons. Pindus, to the s., is also 
flanked by isolated basins or hollows, whose western edges 


ALBANIA. 

pass into the jagged and thick-wooded Epirotic highlands. 
These highlands advance to the sea, forming steep rocky 
coasts; one promontory, the Acroceraunian, projecting in 
Cape Linguetta far into the sea, reaches a height of 4,000- 

5,000 ft. . 01 t . 

The chief rivers are the Bojana, the Drin, the Skombi, 
Ergent, Yojussa, Glykys or Acheron (which follows for 
some distance a subterranean channel, and, reappearing, 
is called Mauropotamos), the Arta, and the upper course of 
the Aspropotamos. Among the lakes, Bojana, Ochri, and 
Janina, are most important. 

A fine climate, the heat of which is tempered by high 
mountains and the proximity of the sea, and a favorable 
soil, seem to invite the inhabitants to agriculture; but for 
the most part in vain. In the n., little or nothing is culti¬ 
vated but maize; in the moist valleys, a little rice and barley 
are produced; but the mountain terraces are used as pas¬ 
tures for numerous herds of cattle and sheep. In Epirus 
there is more variety. Here the slopes of the lower valleys 
are covered with olives, fruit and mulberry trees, inter¬ 
mixed with patches of vines and maize, while the densely- 
wooded mountain-ridges furnish valuable timber. The 
plateau of Janina yields abundance of grain; and in the val¬ 
leys opening to the s., the finer fruits are produced, with 
maize, rice, and wheat. Even cotton and indigo might be 
profitably cultivated in the moist valleys; but in its present 
wretched condition, the country barely supports its scanty 
population. 

The inhabitants, estimated about 1,000,000, are a peculiar 
people, the Albanians or Arnauts; they call themselves 
Skipetars. They are descendants of the ancient Illyrians, 
mixed with Greeks and Slaves, and not to be confounded 
with the Albani that live on the Caspian Sea. The Alba¬ 
nians are half-civilized mountaineers, frank to a friend, 
vindictive to an enemy. They are constantly under arms, 
and are more devoted to robbery and piracy than to cattle- 
feeding and agriculture. They live in perpetual anarchy, 
every village at war with its neighbor, and even the several 
quarters of the same town carrying on mutual hostilities. 
Many of them serve as mercenaries in other countries, and 
they form the best soldiers of the Turkish army. At one 
time, the Albanians were all called Christians; after the death 
of their last chief, the hero Scanderbeg, and their subju 
gation by the Turks, a large part became Mohammedans, 
who distinguished themselves by cruelty and treachery 
towards the tribes that remained true to their old faith. 
There are three main divisions of the Albanians—the Oheg 
{Ohegides), in Upper A., the purest representatives of the 
ancient Illyrian stock; the Toshk (TosMdes), in Central and 
Lower A.; and the Epirots , largely mixed with Greeks in 
the s. To the latter section belong the Suliots (q.v.). 
The Mirdites, who are Roman Catholics, are the noblest of 
the northern tribes. The Albanian or Skipetar language, a 
distinct and peculiar tongue, belongs to the Indo-European 
group, and is derived from the ancietat Illyrian, mixed with 
Greek, Turkish, and other intrusive elements. There are 


ALBANO-ALBANS, ST. 

*wo main dialects, northern and southern. A. was official!} 
divided by the Turks into the vilayets of Scutari and Janina. 
The Berlin congress of 1878 granted a considerable addition of 
territory to Montenegro, including Podgoritza and Antivari. 
This cession, as also that of Dulcigno, demanded from the 
ports the western powers in 1880, was opposed by the 
Albanians, who formed a national league to prevent it. A 
conference of plenipotentiaries, Berlin, 1880, insisted that the 
porte should carry out the recommendation of the Berlin 
congress, and cede to Greece the portion of A. s. of the Kala- 
mas river. Turkey, however, agreed in 1881 to cede only 
the portion e. of the river Arta, with the town of Arta. 
the portion e. of the river Arta, with the town of Arta. 
New Balkan troubles developed early in 1903. The Rus¬ 
sian consul at Mitrovitza, Macedonia, was killed by an 
Albanian sentry, and his successor was wounded (April) 
by alleged Albanians. Under pressure by the great pow¬ 
ers the Sultan again promised to institute reforms in the 
Balkan provinces, and revolts in various parts were the 
first results. 

ALBANO, dl-bano: town of Italy, about 18 m. from 
Rome, on the declivity of the lava-walls which encompass 
the lake Albano, and opposite the site of Alba Longa. It is 
the seat of a bishop, and is surrounded by the mansions of 
wealthy Romans. A valuable wine is made here. Pop. 
6 , 200 . 

The Alban Lakf., or Lago di Gastello, is in the basin of 
an extinct volcano, a ad has a circumference of 6 m., with the 
enormous depth of more than 1,000 ft. Its elevation is 
nearly 1,000 ft. above the sea. While the Romans were at 
war with the Veientes (390 b.c.), this lake rose to an extraor¬ 
dinary height in the heat of summer, and without any ap¬ 
parent cause. Etruscan diviners declared that the conquest 
of Yeii depended upon letting off the waters of the lake. 
Stimulated by this, the Romans, under the direction of the 
Etruscans, opened an emissary or tunnel through the lava- 
wall which bounds it. In the execution of this work they 
acquired the art of mining, which they now applied to un¬ 
dermine the walls of Yeii. The tunnel, which still remains, 
and still fulfils its ancient office, is 1£ m. in length, with a 
height of 7ft., and a width of 4 ft. On the e. bank of the 
lake rises Monte Cavo, the ancient Mount Albanus, 3,000 ft. 
high, affording an extensive and magnificent view from its 
summit. Upon it once stood the splendid temple of Jupiter 
Latialis. 

ALBANS, ST., -awl'bdnz: ancient borough in Hertford¬ 
shire, situated on the top and northern side of a picturesque 
hill, 21 m. n.w. from London. The Yer, a small tributary 
of the Colne, separates it from the site of the ancient Yeru- 
lamium (Yerulam), an important‘Station in the time of tbe 
Romans, and the scene of a terrible slaughter in the insur¬ 
rection under Boadicea. In honor of St. Alban, said to have 
suffered martyrdom here in 297, a Benedictine monastery 
was founded by Offa, king of Mercia, 796. The foundation 
of the town is supposed to be due to Llsig (or Ulsin), abbot 
about 150 years later. Two battles were fought near St. A. 
during the Wars of the Roses, 1455 and 1461. In the first, 


ALBANY. 

Henry VI. became a captive; in the other he was set at 
liberty by his brave queen, Margaret of Anjou. The old 
abbey church, restored in 1875 by Sir Gilbert Scott, is a 
cruciform building of irregular architecture,547 ft. iu length, 
206 iu breadth, with an embattled tower 146 ft. high. The 
abbot of St. A. had a seat in the house of peers, and had 
precedence of all other English abbots. In St. Michael’s 
Church is a monument to the memory of the great Bacon, 
who bore the titles of Baron Verulam and Viscount St. A. 
More recently, the Beauclerk family have taken from this 
place the title of duke, and the Grimston family that of 
earl. The borough was disfranchised 1852 for bribery. 
Pop. (1891) 12,895, many of whom are employed in straw- 
plaiting. St. A. has recently been made the centre of a 
new diocese of the Church of England; its first bishop 
having been enthroned 1877, June. 

ALBANY, dl'bd-nl, or Albainn: an ancient name for 
the Highlands of Scotland, retained in some degree of use 
to our own day. Connected with it is the term Albiones, 
applied to the inhabitants of the entire British island in 
Festus Avienus’s account of the voyage of Hamilcar, the 
Carthagenian, b.c. 5th c.; also the term Albion, which ap¬ 
pears as the name of the island in Aristotle’s Treatise of the 
World. It may, indeed, be safely assumed that Albion or 
Albany was the original name of Britain among its Celtic 
population; and that it only became restricted to the n.w. 
provinces of Scotland when the Celts had for the most part 
become confined to the same region. Albainn means a 
country of heights (the root being alb or alp, a height); and 
it is remarkable to find Albania also a mountainous coun¬ 
try. The modern use of the name A. may be said to have 
taken its rise in an act of a Scottish council at Scone, 1398, 
June, when the title of Duke of A. was conferred on the 
brother of King Robert III., then regent of the kingdom. 
The title, being forfeited in the son of the first holder, was 
afterward conferred on Alexander, second son of King 
James II., in the person of whose son, John, it became ex¬ 
tinct, 1536. Subsequently it was conferred in succession 
on Henry Lord Darnley, on Charles I. in infancy, on James 
II. iu infancy, and (as a British title) on Frederick, second 
son of George III. Prince Charles Stuart assumed the 
appellation of Count A. as an incognito title, and gave the 
title of Duchess of A. to his legitimated daughter. The 
title Duke of A. was restored in 1881, when the queen con¬ 
ferred it on Prince Leopold; at his death, his son, Leopold, 
succeeded to the title 1884. 

AL'BANY: town, co.-seat of Dougherty co., Ga.: 107 
m. s. of Macon, 260 m. w. of Savannah, on Flint river, 
at the head of navigation; and on the Central of Georgia, 
Savannah Florida and Western, and Brunswick and West¬ 
ern railroads: it has also branch roads to Thomasville 
and Arlington. A. is in an agricultural country, produc¬ 
ing cotton, sugar-cane, rice, and corn; it has a court-house, 
bank, 8 churches, and 2 daily newspapers. Pop. (1890) 
4,008; (1900) 4,606. 


ALBANY. 

ALBANY, awl'ba-ni: city, cap. of Albany co. and of 
the state of N. Y on the w. bank of the Hudson river; at 
e. terminus of the Erie Canal (q.v.); on the Boston and 
Albany the Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.’s, the New 
York Central and Hudson river, and the West Shore rail¬ 
roads ; 145 m. n. of New York. Its site at a short dis¬ 
tance from the river rises more than 200 ft., affording an 
extensive view. The city is handsomely built, and con¬ 
tains a number of tine streets, Broadway and Pearl st., 
parallel with the river, being important, thoroughfares; and 
State st., a splendid avenue, 100 ft. wide, leading from 
the river up to and past the new Capitol. This building, 
which contains the halls of legislature and the state offices, 
is of New England granite, in the style of the Renaissance’ 
and is a magnificent and imposing pile. The corner-stone 
was laid 1869, July 7, the expenditures to 1894, Dec. 31, 
Were over $21,400,000, and a large amount still needed 
for completion. Its site is the most elevated ground in the 
city, and its tower is 320 ft. high. The new City Hall, 
completed 1883 at a cost of more than $200,000, is a beauti¬ 
ful structure in the modern Gothic style. Other notable 
buildings are the Rom. Cath. Cathedral of the Immaculate 
Conception on Engle street; the Prot. Episc. Cathedral 
of All Saints, cost $500,000; the State Museum of Natural 
History; St. Peter’s Church (Prot. Episc.); in the 12th c. 
Gothic style; U. S. govt, building (cost $500,000); Dudley 
Observatory on Lake Ave.; New State Arsenal on Wash¬ 
ington Ave.; State Normal College on Willett St; Y. M. 
C. A building on No. Pearl St.; and Harmans Bleecker 
Hall on Washington Ave. In the w. part of the city a 
tract of 'more than 81 acres was set apart 1869 for public 
uses, to be known as Washington Park, and the city has 
spent more than $1,000,000 in its improvement. Work was 
also begun in the spring of 1894 upon a new park in the 
Southern part of the city, named Beaver Park. 

A. is connected by river and canals with Lakes Erie, 
Ontario, and Champlain; has 6 steamboat lines; 3 bridges 
(2 for railroads only) across the Hudson river; paid tire 
dept, with 9 steam engines and 3 trucks; water works with 
storage reservoirs at West A. supplied from an artificial 
lake and from the river by pumping; is at the head of 
navigation on the Hudson; and as a U. S. port of entry has 
large trade, especially in the shipment of lumber. 

According to the census of 1900 A. had 1,566 manufac¬ 
turing establishments, with $21,328,764 capital and a com¬ 
bined output valued at $24,992, 021. The principal indus¬ 
tries according to capital employed were the manufacture 
of malt liquors, foundry and machine-shop products, to¬ 
bacco, clothing, boots and shoes, planing-mill products, 
agricultural implements, and stoves, the latter being an old 
and growing industry of the city. A. is the centre of the 
cattle trade for N. Y. and New England. In 1901 the as¬ 
sessed valuations were : real, $59, 580,370. personal, $5,- 
492,905—total, $65,073,275; tax rate, $21 per $1,000. 
The report of the city chamberlain 1902, Feb. 1, showed 


ALBANY. 

general debt $2,356,000, water debt $1,486,300, total 
bonds, 3,842,300, sinking funds, $1,521,009, net debt 
$2,321,291.—There were (1894) 79 churches, divided de¬ 
nominationally as follows: Rom. Cath. 14; Presb. 12; 
Baft. 11; Prot. Episc. 9; Meth. Episc. 9; Lutheran 6; 
Reformed 6; Congl. 3; Hebrew 3; Evang. 2; Christian 1; 
Univ. 1; Friends 1; Christian Scientist 1.—In lb94 there 
were 21 public school buildings, valued with sites at $1,026,- 
000; 32,138 children of school age (5 to 21), of whom 13,491 
attended school; 40 private schools with 5,000 pupils; 286 
public school teachers; 6,600 volumes in dist. libraries; and 
receipts and expenditures of $244,324. A. also contained 
the law and medical schools of Union University. Financial 
institutions included 6 national banks (cap. $1,550,000), 4 
state banks (cap. $700,000), 7 savings banks, 1 private 
bank, 1 loan and investment co., and 3 fire insurance cos. 
(cap. $870,000, assets $1,378,544, liabilities $1,175,326). 
There were 8 daily, 2 semi-weekly, 13 weekly, 1 semi¬ 
monthly, 6 monthly, and 1 quarterly, publications. 

A. is the second oldest settlement in the original 13 
colonies, and the third oldest chartered city in the United 
States. It was established by the Dutch, 1614, as a trad¬ 
ing-post, and 1623 was the site of Fort Orange. It was 
afterward named Beverwyck and Willemstadt, and 1664 
was called Albany, in honor of the Duke of York and 
Albany, afterward James II. The transfer from the 
Dutch to the English govt, was made 1664, Sep. 24. In 
1672, Charles II. declared war against the Dutch provinces, 
and in July of the following year a Dutch fleet anchored 
off Sandy Hook in the lower bay, and Fort James having 
capitulated, the province returned to its former name of 
New Netherland, and Albany surrendered a few days 
later and again became Willemstadt. Yet in less than a 
year the process was once more reversed; the treaty of 
Westminster restored the province to the British and to the 
Duke of York and Albany, and 1674, Nov. 10, Edmund 
Andros took possession of New York, and an English en¬ 
sign, a sergeant, and 18 men received the surrender of 
Fort Nassau. In 1683, under a charter from the Duke of 
York and Albany, the province began to be governed by 
the votes of the freeholders, and the first general assem¬ 
bly met in New York; 1685 a treaty of peace with the 
Indians was signed at Albany; and 1686, July 22, under 
the charter of Gov. Dougan, it became an incorporated 
city. The French war and the constant danger of attack 
by the Indian allies of the Canadian French kept A. in a 
state of alarm till the treaty of peace signed at Ryswick, 
Holland, 1697, Sep. 21 % From this period the city pros¬ 
pered till the war between the French and English broke 
out afresh, 1744, and A., with the other frontier towns, 
suffered both from the active operations of the enemy and 
from a general stagnation of business. This war lasted 
four years, until the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, after 
which affairs improved; and the renewal of hostilities 
1755, which led to the capture by the British of Quebec 

and Montreal, and the surrender of Canada, concluded 

\ 


ALBANY. 

the long series of troubles from which A. in particular 
had suffered so much, from its situation in the direct way 
of each invading army. The action of the colonies 
1774-76 was readily acceded to by N. Y., and the citizens 
of A. were very spirited and determined in resistance to 
British tyranny. The convention elected for the purpose 
adopted the constitution of the state 1777, Apr. 20, and 
Brig. Gen. George Clinton was elected first gov. The 
legislature assembled first at Kingston, then at Pough¬ 
keepsie, where it perfected the state govt., and then again 
at Kingston. It was not until 1780 Jan. 4, that it held its 
first session in A., afterward removing to New York. In 
1797 the public offices of the swe were placed in A., and 
it became the state capital. Introduction of steam-navi¬ 
gation 1807 gave it a great impetus; and the Erie canal 
was one of the early factors in its growth. 

Pop. (1870) 69,423; (1880) 90,758; (1890) 94,923; of 
whom, males 45,589; females 49,334; native-born 72,630; 
foreign-born 22,293; colored 1,141; (1900) 94,151. 


ALBANY. —-ALBATROSS. 

ALBANY, awl'ba-nl: city, cap. of Linn co., Or,; cn 
the Willamette river, at the mouth of the Callapooya river, 
and on the Oregon and California and the Oregon and Paci¬ 
fic railroads; 79 m. s. of Portland. Its numerous manu¬ 
factories are operated by water-power, brought from the 
Santiam river, in the mountains, by a canal 15 m. long; and 
the same stream furnishes the supply for the water-works. 
The city contains 1 national bank (cap. $50,000), 1 state 
bank (cap. $25,000), 1 private bank, 8 churches, 4 public- 
school buildings, Albany College, 2 daily and 2 weekly 
newspapers. There are 6 hotels. The city has 2 found¬ 
ries and machine-shops; 3 fiour-mills (capacity 150 to 400 
bbls. each per day), 3 saw and planing mills, 3 wagon 
factories, agricultural implement works, and several minor 
industries. The vicinity produces -wheat, oats, barley, rye, 
and all kinds of fruit excepting peaches; and the city ships 
flour, grain, and fruit. Pop. (1890)3,079; (1900) 3,149. 

ALBANY, Louisa - Maria - Caroline, also Aloysia, 
Countess of, wife of the unfortunate Prince Charles Ed¬ 
ward (q.v.), grandson of James II. of England: 1753-1824; 
daughter of the Prince Gustavus Adolphus of Stolberg- 
Gedern, who fell in the battle of Leuthen in 1757. During 
hei married life, bore the name of the Countess of A. She had 
no children; her marriage proved an unhappy one; and to 
escape from the ill-usage of her husband, who lived in a 
state of continual drunkenness, she sought refuge in a 
nunnery, 1780. At the death of the prince in 1788, the 
court of France allowed her an annual pension of 60,000 
livres. She outlived the house of the Stuarts, which be¬ 
came extinct at the death of her brother-in-law, the Cardinal 
of York, 1807. She died at Florence, her usual place of 
residence. Her name and her misfortunes have been trans¬ 
mitted to posterity through the works and autobiography of 
Alfieri (q.v.), to whom she was privately married. Their 
remains repose in the same tomb in the Church of Santa 
Croce at Florence, between the tombs of Macchiavelli and 
Michael Angelo. See Life by Vernon Lee (1884). 

ALBATA, n. al-batd [L. albdtus , made w T bite—from 
albus, white]: British plate or German silver, consisting of 
copper, tin, and nickel. 

ALBATROSS n. ul'bd-tros [F, albatros —from Port. 
alcatraz, a sea-fowl]: ( Diomedea) a genus of web footed 
birds of the family of the Laridce, nearly allied to gulls 
and petrels. Their feet have no hind-toe nor claw'; 
they have a large, strong beak—the upper mandible, 
with strongly-marked sutures, and a hooked point. The 
common A. (. D. exulans), also called the wandering A. 
is the largest of w r eb-footed birds, the spread of wing 
(usually 11 ft.) being sometimes 17 ft. and the w’eight 
20 lbs or upwards. The wings are, however, narrow in 
proportion to their length. This bird is often seen at a great 
distance from land, and abounds in the southern seas, 
particularly near the Cape of Good Hope, whence sailors 
sometimes call it the Cape Sheep. It often approaches very 
near to vessels, and is one of the objects of interest to voy* 


PLATE 6 


Akee 

Alcove 



Wandering Albatross (Dioniedea 
exulans). 



Alburnum, act, Alburnum or Sap- - , . —.1 

wood; bb, Heart-wood; c, Pith; da. 

Bark. 


Alcove. 



















































ALB A Y—ALBERONI. 

agers far away from land, particularly when it is seen 
sweeping the surface of the ocean in pursuit of flying-fish. 
It seems rather to float and glide in the air than to fly like 
other birds, as, except when it is rising from the water, the 
motion of its long wings is scarcely to be perceived. The 
plumage is soft and abundant, mostly white, dusky on the 
upper parts, some of the feathers of the back and wings 
black. The bill is of a delicate pinky-white, inclining to 
yellow at the tip. The A. is extremely voracious; it feeds 
chiefly on fish and mollusca, but has no objection to the 
flesh of a dead whale, or to any kind of carrion. It is not 
a courageous bird, and is often compelled to yield up its 
prey to sea-eagles, and even tt> the larger kinds of gulls. 
When food is abundant, it gorges itself, like the vultures, 
and then sits motionless upon the water, so that it may 
sometimes be taken with the hand. Not unfrequently, 
however, on the approach of a boat, it disgorges the undi¬ 
gested food, and thus lightened, it flies off. Its cry has 
been compared to that of the pelican; it also sometimes 
emits a noise which has been likened to the braying of an 
ass. Its flesh is unpalatable. It heaps up a rude nest of 
earth not far from the sea, or deposits its solitary egg in a 
slight hollow which it makes in the dry ground. The egg 
is about four inches long, white, and spotted at the larger 
end; it is edible. There are seven species of this genus. 
One of these ( D. fuliginosa), chiefly found within the Ant¬ 
arctic Circle, is called by sailors the Quaker Bird. Alba¬ 
trosses in great numbers visit the Kurile Islands and 
Kamtchatka near the end of June. 

ALBAY, a province in the S. E. part of Luzon, Philip¬ 
pine Islands. It is best known as a large hemp-growing 
region, having produced as much as 40,000 tons of hemp 
in a season. In order to control this province and open up 
to trade its various hemp ports Brig.-Gen. W. A. Kobbe, 
U. S. Vol., was, in 1900, January, made its military gov¬ 
ernor. After several severe engagements with the Filipi¬ 
nos he succeeded in taking possession, with the support of 
the navy. Albay contains the volcano, Mayon, in eruption 
several times, the last in 1888. Pop. (1899) 195, 129. 

ALBEMARLE, al'be-mdrl , SOUND; inlet of the sea in 
the coast of N. C.; length 60 m., width 4-15 m. Into A. S. 
empty the Roanoke and Chowan rivers; natural channels 
connect it with Currituck and Pamlico sounds. 

ALBERONI, al-bd-ro'ne , Giulio, Cardinal: 1664-1752; 
b. Firenzuola, in Parma; the son of a poor vinedresser. 
From being merely a chorister in a church at Piacenza, he 
quickly rose, through his abilities, to the dignity of chaplain 
and favorite of Count Roncovieri, Bishop" of St. Donino. 
He was afterwards sent to Madrid as charge d'affaires, by the 
Duke of Parma, where he gained the favor of Philip V., of 
Spain, and had the honors successively conferred on him 
of grandee, cardinal, and prime minister. In this last capacity 
he was of singularly great service to Spain, overthrowing 
the intriguing family of Ursini, bringing about the second 
marriage of Philip V. with Elizabeth Famese, and stimulat- 


ALBERT. 

ing the expiring energies of Spain. A new life dawned 
upon the nation, which learned to forget the hardships it 
had sutfered in the Spanish wars of succession; although, 
on the other hand, it was principally through his instru¬ 
mentality that the last liberties and rights of the people were 
sacrificed in favor of absolutism. He was ambitious, 
despotic, and unscrupulous; hence, to gratify the covetous 
desires of his new mistress, he suddenly invaded Sardinia, 
in violation of the Peace of Utrecht, cherishing the hope of 
re establishing the monarchy of Charles V. and Philip II., 
and startling Europe by his insolent audacity. The regent 
of France broke off his alliance with Spain, and united 
himself with England and the emperor; but A. was not 
dismayed. Even when the Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean 
was destroyed by an English fleet, he contemplated an exten¬ 
sive war by land, in which all the European powers would 
have been entangled. He patronized the Pretender, to 
annoy England, and the French Protestants, to annoy 
Louis. He sought to unite Peter of Russia and Charles 
XII. with him to plunge Austria into a war with the Turks, 
to stir up an insurrection in Hungary, and, through his 
influence with one of the parties at the French court, he 
actually accomplished the arrest of the regent himself (the 
Duke of Orleans). But so universal became the complaints 
against A., that Philip lost courage, and concluded a treaty 
of peace, the chief condition of which was that the cardinal 
should be dismissed, which was effected through the influence 
of Elizabeth herself, now weary of the arrogance of her late 
favorite. A. received a command, 1720, Dec. 20, to quit 
Madrid within 24 hours, and the kingdom within 5 days. 
Exposed to the vengeance of every power whose hatred he 
had drawn upon himself, he knew no land whither he could 
flee. Not even to Rome could he venture, for Clement was 
more bitterly inimical to him than any secular potentate. 
He wandered about in disguise, and under fictitious names. 
At length he was imprisoned in the Genoese territory, 
through the solicitation of the pope and the Spanish monarch; 
but he speedily recovered his liberty, and two years after 
the death of Clement, was reinstated by Innocent XIII. in 
all the rights and dignities of a cardinal. In 1740 he retired 
to Piacenza, where after 12 years he died at the age of 88. 
He bequeathed his possessions in Lombardy to Philip Y., 
while his cousin and heir, Ca3sar A., became possessor of 
1,000,000 ducats. 

ALBERT, dl-bar' , Alexander Martin: b. Bury (Oise) 
1815: member of the Provisional Government of France 
after the revolution of Feb., 1848. His father was ^ a 
peasant, and he himself learned a mechanical trade at Paris. 
He took part in the revolution of July, 1830, and was im¬ 
plicated in the celebrated trial of 1834. He commenced at 
Lyon the republican journal called La Glaneuse, on account 
of which he was condemned to a fine of 5,000 francs when 
the insurrection broke out at Lyon. In 1840 lie began 
L' Atelier, a paper conducted exclusively by operatives, and 
devoted to their interests. On the evening before the 
proclamation of the republic, 1848, Feb., he was making 


ALBERT. 

buttons in his workshop; and on the nomination of Louis 
Blanc, he was called to take part in the Provisional Govern¬ 
ment. He w r as afterwards chosen president of the Com- 
mission for National Rewards, but soon resigned this post. 
He was elected by a large majority of voices as the repre¬ 
sentative of the dept, of the Seine in the National 
Assembly; but involving himself in the attempt of 1848, 
May 15, against the government as it then existed, he was 
arrested, and sentenced to transportation. He was, however, 
soon liberated. 

ALBERT, albert, Count of Bollstadt, usually called 
Albertus Magnus, also Albertus Teutonicus: 1205 (or 1193) 
-1280; b. Lauingen, Swabia: a man less distinguished for 
originality than for the extent of his acquirements and his 
efforts for the spread of knowledge, especially of the works 
and doctrines of Aristotle. After finishing his studies at 
Padua, he entered the order of the Dominican friars, and 
taught in the schools of Hildesheim, Ratisbon, and Cologne, 
where Thomas Aquinas became his pupil. In 1230 he went 
to Paris, where he publicly expounded the doctrines of 
Aristotle, in spite of the prohibition of the church. In 1249, 
he became rector of the school at Cologne, and in 1254, 
provincial of the Dominican order in Germany. In 1260, 
he received from Pope Alexander IV. the bishopric of Ratis¬ 
bon But in 1262, he retired to his convent at Cologne, to 
devote himself to literary pursuits; and here he composed a 
great number of works, especially commentaries on Aristotle. 
The fullest edition of his works was prepared by Pierre 
Jammy, the Dominican (21 vols., Lyon and Leyden, 1651); 
but it is far from complete. Many of the writings attributed 
to A. seem spurious; among others, that entitled De Secretis 
Mulierum, which was widely circulated during the middle 
ages. The extensive chemical and mechanical knowledge 
w 7 hich A. possessed, considering the age in which he lived, 
brought upon him the imputation of sorcery; and in German 
tradition he has a very ambiguous reputation. 11 is recorded, 
for instance, that in the winter of 1240, he gave a banquet 
in the garden of his convent, at Cologne, to William of 
Holland, king of the Romans; and that during the enter¬ 
tainment, the wintry scene was suddenly transformed into 
one of summer bloom and beauty. This myth rests most 
likely on the fact of A. having had a greenhouse.—The 
scholastics w r ho followed A.’s opinions took tne name of 
Albert ists. 

ALBERT, Francis (Albert) Augustus-Charles-Em- 
manuel, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Consort of Victoria, 
Queen of Great Britain: 1819-61: second son of Ernest 11., 
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, by his first marriage with 
Louisa, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. 
The prince was b. 1819, Aug. 26; and after a careful 
domestic education, with his elder brother, who became 
duke, attended the university of Bonn, where, in addition 
to the sciences connected with state-craft, he entered with 
ardor on the study of natural history and chemistry, and 
evinced great taste for the fine arts, especially painting and 






ALBERT. 

music. Several of bis compositions obtained publicity, and 
an opera was performed in London said to have been 
composed by him. Gifted with a handsome figure, he 
attained expertness in all knightly exercises. It was’this 
accomplished prince that the young queen of Great Britain 
selected as her partner for life. The marriage was celebrated 
in London 1840, Feb. 10. On his marriage, Prince Albert 
received the title of Royal Highness, was naturalized as a 
subject of Great Britain, and obtained the rank of field- 
marshal, the knighthood of the Order of the Bath, and the 
command of a regiment of hussars. As the union proved 
in the highest degree happy, the prince was loaded with 
honors and distinctions both by the queen and the nation. 
The title of Consort of Her Most Gracious Majesty was 
formally conferred in 1842, and that of Prince Consort, in 
1857, made him a prince of the United Kingdom. He was 
also made a member of the Privy Council, Governor and 
Constable of Windsor Castle, Colonel of the Grenadier 
Guards, Acting Grand Master of the Order of the Bath, 
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master of the 
Trinity House, etc. Notwithstanding his high and favored 
position, the prince, with rare prudence and tact, abstained 
from meddling with state affairs, and thus escaped the 
jealousy and detraction of parties. When the whig ministry 
of 1840 proposed for him the income of £50,0001 as consort 
of Queen Victoria, the tories, in conjunction with the 
radicals, succeeded in limiting the sum to £30,000. This 
appears to have been the only instance of any manifestation 
of party feeling with reference to the prince. On the other 
hand, he opened for himself a wide sphere of action, in the 
encouragement and promotion of science and art, appearing 
as the patron of many useful associations and public under¬ 
takings. The Exhibition of 1851 owed much to him. He 
died 1861, Dec. 14. His Life, by Theodore Martin, in five 
vols., appeared 1874-80. 

ALBERT, or Albrecht, dl'brekt, I., Duke of Austria and 
Emperor of Germany: 1248-1308; eldest son of Rudolph I. 
Rudolph, about the close of his career, made an effort to 
have A. appointed his successor; but the electors, tired of 
his authority, and emboldened by his age and infirmities, 
refused. After Rudolph’s death, Austria and Styria re¬ 
volted; but A., having vigorously crushed the insurrection, 
had the audacity to assume the insignia of the empire with¬ 
out waiting for the decision of the diet. This violent 
measure induced the electors to choose, in preference to 
him, Adolphus of Nassau. Disturbances in Switzerland, 
and a disease which cost him an eye, now rendered him 
more humble; he delivered up the insignia which he had so 
rashly assumed, and took the oath of allegiance to the new 
emperor, who, however, after some years, so completely dis¬ 
gusted his subjects, that A. began to entertain hopes of recov¬ 
ering his imperial dignity. In 1298, Adolphus was deposed, 
and A. elected; but the former having resolved to main¬ 
tain his title, A. was obliged to fight for the crown. The rivals 
drew up their forces neai Worms, where a battle ensued, 
in which Adolphus was defeated aud slain. A., feeling that 
Vol. 1 — 13 


ALBERT. 

he might now safely display magnanimity, voluntarily 
resigned the crown which had been recently conferred 
upon him; and, as he had anticipated, was unanimously 
re-elected. His coronation took place at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
1298, Aug. But the pope, Boniface VIII., denied the right 
of the princes to elect A., declared himself to be the only 
true emperor and legitimate king of the Romans, summoned 
the former before him, required him to ask pardon and 
do penance, forbade the princes to acknowledge him, and 
released them from their oath of allegiance. A., on the 
other hand, with his usual intrepidity, defied the pope, 
formed an alliance with Philip the Fair, of France, secured 
the neutrality of Saxony and Brandenburg, invaded the elec¬ 
torate of Metz, and forced the archbishop to break off his 
alliance with Boniface and to form one with himself for the 
next five years. The pope was alarmed by his success, and 
entered into negotiations with him. A., whose duplicity 
and unscrupulousness equaled his courage, suddenly broke 
off his alliance with Philip, admitted the western empire to 
be a papal grant, and declared that the electors derived their 
right of choosing from the Holy See. Moreover, he 
promised upon oath to defend the rights of the Roman 
court whenever he was called upon. As a reward, Boniface 
gave him the kingdom of France, excommunicating Philip, 
and declaring him to have forfeited the crown; but the lat¬ 
ter severely chastised the pope for his insolence in daring to 
give away what was not his own. In the following year, 
A. made war unsuccessfully against Holland, Zealand, 
Friesland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Thuringia. Shortly 
afterwards, the news reached him that a rebellion had 
broken out among the Swiss in Unterwalden, Schweitz, and 
Uri, in Jan. 1308. A. had not only foreseen, but desired 
this, in order that he might find a pretext for completely 
subjugating the country. A new act of injustice, however, 
occasioned a crime which put an end to his ambition and 
life. His nephew, Duke John, claimed Swabia as his 
rightful inheritance, and had set his claims before A , but 
in vain. When the latter was departing for Switzerland, 
the former renewed his demand. A. scoffingly refused; and 
Duke John resolved to be revenged. With four others he 
conspired against his uncle’s life, and assassinated him on 
the way to Rheinfelden, while separated from his followers 
by the river Reuss. The emperor died in the arms of a 
beggar-woman sitting by the wayside. His daughter Agnts, 
queen of Hungary, frightfully revenged her father’s death. 
See John, the Parricide. A. left five sons and five 
daughters, the children of his marriage with Elizabeth, 
daughter of the Count of Tyrol. 

Five sovereign dukes of Austria (q.v.) bore the name A., 
of whom two (I. and V.) were also emperors of Germany. 

ALBERT the Bear (so called, not from any pecul¬ 
iarity of character or appearance, but from the heraldic 
cognizance that he assumed), Margrave of Brandenburg: 
1106-70; one of the most remarkable princes of his age; son 
and successor of Otho, the rich Count of Ballenstadt, and oi 
Elica, eldest daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony. Hav* 


ALBERT. 

ing proved faithful to the emperor Lothario, he received 
from the latter Lusace, to be held as a fief of the empire; 
but the Duchy of Saxony, to which he had the best claim, 
was given to Henry of Bavaria (1127), the son of the young¬ 
est daughter of the duke. As a compensation, A. w T as made 
Margrave (Markgraf) of the Northern March or Marck 
(Salzvvedel); but in 1138, Henry having been put under the 
imperial ban, the duchy reverted to the former, when he 
took the title Duke of Saxony. Henry, however, again got 
the upper hand, and A. was compelled to flee, and to con¬ 
tent himself with the margraviate of Northern Saxony, and 
the government of Swabia, which was given him as an in¬ 
demnity. Returning to his ow r n country, he claimed and 
secured the lands which he had conquered from the Wends 
as a hereditary fief of the empire, and thus became the 
founder and first margrave of the new state of Branden¬ 
burg. Under A. the margravedom was afterwards raised to 
be an electorate, and he himself became Elector of Branden¬ 
burg. After he had quelled a revolt of the Wends in 1157, he 
determined to take extreme measures against the vanquished. 
He almost depopulated their country, and then colonized it 
with Flemings. On his return from a pilgrimage to Pal¬ 
estine in company with his wife, in 1159, he exerted himself 
to suppress the language and paganism of the Wends, and 
to introduce Christianity among them. He died in 1170, 
at Ballenstadt, where he was buried. Brandenburg con¬ 
tinued in the possession of his descendants for two cen¬ 
turies, and finally (1415) fell to the house of Hohenzollern 
(q.v.). 

ALBERT, last grand-master of the Teutonic Order, and 
first Duke of Prussia: 1496-1568; son of the Margrave Fred¬ 
eric of Anspach and Baireuth, who having several children, 
wished him to be a priest. He w r as educated under the care 
of Archbishop Hermann, of Cologne, where he became canon. 
He did not, however, neglect knightly exercises. He accom¬ 
panied the emperor Maximilian I. in his expedition against 
Venice, and was present at the siege of Pavia. In 1511, 
when scarcely 21 years old, he was chosen grand-master of 
the Teutonic Order, the knights expecting their feudal 
allegiance to Poland to be abolished, on account of his near 
relationship to Sigismund, the monarch of that country, 
while they also hoped for protection against the latter from 
his friends in Germany. He was consecrated at Mergen- 
fheim, with his father’s consent. In 1512 he removed to 
Konigsberg, having been acknowledged by Poland likewise; 
but refusing to take the oath of allegiance, he was brought 
into a war with Sigismund in 1520. The next year, a four- 
years’ truce was agreed to at Thorn. A. next made his ap¬ 
pearance at the imperial diet at Niirnberg, as a German 
prince of the empire, to induce the other princes to assist 
him against the Pole?, But Germany could at that time 
grant no assistance to any one. Disappointed in his hopes, 
A. threw himself into the cause of the Reformation, which 
had rapidly spread into Prussia, and broken the last strength 
of the declining order, whose possessions now appeared a 
certain prey to Poland. A. still hoped to preserve these, by 


ALBERT. 

acting upon Luther’s advice, which was, to declare himself 
secular Duke of Prussia, and place his land under the sov¬ 
ereignty of Sigismund. This was done with great pomp at 
Cracow, 1525, April 8, the duchy being secured to him and 
his descendants. During the remainder of his life, A. zeal¬ 
ously sought to further the welfare of his duchy. He regu¬ 
lated the administration of all affairs, both secular and 
ecclesiastical, established, the ducal library, founded in 
1543 the Univ. of Konigsberg, gathered many literary men 
around him, and caused their works to be printed. In 
1527, he married Dorothea, daughter of Frederick, king of 
Denmark. A. earnestly desired peace, but his was not an 
age in which peace could be purchased. It was a transition 
period from the old to the new, and the duke found himself 
entangled in conflicts with the nobles, and in theological 
disputes, which, with other troubles of a more personal 
character, saddened the close of his life. See Prussia. 

ALBERT, Archbishop of Magdeburg, and Elector of 
Mentz,generally called A of Brandenberg: 1489-1545; younger 
son of the elector John Cicero, of Brandenburg. In 1513, 
he became Abp. of Magdeburg; in the same year, also, Ad¬ 
ministrator of the bishopric of Halberstadt, and in the fol¬ 
lowing year, Abp. and Elector of Mentz. Leo X. having 
granted him permission to sell indulgences, on condition 
that he should deliver up half the booty to the papal ex¬ 
chequer, A. appointed the Dominican Tetzel ‘ indulgence 
preacher,’ who by the shameless manner in which he went 
about his work, first stirred Luther to post up his well- 
known ninety-five theses. Even in the archbishop’s own 
diocese, the reformer’s doctrines found not a few adherents, 
so that A. was compelled, at the imperial diet at Augsburg, 
to act the part of peace-maker. When he joined the Holy 
Alliance against the Treaty of Schmalkald, Luther made a 
fierce attack on him in writing. He was the first of all the 
German princes who received the Jesuits into his dominions. 
In 1541, he granted religious liberty to his subjects, under 
the condition that they should pay his debts, amounting to 
500,000 florins. He did this, not from any love of religious 
liberty, but either because of the consideration referred to, 
or from a dread of popular compulsion. The last days of 
his life were spent in Aschaffenburg. 

ALBERT, or Albrecht, Archduke of Austria; ^559- 
1621; third son of the emperor Maximilian II.; brought up 
at the Spanish court, and dedicated himself to the church. 
In 1577, he was made cardinal; in 1584, Abp. of Toledo, 
and, 1594-96, held the office of viceroy of Portugal. He 
was next appointed Stadtholder of the Netherlands, where, 
as the representative of the Spanish monarch, he discharged 
the duties of his function with prudence and dignity. Car¬ 
dinal Bentivoglio, who resided a considerable time at his 
court, praises his uprightness, his moderation, his love of 
serious study, his industry, his perseverance, and his discre¬ 
tion, though he does not conceal the fact that he was a 
prince better fitted for peace than for war. He showed at 
first both courage and enthusiasm, but afterwards was 


ALBERTA-ALBERT EDWARD N’YANZA. 

accused of dilatoriness. Abandoning his ecclesiastical 
profession, he married (1598) the Infanta Isabella. 

ALBERTA, al ber ta: one of four provisional districts 
formed 1882 from the North west Territories of Canada- 
on the n. border of the United States between Assiniboia 
on the e. and Brit. Col. on the w.;" pop. (1901) 65,876. 
The district possesses great and varied agricultural aud 
mineral resources. In the s.w. portion, s. of the Canadian 
Pacific railway, are the great cattle ranges of Canada, of 
which the chief centres are Fort McLeod and Calgary, 

ALBERT COAL or Albertite, al ber-tlt, pitch like 
mineral, in subcarboniferous fissure, Nova Scotia. It 
differs from asphaltuin in solubility and fusion. 

ALBERT EDWARD, King of Great Britain and Ire¬ 
land and Emperor of India, under the title of Edward 
VII.; born Buckingham Palace, England, 1841, Nov. 9; 
eldest son of Queen Victoria and the late Prince Consort. 
He received liis early education from private tutors, and 
after-ward attended lectures in Christ Church, Oxford, and 
in Cambridge Univ. He visited the United States and 
Canada 1860; married Princess Alexandra, of Denmark, 
1863, Mar. 10, nearly lost his life from typhoid fever 1871, 
but took part in the great thanksgiving service in St. 
Paul’s Cathedral 1872, Feb. 27, over his recovery; visited 
India 1875-6, the Paris Exposition 1878, and 89; Berlin 
during the celebration of the silver wedding of the Crown 
Prince of Germany with the Princess Royal of England 
1883; Greece and Egypt 1889; and with his wife made a 
tour of Ireland 1885. He was called to the bar and bench 
of the Middle Temple 1861, and has received the degrees 
d.c.l. from Oxford, 1868, and ll.d. from Trinity College, 
Cambridge, Edinburgh, Dublin 1868, and Calcutta 1874. 
He has the patronage of 29 ecclesiastical livings and a state 
income of £76,000. Six children have been born of his 
marriage, three princes and three princesses, and two 
princes have died. His oldest son, Prince Albert Vic¬ 
tor, b. 1864, Jan. 8, was created Duke of Clarence 1890, 
May 23; d. 1892, Jan. 14. On the death of Queen Victo¬ 
ria (1901, Jan. 22) he became king and emperor; took the 
oath (23d); and was proclaimed (24th) with ancient cere¬ 
monies. The coronation of the king and queen was fixed 
for June 26, but he was suddenly prostrated three days 
before that date. An operation resulting successfully, their 
majesties were crowned with restricted ceremonies Aug. 9. 

ALBERT EDWARD N’YANZA, albert ed'werd nl- 
dn'za, formerly the Southern Nyanza (lake) or Nyanza of 
Usongora, and appearing on some maps as Muta Nzige: 
lake in the equatorial region of Africa. The names Albert 
Nyanza and Muta Nzige were long used interchangeably 
for one body of water. When it was found that there were 
two distinct lakes, the former name was given to the north¬ 
ern and the latter to the southern and smaller one. Stanley 
saw this lake from a distance in 1876, and in 1889 dis¬ 
covered that the Semliki river carries its overflow to Lake 
Albert. The river, which in some portions is 250 to 300 


ALBERT LEA—ALBERT N’YANZA. 

ft. broad and 9 it. deep, receives while on its way about 
50 other streams. In its course of perhaps 75 m., are many 
rapids and abrupt falls, with total descent of about 900 ft. 
Stanley named the lake A. E. N., in honor of ‘the first 
British prince who has shown a decided interest in African 
geography.’ This is the upper one of the lakes belonging 
to the w. part of the Nile system, and is much smaller than 
either of the others, being only about 50 m. in length. Its 
elevation above sea-level is about 3,000 ft. It receives the 
waters from the w. which, through the Semliki river, reach 
the Albert Nyanza, and forms the source of the s.w. branch 
of the White (or true) Nile, while the s.e. branch flows from 
the Victoria Nyanza. 

ALBERT LEA, dl'bert le: town, co.-seat of Freeborn co., 
Minn., between two lakes; 12 m. n. of the Iowa state line, 
and 100 m. s. of St. Paul; on the Burlington and Cedar 
Rapids, the Minneapolis and St. Louis, the St. Paul and 
Milwaukee, and the Albert Lea and Fort Dodge railroads. 
It was settled 1855. A. is in a grain and stock-raising 
country, but has manufactures of plows and wagons, 
flour, and iron. It has a court-house, park, library, 2 
banks, 2 weekly newspapers, high school, and churches. 
Pop. (1880) 1,966; (1890) 3,305; (1900) 4,500. 

ALBERT N’YANZA, -rii-an'za (the Little Luta Nzige of 
Speke): large lake of East Central Africa, one of the 
reservoirs of the Nile, situated in a deep rock-basin, 80 m. 
w. of the Victoria N’yanza. The A. N. is of oblong shape, 
and, as proved by M. Gessi, one of Col. Gordon’s party in 
1876, is 140 m 1 ^ng from n. to s., and 40 m. broad. It 
is crossed by tin eauator near its centre. On the e. it is 
fringed by precipitous cliffs, having a mean altitude of 
1,500 ft., with isolated peaks, rising from 5,000 to 10,000 ft. 
The surface of the lake is 2,720 ft. above the sea, and 1,470 
ft. below the general level of the country; its water is fresh 
and sweet, and it is of great depth towards the centre. The 
n. and w. shores are bordered by a massive range of hills, 
called the Blue Mountains, which have a height of about 
7,000 ft. The existence of this vast lake first became known 
to Europeans through Speke and Grant, who, 1862, heard 
of the Luta Nzige as a narrow reservoir forming a shallow 
back-water of the Nile. See map to article Nile. When 
Speke and Grant, after the discovery of the Victoria 
N’yanza, were, 1863, descending the Nile on their return to 
Europe, they met, at Gondokoro, Mr. (now Sir) Samuel 
White Baker (q.v.), who was ascending the river in the hope 
of meeting with and aiding these travellers. As soon as they 
informed him of the reputed great lake, Baker agreed to 
undertake its exploration. Joining a trading party, he 
travelled s.e. to Latooka, which he describes as the finest 
country he had seen in Africa. His course was now s. and 
s.w., through the countries of Obbo and Madi, crossing the 
Asua ? a tributary of the Nile, 1864, Jan. 9. Journeying 
next in a s. and s.e. direction over uninhabited prairies and 
swampy hollows, he came upon the Nile at the Karuma 
Falls, lat. 2' 17' n., at the identical spot where it had 
been crossed by Speke and Grant. Being prevented by the 


ALBERTUS MAGNUS—ALBIC ATION. 

jealousy of King Kamrasi from following the course of the 
stream to the \v., he was forced to proceed, by slow marches 
southward on the w. side of the Somerset or Nile, to M’rooli, 
whence by a toilsome march of 18 days s. w., on the s. side 
of the Kafoor river, the party reached the A. N. at 
Vacovia, lat. 1° 14'’ n., long. 30° 40' e. Baker named 
the lake in memory of Prince Albert; and embarking, 
the party coasted n.e, and in 13 days arrived at Magungo, 
lat. 2° 1G' n., near the mouth of the Somerset river. At 
this part, the lake was under 20 m. in width, and appeared 
to stretch away in a n.w. direction. From Magungo, 250 
ft. above the lake, the travellers had a view of the Nile 
Valley for 15 or 20 m. n. Ascending the Somerset, at a 
distance of 25 m. from its mouth, the canoe-voyage was in* 
terrupted by a grand cataract 120 ft. high, which was 
named the Murchison Falls. The explorers proceeded s.e. 
for about 30 m. to Kisoona, and then a march n e. for about 
the same distance brought them to the Karuma Falls, where 
they first entered the lake region. The name Somerset is 
adopted from Speke’s first map, in order to distinguish that 
river from the Nile proper. It issues from the Victoria 
N’yanza at the Ripon Falls, and flowing n.w. and w. for 
about 230 m., it enters the A. N. within 30 m. of its n. ex¬ 
tremity, and soon quits it to form the true Nile. From the 
Ripon Falls for 30 m. n., and from the Karuma to the 
Murchison Falls, 45 m., the Somerset forms a series of 
rapids. The A. N. receives the drainage of a great equato¬ 
rial mountain range, where rain falls during ten months of 
the year. The scenery of the lake is described as extremely 
beautiful. Salt, which is very abundant in the soil on the 
e. shores of the lake, is now the only article of trade to 
the inhabitants. Formerly, Magungo was a large town, 
when the trade from Karague, in lat. 2 C s. was conducted 
in large boats sent by Rumanika, the king of the country, 
with cowrie shells and brass bracelets from Zanguebar, to 
be exchanged for ivory. 

ALBERTUS MAGNUS: see Albert of Bollstadt. 

ALBESCENT, a. dl-bes'ent [L. albescens, or albescen'tem, 
growing white—from albus, white]: growing white; moder¬ 
ately white; in lot., having a pale tinge or hoary appear¬ 
ance. Albicant, a. dl'bi-kdnt [L. albicans, being white]: 
growing whitish,—in same sense as preceding. 

ALBI, al'be or dl-be!: cap. of the dept, of Tarn, France; 
is built on a height. It is very old. and suffered greatly 
during the religious wars which devastated the land in the 
time of the Albigenses. Besides the usual government offices, 
it has a public library of 12,000 vols., and a museum. The 
chief buildings are the cathedral, built in the style of the 
13th c., the old palace of the Count of Albigeois, and the 
theatre. There is considerable trade in corn, wine, fruit, etc.; 
and linen, cotton, woolen, and leather manufactures. Pop. 
(1896) 21,490. 

ALBICATION, n. dl-U-kashun [L. albicare, to grow 
white]: in hot., a turning white; development of white 
spots or patches in foliage. 


ALBIFY—ALBIGENSES. 

ALBIFY, v.t. dl'bi-fl [M. L. albificar.e, to make white]: 
to whiten; to make white. 

ALBIGENSES, n. plu. al’bi-jen'sez [L., people of Albiga, 
now Albi]: * heretics ’ of various sects that abounded in the 
s of France about the beginning of the 13th c. The chief 
sect was the Cathari (q.v.); but they all agreed in renounc¬ 
ing the authority of the popes and the discipline of the 
Roman Church. The name arose from the circumstance 
that the dist. of Albigeois in Languedoc—now in the dept, 
of Tarn, of which Albi is the cap.,—was the first point 
against which the crusade of Pope Innocent III. (1209) was 
directed. The immediate pretense of the crusade was the 
murder of the papal legate and inquisitor, Peter of Castel- 
nau, who had been commissioned to extirpate heresy in the 
dominions of Count Raymond YI. of Toulouse; but its real 
object was to deprive the count of his lands, as he had be¬ 
come an object of hatred from his toleration of the heretics. 
It was in vain that he had submitted to the most humiliating 
penance and flagellation from the hands of the legate Milo, 
and had purchased the papal absolution by great sacrifices. 
The legate, Arnold, Abbot of Citeaux and Milo, who 
directed the expedition, took by storm Beziers, the capital 
of Raymond’s nephew, Roger, and massacred 20,000—some 
say 40,000—of the inhabitants, Catholics as well as heretics. 
‘Kill them all,’ said Arnold; ‘God will know his own!’ 
Simon, Count of Montfort, who conducted the war under 
the legate, proceeded in the same relentless way with other 
places in the territories of Raymond and his allies. Of 
these, Roger of Beziers died in prison, and Peter I. of Ara¬ 
gon fell in battle. The conquered lands were given as a 
reward to Simon of Montfort, but he never came into quiet 
possession of the gift. At the siege of Toulouse (1218) he 
was killed by a stone, and counts Raymond YI. and YII. 
disputed the possession of their territories with his son. But 
the papal indulgences drew fresh crusaders from every 
province of France, to continue the war. Raymond YII. 
continued to struggle bravely against the legate and Louis 
YIII. of France, to whom Montfort had ceded his preten¬ 
sions, and who fell in the war in 1226. After hundreds of 
thousands had perished on both sides, a peace was concluded, 
1229, at which Raymond purchased relief from the ban of 
the church by immense sums of money, gave up Narbonne 
and several lordships to Louis IX., and had to make his 
son-in-law, the brother of Louis, heir of his other posses¬ 
sions. These provinces, hitherto independent, were thus, 
for the first time, joined to the kingdom of France, and the 
pope sanctioned the acquisition, in order to bind Louis more 
firmly to the papal chair, and induce him more readily to 
admit the Inquisition. The heretics were handed over to 
the proselytizing zeal of the order of Dominicans, and the 
bloody tribunals of the Inquisition; and both used their 
utmost power to bring the recusant A. to the stake, aqd 
also, by inflicting severe punishment on the penitent con¬ 
verts, to inspire dread of incurring the church’s displeasure 


ALBINO—ALBOIN. 

from the middle of the 13th c. the name of the A. gradu 
ally disappears. The remnants of them took refuge in the 
east, and settled in Bosnia. See Hahn, Geschiclite der Ketzer 
im Mittelalter (1845); Schmidt, Histoire et doctrine de la 
secte des Cathares ou Albigeois (Strasb. 1849); and Peyrat, 
Histoire des Albigeois (2 vols., Paris, 1882). 

ALBINO, n. dl-bind [Port, albino , an albino—from L. 
albus, white]: a person, or any animal, with white hair and 
red eyes, arising from the absence of pigment-matter; said 
to have been originally applied to white negroes, found by 
the Portuguese on the w. coast of Africa. Albinism, n. 
al'bin-izm , state of being an albino; in bot., a pale or whitish 
condition of a plant, owing to the absence of chlorophyll. 

ALBINOS—called also Leucosthiopes, or white negroes, 
and by the Dutch and Germans Kakerlaken: at one time 
considered a distinct race; but closer observation has shown 
that the same phenomenon occurs in individuals of all races, 
and that the peculiar appearance arises from an irregularity 
in the skin, which has the name of leucopathy or leucosis. 
It consists in the absence of the coloring matter which, in 
the normal state, is secreted between the cuticle and the 
true skin, and also of the dark pigment of the eye; so that 
the skin lias a pale, sickly white color, while the iris of the 
eye appears red, from its great vascularity. As the pigment 
in the coats of the eye serves to diminish the stimulus of 
the light upon the retina, A. generally cannot bear a strong 
light; on the other hand, they see better in the dark than 
others. The coloring matter of the hair is also wanting in 
A., so that their hair is white. Melanism is the opposite 
of Albinism in men or animals; thus at the south and west, 
there are black females of the ordinarily yellow Turnus 
butterfly. Albinism is born with the individual, and occurs 
not only in men, but also in other mammalia, in birds, and 
probably in insects. It is not improbable that the pecul¬ 
iarity may, to some extent, be hereditary. The opinion 
that A. are distinguished from other men by weakness of 
body or mind is completely refuted by facts. 

ALBION, n. dl'bi-on [L. albus, white,—but probably 
from a native Celtic word]: the most ancient name on rec¬ 
ord of the island of Great Britain: frequently.used in 
poetry—so called from the appearance of the white chalk 
cliffs on its coast. See Albany or Albainn. 

ALBION, dl‘bi-on: town, co.-seat of Orleans co., N. Y., 
on the Erie canal, and the New York Central railroad; 10 
m. s. of Lake Ontario, 30 m. w. of Rochester. It has a 
court-house, jail, public halls, several hotels, 6 churches, 
3 banks, and 4 weekly newspapers. It has manufactures 
of flour, furniture, and agricultural implements; also saw¬ 
mills, foundry, etc. Pop. (1890) 4,580; (1900) 5,749. 

ALBITE, n. aVbit [L. albus, white]: a soda felspar, white 
or whitish: it gives yellowish flame under the blow-pipe. 

ALBOIN, dl boyn: founder of the Lombard dominion in 
Italy; succeeded his father, 561, as king of the Lombards, 
settled in Pannonia: d. 574. Lombards returning from Italy 


AL-BORAK—ALBOX. 

brought back reports of the beauties and riches of the coun 
try. This determined A., 568, to enter Italy with his own 
nation of Lombards, the remains of the Gepidoe, and 20,00b 
Saxons. He soon overran and subdued the n. of the coun¬ 
try as far as the Tiber, fixing his principal residence at 
Pavia, which long continued to be the cap. of the Lom¬ 
bards. A.’s barbarity cost him his life. During a feast at 
Verona, he made his queen drink out of the skull of her 
father, which he had converted into a wine-cup. In re¬ 
venge, she incited her paramour to murder her husband, 
574. Strangely, A. was a just and beneficent ruler. He 
was beloved by his subjects, whom he stimulated into that 
vital activity that characterized their descendants for ages. 
For several centuries his name continued to be illustrious 
among the German nations, -who celebrated his praises in 
martial songs. To escape the fury of the Lombards, Rosa¬ 
mond fled with her associate and the treasure to Longinus, 
the exarch, at Ravenna. Longinus becoming a suitor for 
her hand, she administered poison to Helmichis, her para¬ 
mour, who, discovering the treachery, caused her to swallow 
the remainder of the cup, and die with him. 

AL-BORAK, n. dlbo-rdk' [Ar. al, and boraka, to shine, 
to flash; borak, lightning]: the winged creature having the 
face of a man on which Mohammed is said to have 
journeyed or flown to Jerusalem and heaven; others say 
‘ a white mule.’ 

ALBORNOZ, al-bor-noth' , Gil Alvarez Carillo de: 
a warlike prelate of the middle ages; b. Cuenc;a, d. 1367. 
He studied at Toulouse, and subsequently became almoner 
to Alfonso XL, king of Castile, who appointed him Arch¬ 
deacon of Calatrava, and finally Abp. of Toledo. He took 
part in the wars against the Moors, saved the life of the 
king in the battle at Tarifa, and was present at the siege of 
Algeciras, where the king dubbed him knight. On account 
of the Christian boldness with which he denounced the 
criminal excesses of Peter the Cruel, he fell into disgrace, 
and had to flee to Pope Clement VI., at Avignon, who made 
him a cardinal. Innocent VII. also recognized his political 
talents, and sent him as cardinal-legate to Rome, w r here, by 
his tact and vigor, he secured, in spite of the intricate com¬ 
plication of affairs, the restoration of the papal authority in 
the states of the ‘church (1353-62). Pope Urban V. owed 
the recovery of his dominions to him, and out of gratitude 
appointed him legate at Bologna in 1367. In the same year 
he died at Viterbo, but expressing a wish to be buried at 
Toledo, almost royal honors were rendered to his dead body 
by the Spanish monarch, Henry of Castile, and Urban even 
granted an indulgence to all who had assisted in the trans¬ 
ference of his remains from Viterbo to Toledo. He left a 
valuable work upon the constitution of the Romish Church, 
printed first at Jesi, 1473; now very rare. 

ALBOSTAN, al-bos-tdn': towrn of Asiatic Turkey, in the 
pashalic of Marash, 39 m. n.e. by n. from Marash. Pop. 
est. 9,000. 

ALBOX, dl boh': town of Andalusia, Spain, province of 


ALBUERA—ALBUM. 

Almeria, 42 m. n.e. from Almeria, on a small affluent of the 
Almanzora, which divides the town into two parts. It has 
some good streets and buildings, and a fine square. Blan¬ 
kets, coarse linen and hempen fabrics, and earthenware 
are manufactured. There are also corn and oil mills. 
There is a great annual fair in Nov., lasting for a fortnight. 
Pop. 9,430. 

ALBUERA, dl-bo-a'rd: an insignificant hamlet, in the 
Spanish province of Estremadura, famous for the battle, 
1811, May 16, between the combined English, Spanish, and 
Portuguese forces under General Beresford; and the French 
under Marshal Souit, who were scarcely so numerous, but 
had abundant artillery. The object of the latter was to 
compel the English to raise the siege of Badajos. The result 
was, that Souit was obliged to retreat to Seville, with the 
loss of 9,000 men; the loss of the allied forces was about 
7,000. In proportion to the numbers engaged, the battle 
was the most sanguinary in the whole contest. The French 
had at first got possession of a height which commanded 
the whole position of the allied army, but they were driven 
from it by 6,000 British, only 1,500 of whom reached the 
top unwounded. 

ALBUFERA, dl-bo-fd'ra [an Arabic word meaning ‘ The 
Lake’]: lake near Valencia, Spain, about 10 m. in length 
and the same in breadth, divided from the sea by a narrow 
tongue of land; a canal connects it with the city of Valencia. 
It is rich in fish and fowl, and is said to have been excavated 
by the Moors. From it Marshal Suchet (q.v.) took the 
title of Duke. 

ALBUGINEOUS, a. dl'bujin'e-us [L. albugo, or albu!- 
ginern, a white spot—from albus, white]: like the white of 
an egg. Albugo, n. dl-bu'go, a white opacity of the cornea; 
the white of the eye. 

ALBUGO, dl-bu'go: term employed in surgery to desig¬ 
nate the white opacity that often follows ulceration of the 
cornea of the eye. In infancy, the comparatively rapid in¬ 
terchange of materials will often diminish to a great extent 
both the extent and density of these spots; but in after-life, 
they do not undergo similar absorption, nor are they amena¬ 
ble to surgical relief. 

ALBUM, n. album [L. album, a white color, a white 
tablet—from albus, white— lit., a book or tablet, white or 
unwritten upon]: a scrap-book; a memorial book Album 
Gkecum, n. album grekiim [L. Ormcum, of or belonging 
to Greece]: Greek-white; the whitish hardened excrements 
of dogs, wolves, etc.—formerly used in medicine under that 
name, now partially used by tanners. 

ALBUM: among the Romans, a white tablet overlaid 
with gypsum, on which were written the Annales Maximi 
of the pontifex, edicts of the praetor, and rules relative to 
civil matters. It was so called, either because it was com¬ 
posed of a white material, or because the letters used were of 
that color. To tamper with the names written on an A. 
was a serious offense, and involved a severe penalty. In 


albumin. 

the middle ages, the word was used to denote any list, cata¬ 
logue, or register, whether of saints, soldiers, or civil 
functionaries. In the gymnasia and universities of Europe, 
the list of the names of the members is called the A. The 
name is also applied to the ‘ black board’ on which public 
notifications of lectures, etc., are written up. But its 
popular signification in modern times is that of a book for 
containing photographs, or a blank-book for a drawing¬ 
room table, and intended to receive fugitive pieces of verse, 
or the signatures of distinguished persons, or sometimes 
merely drawings, prints, marine plants, etc. 

ALBUMIN, n. al-bu'min, or Albumen, al-bu'men [L- 
albu'men, white of egg, from albus, white]: organic com¬ 
pound possessing the same chemical constitution and re¬ 
action as white of egg; specifically, white of egg itself, 
and then spelt preferably albumen. It exists both in ani¬ 
mal organisms and in plants. Albumenize, v. albu- 
men-iz, to saturate or cover with albumen. Albu'meniz'- 
ing, imp. Albu'menized', pp. -Izd': Adj. prepared with 
a coating of albumen, as albumenized paper. Albuminous, 
a. dl-bv/mi-niis, having the nature of albumen. Albumin¬ 
oids, n. plu. dl-bu min-oydz [Gr. eidos, resemblance]: a 
group of substances found in all plants and animals in a 
greater or less degree, of which albumen and fibrin may be 
regarded as typical examples; proteine bodies. Albu'mi- 
nose, a. -ml-nbs, the soluble portion of fibrin. Albumi¬ 
nuria, n. dl'bu-mi-nur'i-d [Gr. ouron; L. urlna, the urine]: 
a diseased state in which albumen may be detected in the 
urine; a term indicative of the presence of albumen 
in the urine.— Albumin forms the chief ingredient 
in the white of egg, and abounds in the blood and chyle, and 
more or less in all the serous fluids of the animal body; it 
exists also in the sap of vegetables, and in their seeds and 
other edible parts. A. forms the starting-point of animal 
tissues, for in an egg during incubation all the parts of the 
chick are formed out of it. The organized substances, 
fibrine and caseine, have a chemical composition similar to A.; 
and hence, with A., they are called albuminous compounds. 
A. may be considered the raw material of fibrine, and 
fibrine as animalized A. 

The chief component elements of A. are carbon, hydrogen, 
nitrogen, and oxygen, with small proportions of phosphorus 
and sulphur. It is believed to be a definite chemical com¬ 
pound, though the exact proportions and the rational 
formula have not been definitely ascertained. Carbon forms 
about 54 per cent, of it; nitrogen, 16; and sulphur, 2. It 
is the sulphur of the A. that blackens silver when brought 
in contact with eggs, and the smell of rotten eggs arises from 
the formation of sulphuretted hydrogen during the decom¬ 
position. 

A. is soluble in water, and in such a state of solution is 
found in the egg, the juice of flesh, the serum of blood, and 
the juice of vegetables; but when heated from 140° to 160° 
it coagulates, and is no longer soluble in water. With 
bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) sulphate of 


ALBUMIN. 

copper (blue vitriol), acetate of lead (sugar of lead), nitrate 
of silver (lunar caustic), it forms insoluble compounds, and 
is therefore used as an antidote to these poisons. The 
property of coagulating with heat adapts A. for the pur 
pose of clarifying in sugar-refining and other processes. 
The A. is added to the liquid in the cold state, allowed to 
mix thoroughly therein, and then, wdien heated, it coagu¬ 
lates, entangling and separating all the impurities suspended 
in the liquid. A. is likewise coagulated by the majority of 
the mineral acids, but not by acetic acid. Alcohol, ether, 
creosote, and tannic acid likewise cause the coagulation of 
A., and hence the efficacy of these substances, especially the 
two latter, in coagulating and thereby killing the nerves 
which cause so much pain in toothache. For A. as an 
element in diet, see Food. 

ALBUMIN, in plants, is a store of nutritive matter, 
distinct from the embryo, but inclosed with it within the 
integuments of the seed. It is also known by the names 
Perisperm and Endosperm. When a seed has a store of A. 
separate from the embryo, it is said to be albuminous or 
perispermic. When the nutritive matter is stored up in the 
cotyledons or lobes of the seed itself, as in the bean, pea, 
wall-flower, etc., the seed is said to be exalbuminous or 
aperispermic. In these the A., as a distinct part of the seed, 
is wanting, and the entire seed consists of embryo and 
integument. When the A. is present, it is sometimes very 
small, as in the nettle; in other instances, on the contrary, 
it is very much larger than the embryo, as in the cocoa-nut, 
of which it forms the edible part. It is also the edible or 
useful part of many other seeds—as in the different kinds 
of corn—and in coffee, nutmeg, etc. It is sometimes mealy 
or farinaceous, as in the cereals; oily, as in the poppy; horny, 
as in coffee; cartilaginous, as in the cocoa-nut; mucilaginous, 
as in the mallow. Vegetable ivory is the A. of a palm 
(genus Phytelephas) which grow r s on the banks of the 
Magdalena, and is used in place of ivory. The presence or 
absence, and various peculiarities of A., afford botanical 
characters of great value. The A. appears to be a store 
provided for the nourishment of the embryo, and consists of 
starchy, oily, and albuminous matter. Vegetable A., in a 
chemical sense, exists, often in large quantity, even in seeds 
which, according to the language of descriptive botany, are 
exalbuminous or destitute of A.; and to prevent confusion, 
perisperm has begun to be employed as the botanical term, 
though not yet in general use. 


ALBUMINURIA—ALBUNOL. 

ALBUMINURIA, al-bu-mi-nuri-a [L. albumen, white 
of egg; Gr. ouron, urine] : condition of the animai 
economy characterized by the presence of albumin in 
the urine. Albumin may occur in the urine without any 
disease whatever; but continuous elimination of it 
leads to anaemia and changes in the system, that usu¬ 
ally produce the following symptoms : pallid pasty com¬ 
plexion ; dry skin ; tendency to oedema of the cellular tis¬ 
sue, noticeable in the eyelids and on the shins; deranged 
digestion, flatulence, and irregularity of the bowels; 
nervous disorder, shown by muscular weakness, lassi¬ 
tude, vague pains about the loins, and headache; calls 
to urinate during the night. A. is produced by various 
conditions—e.g., changes in the blood, changes in the cir¬ 
culation, changes in the kidney. The A. of heart disease 
depends on changes in the circulation; the A. of nephritis 
on alterations in the kidney. An important distinction 
is drawn, by Dr. T. Lauder Brunton, between A. due to 
alteration in the kidney and A. produced by other causes; 
the former condition he calls True A. The structural 
changes in the kidney which cause A. are acute and 
chronic inflammation, waxy degeneration, and cirrhosis. 
In False A., the treatment indicated is to counteract the 
solution of blood corpuscles: for this purpose, quinine 
is very often useful. In True A., depending on venous 
congestion of the kidneys, measures must be taken to 
lessen the congestion and to draw the blood from the 
interior to the surface of the body, as by cupping or by 
wet-packing: warm baths are sometimes injurious. 
The tone of the renal vessels may be improved by the 
employment of diuretics; the administration of iron is 
beneficial, as diminishing or removing the symptoms of 
anaemia, and, by increasing the tone of the vessels, thus 
.reducing the loss of albumin.— A. is often regarded as 
synonymous with Bright’s Disease; but, though Bright’s 
Disease is usually, in all its forms, accompanied by A., the 
latter may exist without Bright’s Disease, as, for example, 
when the elimination of albumin is due to venous con¬ 
gestion. See Bbight’s Disease : Kidneys. 

ALBUNOL: al-bon-yol': town in Spain, province of 
Granada, 41 m. s.e. from Granada, about 3 m. from the 
coast of the Mediterranean. It is a well-built town, with 
clean paved streets. The surrounding district abounds in 
vineyards, and is also very productive of figs and almonds. 
The making of wine and brandy, and the drying of raisins, 
are the chief occupations of the inhabitants of the town 
itself. The port of A. is a small place called La, ilabita. 
Pop. of A. 8,764. 


ALBUQUERQUE—ALBURNUM. 

ALBUQUERQUE: dl-bo-ker'kd , town of Bernalillo co., 
New Mexico, on the left bank of the Rio Bravo del Norte", 
41 m. s.s.w. from Santa Fe. Pop.(1890) 5,518; (1900) 6,288. 

ALBUQUERQUE: town of Estremadura, Spain, province 
of Badajoz, 24 m. n. from Badajoz. It is a decaying place. 
Cotton and woolen fabrics are manufactured; also earthen¬ 
ware, soap, and chocolate. The neighborhood is fruitful, 
producing corn, wine, oil, flax, honey, and fruits. Pop. 
7.470. 

ALBLTQUERQUE, al'bu-kerk or dl-bo-ker'kd, Alfonso 
tile Great, viceroy of the Indies, called also the Portuguese 
Mars: 1453-1515; b. near Alhandra, not far from Lisbon, of 
a family of the royal blood of Portugal. In that age, the 
Portuguese were distinguished for heroism and a spirit of 
adventure. They had discovered and subjugated a great 
part of the w. coast of Africa, and were beginning to extend 
their dominion over the seas and the people of India. A. 
being appointed viceroy of these new possessions, went 
to the coast of Malabar, 1503, Sep 26, with a fleet and 
some troops; conquered Goa, which he made the seat 
of the Portuguese government, and the centre of its Asiatic 
commerce; and afterwards the whole of Malabar, Ceylon the 
Sunda Isles, the peninsula of Malacca, and (1515) the island 
of Ormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. When the 
king of Persia sent for the tribute which the princes of this 
island had formerly rendered to him, A presented bullets 
and swords to the ambassador, saying: ‘ This is the coin with 
which Portugal pays her tribute.’ He made the Portuguese 
name profoundly respected among the princes and people of 
the east; and many of them, especially the kings of Siam 
and Pegu, sought his alliance and protection. All his 
undertakings bore the stamp of an extraordinary mind. He 
maintained strict military discipline, was active, far-seeing, 
wise, humane, and equitable, respected and feared by his 
neighbors, while beloved by his subjects. His virtues 
made such an impression on the Indian people, that long 
after his death, they resorted to his grave, to implore his 
protection against the misgovernment of his successors. 
Notwithstanding his valuable services, A. did not escape the 
envy of the courtiers and the suspicions of King Emmanuel, 
who appointed Lopez Soarez, a personal enemy of A., to 
supersede him as viceroy. This ingratitude affected him 
deeply. Ismael, the shah of Persia, offered his assistance 
to resist the arbitrary decree of the Portuguese court; but A. 
would not violate his allegiance. A few days afterwards, 
commending his son to the king in a short letter, he died 
at sea near Goa, 1515, Dec. 16. Emmanuel honored his 
memory by a long repentance, and raised his son to the 
highest dignities in the state. His life is well portrayed in 
the Gommentarios do Grande Afonso de A. (Lisbon, 1576 
and 1774), pub. by his son Blasius. 

ALBURNUM, n. dl-ber'num [L—from albus, white]: or 
Sap-wood, in Botany: that part of the wood of exogenous 
trees which is still imperfectly hardened; and, consisting of 
the woody layers most recently formed, is interposed 


ALGA—ALCALA DE GUADA1RA. 

between the bark (q.v.) and the lieart-wood or duramen (q.v.). 
There is often a very marked division between it and the 
duramen, in trees whose age is such that the latter has been 
perfected. The A. differs from the duramen in having its 
tubes still open for the passage of fluids; and these tubes 
appear to be the vessels which chiefly serve for the ascent of 
the sap. See Sap. It gradually hardens, and is trans¬ 
formed into duramen, new layers being added externally. 
It is almost always of a white or very pale color, while in 
many trees the duramen is highly colored. The A. is pale 
even in ebony, in which the duramen is black. In general, 
the A. is much inferior in value to the hardened or per¬ 
fected wood, and the different proportions which they beat 
to each other in the thickness of the stem, go far to determine 
the relative values of some kinds of trees. These propor¬ 
tions, how 7 ever, are different not only in trees of different 
kinds, but even in trees of the same kind at different ages, 
and according as circumstances have been favorable or 
otherwise to rapidity of growth. When there is a great 
proportion of A., the wood dries slowly and with difficulty, 
owing to the quantity of sap it contains. 

AL'CA and ALCADiE: see Auk. 

ALCAEUS, dl-se'us, of Mitylene: end of b.c. 7th c. or 
beginning of 8th; one of the greatest lyric poets of Greece. 
His odes, in the iEolic dialect, are occupied with his grief 
for the dissensions of his country, his hatred of tyrants, his 
own misfortunes, and the sorrows of exile; while on other 
occasions he celebrates the praises of love and wine. He is 
said to have been an admirer of Sappho, who was a con¬ 
temporary. A. himself took part in the civil war, first as 
the coadjutor of Pittacus, but afterwards against him when 
he proved tyrannical. Being banished from Mitylene, he 
endeavored, at the head of the other exiles, to force his way 
back; but fell into the hands of Pittacus, who, however, 
granted him his life and freedom. He was the inventor of 
the form of verse which, after him, is called the Alcaic, and 
which Horace, the happiest of his imitators, transplanted 
into the Latin language. Of the ten books of A.’s odes, 
only fragments remain, collected in the Cambridge Museum 
Criticum, and in Bergk’s Poetce Lyrici Creed (Leip. 1843). 

ALCAHEST, or ALKAHEST, n. dVkd-hest! [Ar.]: a 
pretended universal solvent. See Alchemy. 

ALCAIC, a. al-kaik, relating to Alcseus, or to the verse 
invented by him: N. a Greek metre, consisting of five feet 
—viz., a spondee or iambic, an iambic, a long syllable, and 
two dactyls. 

ALCAID, or ALCADE, or ALCAYDE, n. al-kdd' [Sp. 
alcaide; F. alcade; Ar. al-quid ]: Moorish title applied in 
Spanish and Portuguese usage to a military commander of 
a fortress or prison. 

ALCALA DE GUADAIRA dl-kd-ld' da gwd-dl'rd [The 
Castle of the Guadaira ], the ancient Carthaginian Hienippa 
(‘place of many springs’): town of Andalusia, Spain, 
prov. of Seville; 7 m. e. by s. from Seville. It stands 


ALCALA DE HENARES—ALCALDE. 

near the Guadaira, partly on a hill, so that some of 
the streets are very steep, and is overlooked by the ruins 
of an ancient Moorish castle, once one of the most im¬ 
portant, as its ruins are among the finest, in Spain. This 
town is beautifully situated, and on account of the salubrity 
of its climate, is much resorted to as a summer residence 
by the inhabitants of Seville. It is celebrated for producing 
the finest bread in Spain; there are more than fifty bakeries 
in the town, and Seville is chiefly supplied from it. The 
water-mills and mule-mills for making flour are more than 
200 in number, and, with the bakeries, give employment to 
great part of the population. Every process connected with 
the making of bread is conducted with the greatest care. 
Seville is also supplied with water from the hill above A., 
which is perforated by tunnels, some of them 6 m. in 
length, forming underground canals. Some of the tun¬ 
nels are believed to be Roman works, but most of them 
are known to have been made by the Moors. The water 
flowing through the subterranean canals is as clear as 
crystal. The neighborhood of A. is fertile, producing corn, 
wine, oil, silk, honey, and fruits, also sheep and oxen. 
Pop. 8,000. 

ALCALA DE HENARES, -dn-d'res [El Calaat, in 
Arabic, means ‘ the castle ’]: town in Spain, prov. of New 
Castile; on the Henares, 22 m. from the cap. It is built in 
the old style, and boasts of a university, founded by Cardinal 
Ximenes in 1510, whose world-wide fame was formerly 
second to that of Salamanca alone. When Francis I. 
visited it, while a prisoner in Spain, he was welcomed by 
11,000 students. The library contains the original of the 
celebrated polyglot Bible which was printed in this town, 
and called the Complutensian, from the ancient name of the 
place (Complutum). A. has, besides, a military academy, 
and a celebrated powder and leather factory. It is said to 
have been the birthplace of Cervantes, and various other 
distinguished persons. Pop. 12,000. 

There are several other towns in Spain having the name 
Alcala: as A. of Chisberte, in Valencia (pop. 6,000): A. de 
Guadaira, near Seville (8,000): and A. la Real, in Jaen 
(16,000), producing superior wine, fruit, sheep, etc. 

ALCALA LA REAL, -Id rd-dV [The Royal Castle ]: city 
of Andalusia, Spain, prov. of Jaen; 26 m. n.w. from 
Granada. It is on a conical hill, in a narrow^ valley, on the 
n. side of the mountains which separate the province of Jaen 
from that of Granada, and is nearly 3,000 ft. above the sea. 
It is a very picturesque town, irregularly built, with steep 
and narrow streets and bold towers. It was the stronghold 
of the Alcaide Ibn Zaide; and being taken, 1340, by Alonso 
XI. in person, it obtained the name Real. It has a hospital, 
formerly an abbey, a very fine building. The neighborhood 
produces grain and fruits of the finest quality, and the 
inhabitants of the town are mostly engaged in agriculture. 
There is some trade in wine and wool. Pop. 15,901. 

ALCALDE, n. dl-kdl'de [Sp. alcalde: Ar. al-kddi, the 
judge]: the general title of judicial and magisterial office in 


ALCAMO—ALCAN TARA. 

Spain, the special function being denoted by another tenia. 
Thus, there are alcaldes de aldea, village-justices; alcaldes 
\pedaneos , justices of the peace; alcaldes de corte, judges of 
the court, etc. 

ALCAMO, al'-kd-mo: town of Sicily, prov. of Trapani; 
23 m. e. from Trapani, in the Val di Mazzara, on the high¬ 
road between Palermo and Trapani. It is said to have been 
founded by the Arabs, on their first invasion of Sicily in 
827. The original town stood on a hill, and long retained a 
Moslem population, who where driven out by the emperor 
Frederick II. 1233, and the new town was built at*the foot 
of the hill. A. is surrounded by a battlemented wall of the 
14th c. The houses are mostly mean, and the streets irreg¬ 
ular and dirty, the whole place having an air of poverty and 
decay. It contains, however, some fine old churches and 
palaces. Pop. over 39,000. 

ALCANIZ, dl-kdn-yeth' : town of Aragon, Spain, prov. 
of Teruel, 63 m. s.e. from Saragossa; on a rising ground on 
the right bank of the Guadalupe, here crossed by a bridge 
of nine arches. It is well built, with wide paved streets, 
and a number of squares. It has a magnificent collegiate 
church, in which are many fine tombs and pictures. There 
are manufactures of silk, woolen, and coarse linen fabrics, 
hats, and soap; there are also flour and oil mills, and some 
trade in grain, cattle, and the manufactures of the town. 
Pop. 7,400. 

ALCANTARA, dl kdn'td-rd: seaport town of Brazil, 
prov. of Maranhao; 17 m. n.w. from Maranhao, near 
the mouth of the bay of St. Marcos. Most of the houses are 
of only one story. The more wealthy residents are mostly 
cotton-planters; the poorer classes live chiefly by fishing, 
and by making hammocks of some of the peculiar fibres of 
the country. There are salt-pits not far from the town. 
Cotton, rice, and salt are exported. Pop. 10,000. 

ALCANTARA , dl-kdn'td-rd [Al-kantarah, Arabic, ‘the 
bridge ’]: the Norba Caesarea of the 
Romans, an old fortified Spanish 
town, built by the Moors in the prov. 
of Estremadura. It was plundered 
by the French under Gen. Lapisse in 
1809. The bridge from which it 
takes its name was built, for Trajan, 

105. It consists of six arches, the two 
central ones with a span of 110 ft.; 
the whole length is 670,and the height 
210 ft. . This remarkable structure 
was partially blown up by the Eng¬ 
lish in 1812, and was again de¬ 
stroyed during the civil war of 1836; 
and though it might be easily re¬ 
paired, it is left in a state of ruin, 
the Spaniards being ferried over in a 
lumbering boat. Pop. about 4,000. 

The Order of A. (formerly St. Order of Alcantara. 

Julian), one of the religious orders of Spanish knighthood, 





ALCARAZ—ALCHEMILLA. 

was founded (1156) as a military fraternity for the defense 
of Estremadura against the Moors. In 1197, Pope Cele- 
stine III. raised it to the rank of a religious order of 
knighthood; bestowed great privileges on it, and charged 
it with the defense of the Christian faith, and the main- 
tenance of eternal war with the infidel. Alfonso IX., 
having taken the town of Alcantara, ceded it in 1218 to 
the order of Calatrava (q.v.); but the knights of this order, 
unable to hold it with their other great possessions, yielded 
it to the knights of St. Julian, who transferred to it their 
*eat, and henceforth were known by its name. At length 
the grand-mastership of the order was, by Pope Alexander 
VI., united to the Spanish crown in 1495. The order is 
still richly endowed. The knights, who follow the rule of 
St. Benedict, take now only the vows of obedience and 
poverty, having, since 1540, been absolved from that of 
celibacy. A special vow binds them to defend the dogma 
of the immaculate conception of the Virgin. At their 
nomination, they must prove four generations of nobility. 
For a time, the knights of A. acknowledged the superior¬ 
ity of the knights of Calatrava, but they were latterly ab¬ 
solved from it. Both the costume, however, and the cross 
are still the same, except the color, which is green. The 
crest of the order is a pear-tree. 

ALCARAZ, al-kd-rdth': town of La Mancha, Spain, prov. 
of Albacete; 36 m. w.s.w. from Albacete, on the slope of 
an isolated hill, on the left bank of the Guadarmena, a 
feeder of the Guadalquivir. A ruined castle crowns the 
summit of the hill; and there are also the remains of a fine 
Roman aqueduct. Some of the streets are very steep. The 
inhabitants are partly employed in weaving and iron-work' 
ing, partly in agriculture. Pop. 4,325. 

ALCAUDETE, dl-koic-da'td (anc. Uditunum ): town of 
Andalusia, Spain, prov. of Jaen; 22 m. s.w. from Jaen; in a 
hollow, inclosed by three hills, on an affluent of the 
Guadalquivir; overlooked by the ruins of an ancient castle, 
and moderately well built. There are fine pictures in some 
of the churches. Oil and rope making, weaving, and agri¬ 
culture are the chief employment of the inhabitants. Grain, 
silk, oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, mules, and asses are produced 
in the neighborhood. Pop. 8,242. 

ALCAZAR DE SAN JUAN, dl-kd'ther dd sdn ho-dn' 
/anc. Alee): town of New Castile, Spain, prov. of Ciudad 
Real; 49 m. n.e. from Ciudad Real, on the Madrid and 
Alicante railway. It is regularly built, and has two good 
squares. There are manufactories of soap, nitre, and gun¬ 
powder. Pop. 8,540. 

ALCEDO, n. dl-se'dd [L.]: the king-fisher (q.v.). 

ALCHEMIL'LA: see Lady’s Mantle. 


ALCHEMY. 

ALCHEMY, n. dl'ke-mi [OF. alchemie; F. alchimie, al 
ehemy—from Ar. al kimia, the secret art: probably Ar. al, 
and late Gr. chemei'd, chemistry: Gr. chumd, a melting or 
fusion; chumos, juice, liquid]: the professed art of changing 
the other metals into gold; the art that professed to discover 
a universal remedy, the philosopher’s stone, the elixir vita:, 
and other impossible things. Alchemic, a. dl-kem'ik r 
or Alchemical, a. dl-kem'i-kdl, relating to alchemy. 
Alchemist, n. dike-mist, one who practices alchemy. 
Al'chemis'tical, a. Al'chemis'tically, ad. -li. Note * 
The above are also spelt with y for e, as Alchymy, etc. 

ALCHEMY: related to modern chemistry as astrology to 
astronomy, or legend to history. In the eye of the astrologer, 
a knowledge of the stars was valuable "only as a means of 
foretelling, or even of influencing future events. In like 
manner, the genuine alchemist toiled with his crucibles and 
alembics, calcining, subliming, distilling, not with a view 
to discover the chemical properties of substances, as we 
understand them, but with two grand objects, illusory as 
those of the astrologer—to discover (1) the secret of trans¬ 
muting the baser metals into gold and silver, and (2) the means 
of indefinitely 'prolonging human life. 

Tradition points to Egypt as the birthplace of A. Hermes 
Trismegistus (q.v.) is represented as the father of it. The 
Greeks and Romans under the empire seem to have become 
acquainted with it from the Egyptians; there is no reason 
to believe that, in early times, either people had the name 
or the thing. The word chemeia occurs in the lexicon of 
Suidas, 11th c., and is explained by him to be ‘the con¬ 
version of silver and gold.’ It is to the Arabs, from whom 
Europe got the name and the art, that we owe the prefixed 
article al. As if cliemia had been a generic term embracing 
all common chemical operations, such as the decocting and 
compounding of ordinary drugs, the grand operation of 
transmutation was denominated the cliemia (aZ-chemy)—tliG 
chemistry of chemistries. The Roman emperor Caligula is 
said to have instituted experiments for the producing of 
gold out of orpiment (sulphuret of arsenic); and in the time 
of Diocletian, the passion for this pursuit, conjoined with 
magical arts, had become so prevalent in the empire, that 
that emperor is said to have ordered all Egyptian works 
treating of the chemistry of gold and silver to be burnt. 
For at that time, multitudes of books on this art were appear¬ 
ing, written by Alexandrine monks and by hermits, but 
bearing famous names of antiquity, such as Democritus, 
Pythagoras, and Hermes. 

At a later period the Arabs took up the art; and it is to 
them that European A. is directly traceable. The school of 
polypharmacy, as it has been called, flourished in Arabia 
during the caliphates of the Abbassides. The earliest work 
of this school now known is the Summa Perfections, or 
‘Summit of Perfection,’composed by Gebir (q.v.), 8th c.; 
it is consequently the oldest book on chemistry proper in 
the world. It contains so much of what sounds like jargon 
in our ears, that Dr. Johnson ascribes the origin of "the 
word ‘ gibberish ’ to the name of the compiler. Yet when 


ALCHEMY. 

viewed in its true light, it is a wonderful performance. It 
is a kind of text book, or collection of all that was then 
known and believed. It appears that these Arabian poly- 
pharmacists had long been engaged in firing and boiling, 
dissolving and precipitating, subliming and coagulating 
chemical substances. They worked with gold and mercury, 
arsenic and sulphur, salts and acids; and had, in short, be¬ 
come familiar with a large range of what are now called 
chemicals. Gebir taught that there are three elemental 
chemicals—mercury, sulphur, and arsenic. These sub¬ 
stances, especially the first two, seem to have fascinated the 
thoughts of the alchemists by their potent and penetrating 
qualities. They saw mercury dissolve gold, the most in¬ 
corruptible of matters, as water dissolves sugar; and a stick 
of sulphur presented to hot iron penetrates it like a spirit, 
gnd makes it run down in a shower of solid drops, a new 
and remarkable substance, possessed of properties belonging 
neither to iron nor to sulphur. The Arabians held that the 
metals are compound bodies, and made up of mercury and 
sulphur in different proportions. With these excusable 
errors in theory, they were genuine practical chemists. 
They toiled at the art of making ‘many medicines’ (poly¬ 
pharmacy) out of the various mixtures and reactions of such 
chemicals as they knew. They had their pestles and 
mortars, their crucibles and furnaces, their alembics and 
aludels, their vessels for infusion, for decoction, for co¬ 
habitation, sublimation, fixation, lixiviation, filtration, 
coagulation, etc. Their scientific creed was transmutation, 
and their methods were mostly blind gropings; yet, in this 
way, they found out many a new body, and invented many 
a useful process. 

From the Arabs, A. found its way through Spain into 
Europe, and speedily became entangled with the fantastic 
subtleties of the scholastic philosophy. In the middle ages, 
it was chiefly the monks that occupied themselves with A. 
Pope John XXII. took great delight in it, though it was 
afterwards forbidden by his successor. The earliest authentic 
works on European A. now extant are those of Roger Bacon 
(1214-84) and Albertus Magnus (1205-80). Roger Bacon 
(q.v.) appears rather the earlier of the two as a writer, and 
is really the greatest man in all the school. He was acquainted 
with gunpowder. Although he condemns magic, necro¬ 
mancy, charms, and all such things, he believes in the 
convertibility of the inferior metals into gold, but does not 
profess to have ever effected the conversion. He had more 
faith in the elixir of life than in gold-making. He followed 
Gebir in regarding potable gold—that is, gold dissolved in 
nitro hydrochloric acid or aqua regia —as the elixir of life. 
Urging it on the attention of Pope Nicholas IV., he informs 
his Holiness of an old man who found some yellow liquor 
(the solution of gold is yellow) in a golden phial, when 
plowing one day in Sicily. Supposing it to be dew, he 
drank it off. He was thereupon transformed into a hale, 
robust, and highly accomplished youth. Bacon no doubt 
took many a dose of this golden water himself.—Albertus 
Magnus (q.v.) had a great mastery of the practical chemistry 


ALCHEMY. 

of bis times; lie was acquainted with alum, caustic alkali, 
and the purification of the royal metals by means of lead. 
In addition to the sulphur and-mercury theory of the metals, 
drawn from Gebir, he regarded the element, water, as still 
nearer the soul of nature than either of these bodies. He 
appears, indeed, to have thought it the primary matter, or 
the radical source of all things—an opinion held by Thales, 
the father of Greek speculation.—Thomas Aquinas (q.v.) 
also wrote on A., and was the first to employ the word 
amalgam (q.v.).—Raymond Lully (q.v.) is another great 
name in the annals of A. His writings are much more dis¬ 
figured by unintelligible jargon than those of Bacon and 
Albcrtus Magnus. He was the first to introduce the use of 
chemical symbols (q.v.), his system consisting of a scheme 
of arbitrary hieroglyphics. He made much of the spirit of 
wine (the art of distilling spirits seems then recent), imposing 
on it the name of aqua vilce ardens. In his enthusiasm, he 
pronounced it the very elixir of life. One of the most 
celebrated of the alchemists was Basil Valentine (q.v.), (b. 
1394), who introduced antimony into medical use. He, 
with some previous alchemists, regarded salt, sulphur, and 
mercury as the three bodies contained in the metals. He 
inferred that the philosopher’s-stone must be the same sort 
of combination—a compound, namely, of salt, sulphur, and 
mercury; so pure that its projection on the baser metals 
should be able to work them up into greater and greater 
purity, bringing them at last to the state of silver and gold. 
Ilis practical knowledge was great; he knew how to 
precipitate iron from solution by potash, and many similar 
processes, so that he is ranked as the founder of analytical 
chemistry. 

But more famous than all was Paracelsus (q.v.), in whom 
A. proper may be said to have culminated. He held, with 
Basil Valentine, that the elements of compound bodies were 
salt, sulphur, and mercury—representing respectively earth, 
air, and water, fire being already regarded as an impon¬ 
derable—but these substances were in his system purely 
representative. All kinds of matter were reducible under 
one or other of these typical forms; everything was either a 
salt, a sulphur, or a mercury, or, like the metals, it was a 
‘ mixt ’ or compound. There was one element, however, 
common to the four; a fifth essence or ‘ quintessence ’ of 
creation; an unknown and only true element, of which the 
four generic principles were nothing but derivative forms 
or embodiments: in other words, he inculcated the dogma, 
that there is only one real elementary matter—nobody knows 
what. This one prime element of things he appears to have 
considered the universal solvent of which the alchemists 
were in quest, and to express which he introduced the term 
alcahest —a word of unknown etymology, but supposed by 
some to be composed of the two German words alle geist, 
* all spirit. ’ He seems to have had the notion that if this 
quintessence or fifth element could be got at, it would prove 
to be at once the philosopher’s-stone, the universal medicine, 
and the irresistible solvent. 

After Paracelsus, the alchemists of Europe became divided 


ALCHEMY. 

Into two classes. The one class was composed of men of 
diligence and sense, who devoted themselves to the discovery 
of new compounds and re-actions—practical workers and 
observers of facts, and the legitimate ancestors of the positive 
chemists of the era of Lavoisier. The other class took up 
the visionary, fantastical side of the older A. and carried it 
to a degree of extravagance before unknown. Instead of 
useful work, they compiled mystical trash into books, and 
fathered them on Hermes, Aristotle, Albertus Magnus, 
Paracelsus, and other really great men. Their language is 
a farrago of mystical metaphors, full of ‘red bridegrooms’ 
and ‘lily brides,’ ‘green dragons,’ ‘ruby lions,’ ‘royal 
baths,’ ‘waters of life.’ 'I he seven metals correspond with 
the seven planets, the seven cosmical angels, and the seven 
openings of the head—the_ eyes, the ears, the nostrils, and 
the mouth. Silver was Diana, gold was Apollo, iron was 
Mars, tin was Jupiter, lead was Saturn, and so on. They 
talk perpetually of the powder of attraction, which drew all 
men and women after the possessor of the alcahest, and the 
grand elixir, which was to confer immortal youth upon the 
student who should approve himself pure and brave enough 
to kiss and quaff the golden draught. There was the great 
mystery, the mother of the elements, the grandmother of 
the stars. There was the philosopher’s-stone, and there was 
the philosophical-stone. The philosophical-stone was younger 
than the elements, yet at her virgin touch the grossest calx 
(ore) among them all would blush before her into perfect 
gold. The philosopher’s stone, on the other hand, was the 
first-born of nature, and older than the king of metals. 
Those who had attained full insight into the arcana of the 
science were styled Wise; those who were only striving after 
the light were Philosophers; while the ordinary practicersof 
the art were called Adepts It was these visionaries that 
formed themselves into Rosicrucian societies and other 
secret associations. It was also in connection with this 
mock-A., mixed with astrology and magic, that quackery 
and imposture so abounded, as is depicted by Scott in the 
character of Dousterswivel in the Antiquary. Designing 
knaves would, for instance, make up large nails, half of 
iron and half of gold, and lacquer them, so that they appeared 
common nails; and when their credulous and avaricious 
dupes saw them extract from what seemed plain iron an 
ingot of gold, they were ready to advance any sum that the 
knaves pretended to be necessary for pursuing the process 
on a large scale It is from this degenerate and effete school 
that the prevailing notion of A. is derived—a notion unjust 
to the really meritorious alchemists who paved the way for 
genuine chemistry. 

It is interesting to observe that the leading tenet in the al¬ 
chemists’ creed—the doctrine of the transmutability of other 
metals into gold and silver—a doctrine which it was at one 
time thought that modern chemistry had utterly exploded— 
receives not a little countenance from a variety of facts 
every day coming to light. The multitude of phenomena 
known to chemists under the name of Allotropy (q.v.) are 
leading speculative men more and more to the opinion that 


ALCIBIADES 

many substances hitherto considered chemically distinct are 
only the same substance under some different condition oi 
arrangement of its component molecules, and that the num 
her of really distinct elements may be very few indeed. See 
Kopp’s Geschichte der Ghemie; Alchemy and the Alchemists, 
by Dr. Samuel Brown, in Chambers’s Papers for the Peoplt 
(No. 66); and the article Alchemy in the 9th ed. (1875) En 
cyclopoedia Britannica. See Chemistry. 

ALCIBIADES, dl-sl-bl'-d-dez: b.c. 450-404; b. Athens, 
son of Clinias and Dinomache. tie lost his father in the 
battle of Chaeronea; and was educated in the house of Per¬ 
icles, his uncle. In youth he gave promise of his future 
greatness, excelling both in mental and in bodily exercises. 
His handsome person, his distinguished parentage, and the 
high position of Pericles, procured him a multitude of friends 
and admirers. Socrates was one of the former, and gained 
considerable influence over him; but was unable to restrain 
his love of luxury and dissipation, which found ample 
means of gratification in the wealth that accrued to him by 
his union with Hipparete, the daughter of Hipponicus. His 
public displays, especially at the Olympic games, were in¬ 
credibly expensive. He bore arms for the first time in the 
expedition againt Potidoea, b.c. 433, where he was wounded, 
and where his life was saved by Socrates—a debt which he 
liquidated eight years after at the battle of Delium, by sav¬ 
ing, in his turn, the life of the philosopher; but he seems to 
have taken no part in political matters till after the death of 
the demagogue Cleon, when Nicias brought about a treaty 
of peace for fifty years between the Athenians and Lacedae¬ 
monians. A., jealous of the esteem in which Nicias was 
held, persuaded the Athenians to ally themselves with the 
people of Argos, Elis, and Mantinea, and did all in his 
power to stir up afresh their old antipathy to Sparta. It 
was at his suggestion that they engaged in the celebrated en¬ 
terprise against Sicily, to the command of which he was 
elected, with Nicias and Lamachus. But while prepara¬ 
tions were being made, it happened during one night that 
all the statues of Mercury in Athens were mutilated. The 
enemies of A. threw the blame of this mischief upon 
him, but postponed the impeachment till he had set sail, 
when they stirred up the people against him to such a de¬ 
gree, that he was recalled, in order to stand his trial. On 
his way home, he landed at Thurii, fled, and betook himself 
to Sparta, where, by conforming to the strict manners of the 
people, lie soon became, a favorite. He induced the Lace¬ 
daemonians to send assistance to the Svracusans, persuaded 
them to form an alliance with the king of Persia, and after 
the unfortunate issue of the Athenian expedition in Sicily, 
to support the people of Chios in their endeavors to throw 
off the yoke of Athens. He went thither himself, and raised 
all Ionia in revolt against that city. But Agis and the other 
leading men in Sparta, jealous of the success of A., ordered 
their generals in Asia to have him assassinated. A. discov¬ 
ered this plan, and fled to Tissaphernes, a Persian satrap, 
who had orders to act in concert with the Lacedaemonians.’ 
He now resumed his old manners, adopted the luxurious 


ALCIBIADES. 

habits of Asia, and made himself indispensable to Tissa* 
phernes. He represented to the latter that it was contrary 
to the interests of Persia entirely to disable the Athenians. 
He then sent word to the commanders of the Athenian forces 
at Samos that he would procure for them the friendship of 
the satrap if they would control the extravagance of the 
people, and commit the government to an oligarchy. This 
offer was accepted, and Pisander was sent to Athens, where 
he got the supreme power vested in a council of 400 persons. 
When it appeared, however, that this council had no inten¬ 
tion of recalling A., the army at Samos chose him as their 
commander, desiring him to lead them on instantly to 
Athens, and overthrow the tyrants. But A. did not wish 
to return to his native country till he had rendered it some 
service, and he accordingly attacked and defeated the Lace¬ 
daemonians both by sea and land. Tissaphernes now ordered 
him to be arrested at Sardis on his return, the satrap not 
wishing the king to imagine that he had been accessory to 
his doings. But A. found means to escape; placed himself 
again at the head of the army; beat the Lacedaemonians and 
Persians at Cyzicus; took Cyzicus, Chalcedon, and Byzan¬ 
tium; restored to the Athenians the dominion of the sea; 
and then returned to his country, b.c 407, to which he had 
been formally invited. He was received with general en¬ 
thusiasm, as the Athenians attributed to his banishment all 
the misfortunes that had befallen them. 

The triumph of A., however, did not last. He was again 
sent to Asia with 100 ships; but not being supplied with 
money for the soldiers’ pay, he was obliged to seek assist¬ 
ance at Caria, where he transferred the command in the 
mean time to Antiochus, who, being lured into an ambuscade 
by Lysander, lost his life and part of the ships. The ene¬ 
mies of A. took advantage of this to accuse him and appoint 
another commander. A. went to Thrace, where he lived in 
voluntary exile in Pactyae, one of the castles which he had 
built out of his earlier spoils. But being threatened here 
with the power of Lacedsemonia, he removed to Bithynia, 
with the intention of repairing to Artaxerxes, to gain him 
over to the interests of his country. At the request of the 
Thirty Tyrants of Athens, and with the concurrence of the 
Spartans, Pharnabazus, a satrap of Artaxerxes, received 
orders to put A. to death. He was living at this time in a 
castle in Phrygia; Pharnabazus ordered it to be set on fire 
during the night, and as his victim was endeavoring to 
escape from the flames, he was pierced with a volley of ar¬ 
rows.* A. was singularly endowed by nature, being pos¬ 
sessed of the most fascinating eloquence (although he could 
not articulate the letter r, and stuttered in his speech), and 
having in a rare degree the talent to win and to govern men. 
Yet in all his transactions, he allowed himself to be directed 
by external circumstances, without fixed principles of con¬ 
duct. On the other hand, he possessed that boldness which 
arises from conscious superiority, and shrunk from no diffi¬ 
culty, because he was never doubtful concerning the means 
by which an end might be attained. His life has been writ¬ 
ten by Plutarch and Cornelius l^cpos. 


ALCIR A—ALCOHOL. 

ALCIRA, al-the'rd (anc. Saebaticula): town of Spain, 
province of Valencia, 20 m. s. by w. from Valencia, on an 
island in the river Xucar, the two branches of which are 
here crossed by stone bridges. It is surrounded by old 
walls, with strong towers. The principal streets are wide, 
but the town is ill built. The inhabitants are chiefly em¬ 
ployed in the manufacture of earthenware, the production 
of silk, and agriculture. The surrounding country is much 
intersected by canals, exhibiting an admirable specimen of 
the system of irrigation introduced by the Moors. Pop. 
16,400. 

ALCMAN, alk'man: ancient lyric poet; b. at Sardis, cap. 
of Lydia, Asia Minor, but lived first as a slave, and after* 
wards as a freeman in Sparta. He is the earliest erotic poet, 
and is said to have introduced some new metrical forms 
called Alcmanica Metra. He composed in the Doric dialect 
a poem r \ the Dioscuri, Parthenia, or songs sung by 
choruses of virgins, bridal-hymns, verses in praise of love 
and wine, etc. We have only a few fragments of A., and 
these do not justify the high opinion entertained of his 
merits by the ancients, though some of them exhibit con¬ 
siderable beauty. A. died of a loathsome disease ( morbus 
pcdicularis). 

ALCO, al'ko: a variety of dog, domesticated in Mexico 
and Peru before the discovery of America by Europeans, 
also found in a wild state in these countries. But whether 
it is originally a native of them, or has escaped from domes¬ 
tication, is uncertain, nor is the variety w 7 ell known to nat¬ 
uralists. It is described as having a very small head and 
pendulous ears; the latter being in dogs one of the ordinary 
results of domestication. Humboldt supposed it to be allied 
to the shepherd’s dog. It has been attempted to elevate it 
into a species under the name of Cants A. It is not improb¬ 
able that the name A. was given to more varieties than one. 

ALCOHOL, n. dlkd-hbl [OF. alcohol; F. alcool —from 
Ar. al kohol, or alqohl, the impalpable powder of antimony 
with which the orientals stain their eyelids, a pure extract— 
lit., fine powder]: spirits of wine; distilled spirits highly 
rectified; the intoxicating principle in all spirituous ot 
fermented liquors; in chem., any body consisting of an or 
ganic radical united with one or more atoms of hydroxyl, 
comprising such bodies as naphtha, fusel oil, glycerine, 
etc. Alcoholic, a. bl kd-hol'tk, pertaining to alcohol. 
Alcoholate, n. al'ko Ml'at, a salt containing alcohol. 
Alcoholize, v. dl'kd-hb-llz' to convert into alcohol. • Al'- 
coholiz'ing, imp. Al'coholized', pp. llzd'. Al'cohol'- 
iza'tion, n. -hoi iza shun, the art of rectifying spirits of 
wine till it is absolutely pure. Alcohometer, n. dl-kb « 
Mm'et-er [Ar. al kohol; Gr. metron , measure] : instru¬ 
ment for ascertaining the strength of spirits. Alcoholism,, 
n. dl'kd-hol-lzm, the diseased condition produced by over 
indulgence in the use of alcoholic liquids. 


ALCOHOL, 

ALCOHOL: name given to a class of compounds dif¬ 
fering from the hydro carbons in the substitution of the 
monatomic radical hydroxyl in the place of one or more 
hydrogen atoms. 

Ordinary A., or ethyl A. occurs in nature in several 
growing plants as an occasional constituent of their juices, 
in the fruit and pedicels of Heracleum giganteum, the fruit 
of the parsnip, and the unripe fruit of Anthriscus cerefolium. 
But practically there is but one source of A., viz. fermen¬ 
tation of saccharine matter. Some plants contain free sugar, 
and still more contain starch, which can be converted into 
sugar. Hence the best vegetable substances for yielding 
A. are those containing the largest amount of sugar or 
starch. See Diastase : Fermentation : Distillation. 

Owing to the attraction of A. for water it is impossible to 
procure pure A. by distillation alone. Common spirits 
such as brandy, whisky, etc., contain 50 or 52 per cent, of 
A.; in other words, they are about half A., half water. 

Proof--spirit , the standard by means of w T hich all mixtures 
of A. and water are judged, contains 57-27 per cent, by 
volume, and 49 50 per cent, by weight of A. The specific 
gravity of proof spirit is *9186 ; and when a spirit is called 
above proof , it denotes that it contains an excess of A.; thus, 
spirit of wine, or rectified spirit, with specific gravity -838, 
is 54 to 58 over-proof, and requires 54 to 58 per cent, of 
water to be added to it to bring the strength down to that 
of proof-spirit; while the term under-proof has reference to 
a less strong spirit than the standard. See Hydrometer. 
The highest concern ration possible by distillation gives ■ 
90 per cent, of A., still leaving 10 per cent, of water. In 
order to remove this, fused chloride of calcium, quicklime, 
or fused carbonate of potash, is added to the alcoholic 
liquid, the whole allowed to stand 12 hours, and then the 
spirit may be distilled off practically free from water. 
Spirit of wine may also be deprived of its remaining water 
by suspending it in a bladder in a warm place; the bladder 
allows much of the water to pass through and evaporate, 
but little of the A. The latter method is called Soemmer¬ 
ing’s process, and depends on the different degrees of ra¬ 
pidity with which the bladder admits of water and A. 
passing through it. Thus, introduce into one bladder eight 
ounces of water, and into a second eight ounces of A., and 
allow both bladders to be similarly exposed on a sand- 
bath till all the water has evaporated through the pores of 
the membrane, which will be accomplished in about four 
days, and it will then be observed, that, while eight ounces 
water have made their exit from the bladder, only one 
ounce of A. has thus evaporated, and seven ounces remain 
in the bladder. This experiment explains why smugglers, 
a few generations ago, could supply a whisky, which was 
stronger, and hence esteemed, preferable, as they carried 
the whisky in bladders around their persons, and the water 
escaping therefrom in much greater proportion than the A., 
a stronger spirit was left. 

Absolute or anhydrous A. has a specific gravity of.793 at 
the temperature of 60 . It boils at 173°, and has not 
until recently been frozen by any cold. Reduced to a 


ALCOHOL. 

temperature of —130°, A. becomes of oily and greasy con¬ 
sistence ; at—146° it assumes the aspect of melted wax; 
and at — 1 G 6 ° becomes still thicker, and congeals only un¬ 
der pressure at a temperature of — 200°. This property of 
non-freezing at any degree of cold to which the earth is sub¬ 
jected has led to the employment of A. colored red by 
cochineal in the thermometers sent out to the Arctic regions. 
A. is highly inflammable, its combustion yielding only car¬ 
bonic acid and water. "When mixed with water, heat is 
evolved, and a contraction in volume takes place. The 
formula of A. is C 2 H 5 OH. Besides the A. used in wine, 
beer, and spirits, it is much employed in pharmacy and in 
the arts. It is a powerful solvent for resins and oils; and 
hence is employed in the preparation of varnishes. 

During recent years, there has been much enlargement 
in the knowledge of the properties of ordinary A. and of 
the general class of bodies to which the term Alcohols is 
applied, in consequence of their resemblance, in certain 
chemical reactions, to ordinary alcohol. The alcohols all 
are compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and are 
perfectly neutral to test papers. Many of them are pro¬ 
duced together with ethyl A. in the process of fermenta¬ 
tion, and alter the flavor of the resulting liquor; such are 
amylic (fusel-oil) and butylic A. Alcohols are characterized 
chiefly by yielding, on treatment with acids, neutral bodies 
called ethers, the formation of water being a part of the re¬ 
action. According to the theory of chemical types (see 
Types, Chemical), the alcohols are divided into mona¬ 
tomic (comprising the important series of methyl, ethyl, 
propyl, and other alcohols referred to below) and polyato¬ 
mic. According to their behavior on oxidation, they are 
further divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary. 

In a nearly anhydrous state, A. has little tendency to 
oxidation, but when freely diluted, and exposed to the air, 
it rapidly becomes oxidized into acetic acid. This conver¬ 
sion is, "however, not direct, an intermediate compound, 
termed Aldehyde (q.v.), being first formed, which is rap 
idly oxidized into acetic acid. The oxidation of alcohol 
into aldehyde is represented by the equation, 

Alcohol. Aldehyde. Water. 

CH 3 CH 2 OH -f O = CHsCOH + H 2 0; 

and the further oxidation of aldehyde into acetic acid is 
represented by 

Aldehyde. Acetic Acid. 

CHsCOH + O = HC 2 H 3 0 2 . 

In the first reaction, A. loses two atoms of hydrogen, water 
being formed; in the second, aldehyde takes up one atom of 
oxygen. 

Every A. which like ordinary A. yields on oxidatiou 
an aldehyde, and on further oxidation an acid having 
the same number of carbon atoms as the A. itself, is 
termed a primary A. To take another example, primary 
propyl A., C 3 H 7 OH, is oxidized first into propyl aldehyde 
C3H5OH, then into propionic acid, HC 3 H 5 0 2 . Primary 
alcohols are subdivided into normal and iso-alcohols, but it 
would lead us too far to explain this distinction. 


ALCOHOL. 

Secondary alcohols on oxidation lose two atoms of hy¬ 
drogen, and are converted into bodies known as acetones or 
ketones, which differ from aldehydes inasmuch as they are 
not converted on oxidation into acids having the same 
number of carbon atoms, but are split up into acids having 
a smaller number of carbon atoms. Thus secondary 
A. is oxidized into acetone, and on further oxidation, ace¬ 
tone splits up into formic and acetic acids. 

Secondary Propyl Alcohol. Acetone. Water. ■ 

(CH 3 ) 2 CH OH + O = (CH 3 ) 2 CO 4- H a O; 

Acetone. Formic Acid. Acetic Acid. 

(CH 3 ) 2 CO + O = ECHO? -f HCiHsOa. 

It will be observed that propyl A. and secondary propyl, 
A., aldehyde, and acetone, are respectively isomeric. 
See Isomerism. 

Tertiary alcohols on oxidation give neither aldehydes 
nor ketones, but split up into acids having a smaller num¬ 
ber of carbon atoms. Thus tertiary butyl A., (CH 3 ) 3 COH, 
which is isomeric with primary and with secondary butyl 
A., splits up on oxidation into acetic and formic acids. 
Only a comparatively small number of secondary and ter¬ 
tiary alcohols are at present known, ana their properties 
and reactions have not been so thoroughly studied as those 
of the much more numerous class ot primary alcohols. 
Theoretical considerations, however, lead to the belief 
that their number will be largely increased. 

Ordinary or ethyl A. is monatomic—i.e., it may be re¬ 
garded as derived from the type HOH, by the substitution 
of its radical ethyl,C 2 H 3 , for one atom of hydrogen. This 
view is expressed by the formula C 2 H 5 OH. 

The monatomic alcohols are more abundant than all the 
polyatomic alcohols together. There are several series of 
them, of which the most important are alcohols whose rad¬ 
ical is of the formula C 2a -f- H 2n -)-i (as methyl, CH 3 ; 
ethyl, C 2 H 5 ; propyl, C 3 H 7 , etc.), and which are repre¬ 
sented by the formula (C u H 2n + i)HO. They are inti¬ 
mately related to the fatty acids, whose general formula is 
0 hH 2 qO 2 , which may be formed from the alcohols by oxi¬ 
dation, H 2 being replaced by O. The three highest alco¬ 
hols of this set, cetylic, cerylic, and melissylic alcohols, 
have the formulae Ci 6 H 34 0, C^HseO, and GboHesO, and are 
solid, waxy, or fatty matters. 

Of the 'polyatomic alcohols, diatomic alcohols belong to 
the secondary water type (H 2 0) 2 . Thus the most import¬ 
ant diatomic A., glycol, C 2 H 6 0 2 , is represented, according 
to the theory of types, by the formula (C 2 H 4 )"0 2 H 2 , its 
radical, C 2 II 4 , being marked with two dashes, to indicate 
that it replaces two atoms of hydrogen. So also there are 
triatomic , tetratomic, and hexatomic alcohols corresponding 
to 3, 4, and 6 molecules of water, examples of which are 
glycerine, (C 3 H 5 )-f- 03 H 3 ; erythrite (obtained from litmus), 
(C 4 H 6 )""0 4 H 4 ; and mannite (obtained from manna), 
(C c H 8 )"""0 6 H 6 . 

Dry chlorine and absolute A. have a very curious mutual 
reaction—the final product being a solid compound of alco¬ 
hol with a very remarkable colorless oily fluid called 


ALCOHOL. 

chloral, of peculiar penetrating and irritating odor, and 
having the formula C 2 C1 3 0H. Dilute A. distilled with 
chloride of lime (bleaching powder), yields chloroform; 
and this is the most economical process for obtaining this 
invaluable compound. Heated with an excess of sulphuric 
acid, alcohol loses all its oxygen in the form of water, and 
is converted into ethylene, the result being shown by the 
equation, 

Alcohol. Ethylene. Water. 

'"c^UO = C 2 H 4 + H 2 0. 

A less complete dehydration, under the action of sulphuric 
acid, converts A. into ether. The process is a complicated 
one, but the Anal result is expressed by the equation, 

Alcohol. Ether. Water. 

^2C 2 HeO =7 c 2 ILLo'+ H 2 0 

The best tests for discovering the presence of A. are— 

1. Its hot pungent taste, its odor, and its great volatility. 

2. Absorbed in asbestos, it burns with pale blue flame, 
which deposits no carbon on white porcelain; and when 
burned in the mouth of an inverted test-tube, containing a 
few drops of solution of baryta, it produces a well marked 
deposit of carbonate of baryta—carbonic acid and water 
being the products of its combustion. 3. When boiled 
with sulphuric acid and a few drops of a saturated solution 
of bichromate of potash, it reduces this salt to green chro¬ 
mic sulphate. 4. The least trace of A. in an aqueous so¬ 
lution can be detected by adding a little chloride of ben¬ 
zoyl, and then a little caustic potash: benzoate of ethyl, 
a liquid of characteristic aromatic odor, is formed, and en¬ 
ables xxnnr part of A. to be detected in a teaspoonful of 
water. 

A. is of a double use to the chemist, inasmuch as it fur¬ 
nishes a cleanl}'- and valuable fuel for the spirit-lamp, and 
possesses remarkable solvent powers without in general ex¬ 
erting chemical action on the dissolved substances. It 
dissolves many of the gases more freely than water, e.g., 
nitrous oxide, carbonic acid, phosphuretted hydrogen, 
cyanogen, and the hydro-carbons, for instance, ethylene. 
Among the mineral substances which it dissolves are 
iodine, bromine, boracic acid, the hydrates of potash and 
soda, the chlorides of calcium, strontium, magnesium* 
zinc, platinum, and gold, the perchloride of iron, corro¬ 
sive sublimate, the nitrates of lime, magnesia, etc., while 
among organic matters, it dissolves many organic acids, 
bases, and neutral bodies, the resins, the soaps, and the 
fats, which latter, however, dissolve more freely in ether 
than in alcohol. The alcoholic solutions of substances 
used in medicine are called essences , spirits, and tinctures. 
See Brandy: Whisky: Fusel Oil: Amyl. 

Uses of Alcohol: Physiological and Pathological 
Effects.— The. only alcohols which require to be taken 
into consideration are those belonging to the methyl, 
ethyl, propyl, butyl, and amyl series. It is of interest to 
observe that these alcohols increase in activity in direct 
proportion to their rise in atomic weight; amyl A. or pota- 








ALCOHOL. 

to spirit, for instauce, is about five times as powerful as 
ethyl A. or spirit of wine. Ethyl A. alone is in general 
use, and it displays the most characteristic series of effects 
—to it, therefore, attention is here directed. When ap¬ 
plied to the skin and allowed to evaporate, A. cools the sur¬ 
face of the body, and causes contraction of the local ves¬ 
sels, with diminution of the secretions. It may therefore 
be employed as a refrigerant and astringent, to lessen the 
surface temperature and check excessive perspiration. If, 
on the other baud, it is kept iu contact with the skin with¬ 
out evaporation, it produces increased flow of blood in the 
part by penetrating through the cuticle, and it may be used 
in this way as a rubefacient when counter-irritation is 
desired. Upon the terminations of the nerves of sensa¬ 
tion, it acts at first as a stimulant, and causes a feeling of 
heat and pain, but it afterward has a depressing effect 
upon them, and produces numbness. In this way it is of 
importance as an ingredient in lotions and liniments in¬ 
tended for application to painful parts. When brought in 
contact with mucous membranes, A. produces effects sim¬ 
ilar in kind to those mentioned in connection with the 
skin, but, on account of the greater sensitiveness of the 
former, the effects are more marked. As A. coagulates 
albumen, it forms a film of white color upon the mucous 
membranes by acting on the albuminous elements of the 
secretions. 

The effects of alcohol when taken into the stomach have 
been the subject of much debate. Its first effect is to 
interfere wiih the secretion of the gastric juice. The 
introduction of 2 oz. of brandy has been found to produce 
almost complete paralysis of the stomach. So great is the 
avidity of alcohol for water that it absorbs the water from 
every part of the body with which it comes in contact; it is 
itself mostly absorbed from the stomach through the veins 
of the alimentary surface, and so passes directly into the 
circulation; there its effect on the red corpuscles is exceed¬ 
ingly marked, changing their form or causing them to run 
together and adhere in rolls; in the latter case they pass 
witli great difficulty through the minute blood-vessels, and 
iu either case their f unci ion as carriers of oxygen and car¬ 
bonic acid is greatly impaired. Ho proof has ever been 
given that alcohol acts in any degree as a food. As show¬ 
ing that it cannot so act, the following lines of proof are 
adduced. It cannot build up the structure, since it con¬ 
tains no nitrogen; it cannot act as a heat-producer, since 
the temperature of the body is lowered by its use; it is not 
consumed by uniting directly with oxygen, since the amount 
of carbonic acid exhaled is not increase d, but actually 
diminished by the use of alcohol; whether the alcohol acts 
directly as a fat-producer has not yet been determined, 
since the fattening often observed to attend ilie use of 
liquors may be due to other ingredients than the alcohol 
they contain, or to simple retardation of waste. Carefully 
conducted experiments prove that the use of alcohol reduces 
muscular strength, the administration of 2 oz. of pure 
whiskey reducing muscular force one third within 2 hours. 


ALCOHOL. 

Circulating in the blood, it gives rise to specific effects on 
the nervous system, and through it on the different organs 
of the body. On nervous structures it produces a brief, 
transient stimulation, followed by depression, of their 
functions. Its first effect is shown by dilatation of the 
vessels throughout the body, with reduction of arterial 
pressure, and acceleration of the action of the heart—these 
being the consequence of depression of the vaso-motor 
nerves regulating the vessels, which has supervened on the 
brief excitement of these nerves. The surface of the body 
becomes hushed and moist from dilatation of the vessels 
and consequent increased secretion of the sw r eat glands. 
At the same time, from the loss of heat by radiation from 
the surface, the body-temperature falls. A. is therefore 
worse than useless as a means of sustaining heat in cold 
climates. The respiration is accelerated by small quanti¬ 
ties, and retarded by larger amounts, and the organs 
throughout the body generally are congested and stimu¬ 
lated to activity by alcohol, especially the kidneys. 

On the central nervous system, A. after the brief excite¬ 
ment above mentioned, acts by causing progressive im¬ 
pairment of the centres, from the higher or intellectual to 
the lower or organic ; and the effects are directly propor¬ 
tional to the quantities taken. After the use of a small 
quantity of alcohol there is a temporarily increased 
activity of these nervous centres, which shows itself by 
greater clearness of reasoning, strength of volition, vivid¬ 
ness of imagination, depth of emotion, acuteness of sensi¬ 
bility, and force of muscular movement. As a conse¬ 
quence, thoughts flow swiftly, the speech becomes fluent, 
and is often accompanied by lively gesticulations. If the 
amount taken, however, is beyond the limits of a strict 
moderation, there is some disturbance of the various func¬ 
tions. The intellectual centres suffer in the first place, 
and while the imaginative and emotional, as well as sen¬ 
sory and motor functions are still stimulated, the reason¬ 
ing faculties and the will become obscured and impaired. 
The imagination and emotions next become perverted, 
and, lastly, sensibility and motility are depressed. The 
muscles become irregular in their movements, so that the 
gait is staggering, or they may be paralyzed so that the 
erect posture becomes an impossibility, 'if the quantity 
taken is very great, it may cause paralysis of the vital cen¬ 
tres in the medulla- oblongata, in which case death ensues 
from failure of respiration or circulation, or of both, 
Experiments on animals show like results. If a poisonous 
dose of alcohol be given to an animal (a dog, for example), 
its action on the nervous system is the first point that is 
noticed. The dog ceases to exhibit the ordinary control 
over its muscular movements, which seem to be no longer 
under the influence of the will. It walks with uncertain 
and doubtful steps, till the hind legs lose their power, the 
fore-legs still preserving some activity. The general 
sensibility becomes more or less abolished, and the animal 
can no longer see or feel. Soon afterward the respiration 
fails ; and finally, the circulation is arrested, and life ceases 


ALCORA. 

wilh the last beat of tbe heart. From the fact that much 
oi the A. is not eliminated from the system in its original 
torm as alcohol, while the production of heat and of car¬ 
bonic acid is reduced, Dr. B. W. Richardson draws the 
following conclusion: ‘The inference is that the alcohol 
is not burned after the manner of a food which supports 
animal combustion; but that it is decomposed into sec¬ 
ondary products by oxidation at the expense of the oxygen 
which ought to be applied for the natural heating of the 
body.’ The use of A. as a medicine is much less than 
formerly, with a tendency to increased disuse. The Red 
Cross Hospital, New York city, has received (1892-97) 
about 1,000 patients, all of whom have been treated with¬ 
out the use of A., the death-rate being but one per cent. 

As cases are frequent in which it is almost impossible 
for non-professional persons (e.g., the police) to distin¬ 
guish between extreme drunkenness and certain other mor¬ 
bid conditions, as apoplexy, concussion of the brain, and 
opium-poisoning, a few rules on this subject may be prac¬ 
tically useful. In concussion and in extreme intoxication, 
there is profound coma or sleepiness; but in intoxication 
the odor of the breath removes all difficulty of diagnosis. 
The most difficult cases are those in which the symptoms 
of concussion or apoplexy are associated with au alcoholic 
odor of the breath; in such cases the head should be most 
carefully examined for marks of violence, and every effort 
made to obtain a history of the case from those who had 
previously seen the patient. In poisoning by opium or 
laudanum, the peculiar smell of the drug may usually be 
detected in the breath (a test which, however, fails if mor¬ 
phia has been taken). In poisoning by opium, the face is 
pale, and the pupils of the eyes are contracted, while in 
drunkenness, the face is flushed, and the pupils are gener¬ 
ally dilated. Another difference (to which Dr. A. S. 
Taylor calls attention) is this—that while perfect remis¬ 
sions are rare in poisoning by opium, in poisoning with 
alcohol the patient often recovers his senses, and subse¬ 
quently dies. In either kind of poison, the stomach-pump 
should be used, and the ejected contents of the stomach 
may facilitate the diagnosis. A sulphate of zinc emetic 
should be prescribed, if there is no stomach pump at hand; 
and after the stomach has been w T ell cleared out, coffee 
and other strong stimulants should be given. See Food 
and Drink : Dipsomania : Delirium Tremens : Delir¬ 
ium Ebriosum : Delirium Nervosum : Intoxication : 
Total Abstinence : Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic. 

ALCOHOLOMETRY, n. al'co-hol-om'et-rl: process of 
estimating the percentage of absolute alcohol in a sample 
of spirits : see Areomp:ter. The word is often contracted 
to Alcohometry. 

ALCORA, al-ko'ra: town of Valencia, Spain, province of 
Castellon, 40 m. n.n.e. of Valencia. Corn, grapes, silk, and 
hemp are among the principal productions of the neighbor¬ 
hood, and fruit is exported. Pop. (1893) 4,499. 

Vol. 1 — 14 


ALCORAN-ALCOTT. 

ALCORAN, n. dl'kdrdn' [Ar. alkordn]: the book con¬ 
taining the Mohammedan law, precepts, and doctrines—now 
more commonly spelt Koran. Al'coran'ic, a. -ik, of or 
pertaining to the Alcoran, or its doctrines and precepts. 
Al'coran'ist, n. -1st, an adherent to the strict letter of the 
Koran. See Koran. 

ALCOTT, awlkot, Amos Bronson: 1799. Nov. 29—1888, 
Mar. 4; b. Wolcott, Conn.: teacher and reformer. While 
a youth, he was sent to the south with a stock of small wares 
for sale. He landed at Norfolk, Va., and from that point 
went about among the planters, where he was received 
hospitably. The planters observing his literary tendency 
lent him books, which he studied with diligence, and thus 
obtained the groundwork of his education. Returning to 
Connecticut, he opened an infant school, with which he 
was successful, but in 1828 he removed to Boston and there 
conducted a similar school for some years. He had re¬ 
markable skill in his methods of teaching young children 
of from five to seven years of age, showing extraordinary 
sympathy with their educational needs. He taught at the 
Masonic Temple, and, though he made many friends, his 
mode of tuition was in advance of public opinion, and the 
newspapers denounced him to such an extent that he gave 
up the enterprise. He afterward settled in Concord. Mass., 
wnere he resided till near the close of his life. Here he 
devoted himself to study, mainly in the direction of natural 
theology and reforms in education and sociology. In 1842, 
invited by a fellow-laborer of Pestalozzi, he went to Eng¬ 
land, taking with him a letter of introduction from Ralph 
W aldo Emerson to Carlyle. Alcott’s name had preceded him, 
and he had in England many friends, some of whom had 
given the name ‘ Alcott House ’ to their school at Ham near 
London. Returning to America and bringing with him 
two English friends, the three established an educational 
community called Fruillands ’ at Harvard, Mass. This 
scheme was soon abandoned, and the two Englishmen sold 
the farm and leturned to their native country. A. then 
entered upon the life of a peripatetic philosopher, visiting 
different cities and villages when invited, and there declaim¬ 
ing on divinity, human nature, ethics, dietetics, and many 
practical questions. In the mean time The Dial had been 
started in Boston by the Transcendentalists, Margaret Ful¬ 
ler being the editor and Emerson a chief contributor, and 
to this publication A. contributed papers entitled Orphic 
Sayings. He also published several books, including Con¬ 
versations with Children on the Gospels (1838); Spiritual 
Culture (1840); Tablets (1868); Concord Days (1872); 'Table 
Talk (1877); Sonnets and < anzonets { 1882); and The New 
Connecticut , autobiographical poem (1887). A.’s theology 
showed strong tendency toward spiritual mysticism, and 
latterly inclined noticeably toward Evangelical Christiani¬ 
ty, though he never allied himself with any sect. 

ALCOTT, Louisa May: author: 1832, Nov. 29—1888, 
Mar. 6; b. Germantown, Penn.: daughter of Amos Bronson 
A. While still in her teens she began to write fairy tales, 
and in 1855 published a volume entitled Flower Fables . 


ALCOTT—ALCOY. 

This was followed by a number of stories contributed to 
e -Boston journals, and later by some published in the 
Atlantic Monthly. In lb64 she published her first volume 
of fiction for the young, entitled Moods. This was followed 
r- Glories (1807), and in the following year by 

Little Women , which was received with great favor, and 
has ever since been one of the most popular of children’s 
books. In 1809 she published An Old-fashioned Girl, and 
m 1871 Little Men, a sequel to Little Women, which at once 
commanded almost equal popularity. Her remaining 
books are: My Girls, An Old-fashioned Thanksgiving 
Work (1873); Eight Cousins (1874), and its sequel, Rose in 
Bloom (1876); Under the Lilacs (1878); Jack and Jill (1880)- 
Proverb Stories (1882), Spinning-Wheel Stories (1884); and 
Lulu's Library (1885). Besides the above she published 
at different times a number of volumes of short stories, in¬ 
cluding Cupid and Chow-chow, Silver Pictures, and Aunt 
Jo’s Scrap Bag. 

ALCOTT, May (Mrs. Ernest Nieeiker): artist: 1840- 
1879, Dec.; b. Concord, Mass.; daughter of Amos Bronson 
A. She studied art in Boston, London, and Paris, in 
which latter city chiefly she resided after her marriage. 
She was. noted as a copyist an das a very successful painter 
of still life in oils and water-colors. As a copyist of Turner 
she was so fortunate as to gain the commendation of John 
Ruskiu, while some of her work was placed in the South 
Kensington School in London as examples for the pupils 
to copy. She published one book, Concord Sketches (1809). 

ALCOVE, n. al-kov' [F. alcove —from It. alcovo, a recess: 
Sp. alcoba, a part of a room railed off to hold a bed—from 
Ar. al-qobbah, a vaulted space covered as a tent]: architec¬ 
tural term, denoting a recess in a chamber where one may 
recline., or where a Ded or side-board may be placed. An 
A. is either hung with curtains or closed with doors during 
the day. It was known to the ancients, and at one time 
very common in France, when the immoderate size of the 
apartments rendered it absolutely necessary as a preventive 
against the cold during sleep. It is no longer common or 
fashionable, eminent physicians having declared its closeness 
injurious and prejudicial to health. A. is applied also to the 
bays or open recesses for book-shelves in a library hall: also 
a shady recess in a garden. 

ALCOY, al-ko'e: town of Spain, prov. of Alicante, a 
portion of the former kingdom of Valencia. It is * built in 
a funnel of the hills, on a tongue of land hemmed in by two 
streams, with bridges and arched viaducts.’ The houses 
hang picturesquely over the terraced gardens and ravines. 
The walls of A. are of clay, and suffered considerable 
damage during the last war; but the town contains some new 
edifices, and has numerous manufactories. ‘ Here is made 
the papel de hilo, the book Librito defumar , which forms 
the entire demiduodecimo library of nine tenths of Spaniards, 
and with which they make their papelitos, or little paper- 
cigars;’ 200,000 reams are annually made, of which 10,000 
are used for writing, 10,000 for packing, and 180,000 for the 


ALCUDIA—ALCUIN. 

paper-cigars. A. is also famous for its sugar-plums. It 
lias a consistory, town-hall, poor asylum, public granary, 
etc. Pop. (1900) 32,058. 

ALCUDIA, al-ko'de-d: Manuel de Godoy, Duke of, 
known as the Prince of Peace: 1767-1851: b. Badajos, 
Spain. Poor, but handsome and musical, at the age of 
20 he entered the king’s body-guard at Madrid, and soon 
became a favorite of the weak Charles IV., as well as of his 
queen. Honors and emoluments flowed in rapidly. In 
1801, he led the Spanish army against the Portuguese, and 
sigmkl the treaty of Badajos. In 1804, he was made 
generalissimo of the Spanish forces on sea and land, and 
invested with unlimited power. The alliance of Spain with 
France, and the war with England which ensued, in spite 
of the sums paid by Spain to secure neutrality, the defeat of 
Trafalgar, and consequent check to commerce—all tended 
to exasperate the public mind, and a court-party was formed 
against him, with the Prince of Asturias at its head. A. 
now resolved to shake off the French alliance, and to treat 
secretly with the Lisbon court. But, however cautiously 
taken, his warlike measures reached the ears of Napoleon, 
and determined him to carry out his project of dethroning 
the Bourbons. Meanwhile, the people had been further 
exasperated against the favorite by his unprincipled accu¬ 
sations against the Prince of Asturias; and when, in 1808, 
Charles abdicated in favor of his son, the duke’s life was 
saved only by the promise of his trial. This trial, however, 
never took place. Napoleon, who knew his influence over 
the minds of their Spanish majesties, had him liberated, and 
brought to Bayonne, where he instigated all measures taken 
by the ex-king and queen, retaining their favor till their 
death. After his fall, he lived chiefly in France. In 1808, 
his income had been estimated at 5,000,000 piastres. 
After the revolution of 1830, he was subsisting in Paris upon 
a small pension bestowed by Louis-Philippe. In 1847, his 
return to Spain was permitted, and his titles, together with 
great part of his wealth, restored. He died at Paris. 

ALCUIN, al'kicin, or Flaccus Albi'nus: abt. 735-804; 
b. York, Eng.: the most distinguished scholar of the 8th c., 
the confidant and adviser of Charlemagne. He was educated 
under the care of Abp. Egbert, and his relative, Aelbert, 
and succeeded the latter as master of the School of York. 
Charlemagne became acquainted with him at Parma, as he 
was returning from Rome, whither he had gone to bring 
home the pallium for a friend; and in the year 782, this 
monarch invited him to his court, and availed himself of his 
assistance in his endeavors to civilize his subjects. A. 
became the preceptor of Charlemagne himself, whom he 
instructed in the various sciences. To^render his instructions 
more available, Charlemagne established at his court a 
school called Schola Palatina, the superintendence of which, 
as well as of several monasteries, was committed to him. 
In the learned society of the court, A. went by the name of 
Flaccus Albinus. Most of the schools in "France were 
either founded or improved by him. Among others, he 
founded the school in the Abbey of St. Martin, in Tours 


ALCYONITE—ALCYONIUM. 


(796), taking as liis model the School of York; and in this 
school he himself taught after his retirement from court 
(801). While living at Tours, he frequently corresponded 
with Charlemagne. At his death he left, besides numerous 
theological writings, a number of elementary works on phi¬ 
losophy, mathematics, rhetoric, and philology; also poems, 
and a great number of letters. His letters, while they 
betray the uncultivated character of the age generally, shew 
A. to have been the most accomplished man of his time. 
He understood Latin. Greek, and Hebrew. Good editions 
of his works appeared, 1777 and 1873. See the life of A. 
by Lorenz (1829); Monnier’s A. et Charlemagne (1864); and 
JVlullinger’s Schools of Charles the Great (1877). 

ALCYONITE, n. dl-sl'o-nlt [L. Alcyone , a daughter of 
/Eolus]: a term applied to the spongiform fossils common 
in the chalk-formation. Alcyonaria, n. plu. dl'si-d-nd'ri-d, 
a division of the Coelenterata, comprising the sea-pens, red- 
corals, fan-corals, etc. 

ALCYONIUM, dl-si-o'ni-iim: a genus of Coelenterata, the 
type of an order called Alcyonaria , belonging to the class 



Alcyonium digitatum. 

1. Reduced general 2. A portion showing the polypes 

figure. . protruded, and with extended 

tentacula. 

Actinozoa (see Zoology), and consisting of a polype-mass with 
starlike pores and protrusive polypes. A. digitatum is ex¬ 
tremely common on the British shores, on stones, old shells, 
etc., in deep water. It sometimes appears as a mere crust, 
about the eighth of an inch in thickness, but commonly 
rises up in rounded cones, and often assumes forms which 
have procured for it the popular name of Dead Man’s Fingers, 
and other similar appellations. The polype-mass is gelati¬ 
nous within, and covered with a sort of leathery skin, the 
mass being traversed by a multitude of minute canals, ter¬ 
minating on the outer surface in starlike figures, which, if 
the whole be placed in sea-water, arc seen to project con¬ 
siderably from the surface, and appear as polypes with 
eight tentacula or feelers; so that what seems to be a dis¬ 
gusting fleshy mass in the fisherman’s net proves to be, 
when placed in its proper element, a structure of surprising 
beauty and full of animal life, existing under peculiar and 







ALCYONIUM. 

wonderful conditions. The manner in which the polypes pro 
trude aud retract themselves has been likened to that in which 
the horns of a snail are protruded and retracted. Their ten- 
tacula are short, obtuse, and elegantly fringed at the mar¬ 
gins. The external part of the body of the polype is a 
membrane so transparent, that by the employment of a 
magnifying-glass the whole internal structure can be seen 
through it. See fig. 3, b. This delicate membrane, how¬ 
ever, is composed of two 
very thin membranes, in¬ 
timately united, the outer 
of which increases in 
thickness at the base of 
the polype,coalesces with, 
that of adjacent polypes, 
and is continuous with 
the common leathery 
skin of the polype-mass. 
The inner membrane re¬ 
tains its extreme delicacy 
throughout; it extends 
into and lines the cell of 
3. Alcyonium digitatum: the polype (see fig. 4) 

b, the polype fully protruded, magni- an d the tube or canal 

fledi 'as? 1 pr °‘ which proceeds from the 

cell into the mass, and is 
thus also continuous with the corresponding membranes of 
other polypes; for the canals divide into branches in their 
course from the base of the 
polype-mass to the surface, and 
the intimacy of union in the 
whole is increased by a fine 
tubular network which occu¬ 
pies the spaces between the 
principal canals. If a portion 
of an A. is irritated, not only 
the particular polypes immedi¬ 
ately subjected to irritation re¬ 
tract themselves as to withdraw 
from danger, but the gradual 
collapse and contraction of the 
whole polype-mass shows that 
the irritation has been felt 
through it all. The contraction 
of the mass is owing to a dis- . A1 . .... 

charge of water which the SectU&n? SKruc- 
polypes, when protruded, im- ture. 

bibe, and which circulates through and distends the polype- 
mass, so that when the polypes are undisturbed and in full 
activity, it has twice or three times the size "which it has as 
we find it cast out upon the beach. The stomach of each 
polype is cylindrical (as may be seen in fig 3, b, immedi¬ 
ately under the oval disk or expanded tentacula), and be¬ 
neath it is a comparatively large cavity, into which hang 
loosely (as may also be seen in the figure just referred to' 
eight twisted filaments or threads, the use of which is not 
well ascertained, and has been the subject of very different 


















ALCYONIUM. 

opinions among naturalists. In the gelatinous substance of 
the polype mass, which fills the interstices of the tubular 
network, numerous crystalline calcareous spicula lie im¬ 
mersed, like the rawhides (q. v.) found in the intercellular pas¬ 
sages of some plants. They are toothed on the sides, but 
are of various forms, and have no organic connection with 
any part of the animal structure; their only use apparently 
being to impart some degree of strength to the whole. 
These spicula are of general occurrence in zoophytes of this 
order, and are secreted by the common skin of the polype- 
mass. The polype-mass increases by gemmae or buds, which 
grow into new branches; but the propagation of the species 
takes place by ova or eggs, which first appear as minute 
smooth warts on the membrane of the canals in the interior. 
The constriction of the neck, by which they grow, separates 
them from the parent membrane, and they move through 
the canal by means of very minute vibrating cilia or hairs 
with which they are furnished, until they reach the 
stomach of a polype, into which they enter, and through 
which they slowly proceed till at last they are ejected by 
the mouth (the only opening), and committed to the waves 
and tides. The ova seem capable of feeling while within 
the parent mass, and may be observed to move backwards 
and forwards, and to contract their sides as if by voluntary 
action in their passage through the body of the polype. 
These wonderful phenomena of nature are the more easily 
observed, because the ova are of a deep vermilion color, 
beautifully contrasting with the pure white of the polype, 
through the tunic of which they are seen.—One of the most 
remarkable known species of A., and the largest, is that 
called A. poculum or Neptune’s Cup, which was discovered 
by Sir Stamford Raffles upon the coral-reefs of Sumatra, and 

is found in the neighborhood of 
Singapore. It grows erect, some¬ 
times attaining nearly three feet in 
height and eighteen inclies in diam¬ 
eter. Specimens are now frequent 
in museums in this country. 

The name Alcyonium was for¬ 
merly also given to many zoo¬ 
phytes now found to be of very 
different structure, some of which 
now bear the name Alcyonidium , 
others that of AlcyoneUa. The 
name zoophytes, now generally 
obsolete, was given to various 
plant-like animals, mostly the Coe- 
lenterata. The most common Brit¬ 
ish species is Alcyonidium gelatino- 
sum. It resembles a sponge in 
appearance, but is more pellucid 
and gelatinous, and is full of 
polypes, each having 15 or 16 long 
Alcyonidium erelatinosum. slender tentacula. It is attached 
Reduced. to 0 id shells and stones, and is 

sometimes much lobed, as in the preceding figure, some 





ALDBOROUGH—ALDEBARAN. 

times almost simple. The color varies from a very pale 
brown to clear yellow; the surface is speckled with minute 
dots, from which, when it is placed in sea-water, the 
polypes protrude. The polype differs widely from that of 
Alcyonium in having an intestine, which, proceeding from 
the stomach to the aperture of the cell, opens there. by an 
orifice distinct from the mouth, a difference characteristic of 
the classes to which they respectively belong. The ova are 
clothed with cilia, anti their motions either are, or most 
strikingly resemble, voluntary motions.— Alcyonella belongs 
to the mulluscoid Polyzoa ~(=Bryozoa). See Zoophites. 
There is one British species, Alcyonella stognorum, found in 
stagnant waters, especially in autumn, in shapeless, jelly- 
like masses, of a blackish-green color, usually adhering to 
the leaves of aquatic plants. The jelly like mass is traversed 
from base to surface by multitudes of tubes, which open by 
a roundish or five-angled aperture; the heads of the polypes 
project a little way from the aperture, and expand into a 
circle of about fifty tentacula. About 1,600 polypes are 
situated on a square inch of the surface of the mass. The 
number of tentacula on a specimen of moderate size has 
been computed at more than 5,000,000. The tentacula are 
covered with minute cilia, only to be observed with a high 
magnifying power, by means of which a constant whirlpool 
is maintained, centring in the mouth of the polype, and 
essential, probably, for breathing as well as for the supply 
of food. Each polype is organically connected with the 
mass, its tunic being continuous with the tube. The ali¬ 
mentary canal has two openings. The ova are to be found 
in vast numbers in the tubes which traverse the mass. 
They are dark brown, whilst the tubes are colorless or tinted 
with green, of a lens-like form and destitute of cilia They 
are produced from all parts of the inner side of the gelati¬ 
nous tubes; and as there seems to be no aperture for their 
escape, it is supposed that they are liberated from the 
parent mass only on its death and decomposition. The 
Alcyonella is an interesting object in a fresh-water aqua¬ 
rium, but is rather difficult to preserve. It is not, however, 
always to be found even in ponds where it might be ex-, 
peeled, and is abundant in particular seasons and rare in 
others. The ova are probably capable of remaining long 
dormant, until some occurrence of circumstances favors the 
development of the germ of life which they contain. In 
the above account of Polyzoa, polypide is the word pre¬ 
ferred by recent authors, who confined polyp to Ccelenterata. 

ALDBOROUGII, aicld'bdr-uh: decayed town of the 
West Riding of Yorkshire, on the river Ure and on Watling 
Street Before 1832 it sent two members to parliament. 
Extensive remains of the Roman town of Isurium have 
been found here.—There is another small coast town of the 
same name in the n.e. of Suffolk. 

ALDEBARAiSr, n. dl-deb' a-rdn, [Ar. al-dabardn, the fol¬ 
lowing—from dabara, to follow]: a star of the first magni¬ 
tude in the eye of Taurus—so called because it follows upon 
the Pleiades. It is the largest and most brilliant of a 


ALDEHYDE—ALDEHYDES. 

cluster of five 'which the Greeks call the Hyades. From its 
position, it is sometimes termed ‘ the Bull’s Eye/ 

ALDEHYDE, n. dl'de-hld [a contraction of alcohol and 
<&%drogenitum]: a pungent volatile liquid obtained by the 
removal of hydrogen from an alcohol. Al'dehy'dic, a. 
-hi'dik, of or pertaining to. 

ALDEHYDE, CH 3 COH: a volatile fluid produced by 
the oxidation and destructive distillation of alcohol and 
other organic compounds. There are many modes of 
obtaining it; the following is the method described by 
Liebig: A mixture of 2 lbs. of strong alcliol, 2 lbs. of wa¬ 
ter, and 3 lbs. of sulphuric acid, is distilled in a large 
retort connected with a receiver surrounded with ice. As 
soon as the distillate reddens litmus-paper, the operation is 
stopped. The product in the receiver, weighing about 
3 lbs., is then twice rectified over chloride of calcium, being 
thus reduced to about 12 oz. This is then mixed w r itli 
twice its volume of ether, and then saturated with ammo¬ 
nia gas. After cooling, crystals of aldehyde-ammonia, 
C 2 H 4 ONH 3 , are formed, which are then mixed with dilute 
sulphuric acid, and distilled at a low temperature. The 
hydrated A. thus obtained is dried with chloride of calcium, 
and again rectified by distillation. The product, A., isathin, 
transparent, colorless liquid, very inflammable, burning 
with a blue flame, and having a spec. gr. of 0 - 800, a boiling 
point of about 70°, and a pungent, suffocating odor. It 
mixes in all proportions with water, alcohol, and ether, and 
dissolves sulphur, phosphorus, and iodine. As is shown in 
the article Alcohol, it constitutes an intermediate state in 
the oxidation of alcohol into acetic acid. When potassium 
is gently heated with A., one atom of H is replaced by one 
of K, the resulting compound being aldehydate of potash, 
C 2 H 3 CKO. Various compounds of this kind may be formed, 
of which the most important is aldehydate of ammonia, or 
aldehyde-ammonia, C 2 H 4 ONH 3 , which is obtained in 
transparent shining crystals, and is a compound that has 
led chemists to the discovery of a large number of very 
remarkable derivatives. 

ALDEHYDES: class of organic compounds, intermedi¬ 
ate between primary alcohols and acids. Each aldehyde 
is derived from the corresponding alcohol by the abstrac¬ 
tion of two atoms of hydrogen, and each aldehyde is con¬ 
verted into its corresponding acid by the addition of one 
atom of oxygen 

Ten A. of the series CnH 2 nO, 'corresponding to n = 1, 
2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 , 11, 12, and 16, are at present known, the 
simplest being formic aldehyde, CH 2 0, and the highest be- 
ing.palmitic aldehyde, G\ 6 H 32 0. 

Among A. not connected with the preceding group may 
be mentioned various organic compounds which have been 
recently shown to belong to this class—thus, acrolein, 
C 3 H 4 0, is acrylic aldehyde; camphor, Ci 0 H 16 O, is cam- 
pholic aldehyde; bitter-almond oil, C 7 H fi O, is benzoic al¬ 
dehyde; oil of cumin, Ci 0 H J 2 O, is cuminic aldehyde; oil 
of cinnamon, C 9 H b O, is cinnamic aldehyde. Most of these 


V 



ALDEHYDES. 

A. are obtained directly from plants, and either exist in 
them ready formed, or are given oft' as volatile oils on 
distillation with water. Owing to their great tendency to 
oxidize into their corresponding acids, the A. are powerful 
reducing agents. They reduce the silver in silver salts to 
the metallic state. On the other hand, by the action of 
nascent hydrogen upon the A., the corresponding alcohols 
are regenerated. Thus ordinary alcohol may be obtained 
from ordinary aldehyde. 

Acetic Aldehyde. Ethyl Alcohol. 

-- 1 -> ,-*-N 

C 2 H 4 0 + II 2 = c 2 h 6 o. 

With the acid sulphites of the alkalies the A. forms sparingly 
soluble crystalline compounds. When treated with caus¬ 
tic alkali, many of the A. are converted into the correspond¬ 
ing alcohols, and the potassium salt of the corresponding 
acid. Thus benzoic aldehyde yields benzyl alcohol and 
benzoate of potash: 

2C 7 H 6 0 -f KHO = C 7 H 8 0 + KC 7 H 5 0 2 . 

The A. have a great tendency to form polymeric com¬ 
pounds. Thus ordinary aldehyde passes readily into two 
polymeric modifications (see Isomeuism): (1) Paraldehyde, 
a liquid which boils at 255°; (2) Metaldehyde, a solid body 
which sublimes at 248°, and is converted back into ordinary 
aldehyde by heating to 239° for a few hours in a closed 
Vessel. 






ALDEN. 

ALDEN, awl'den, Edmund Kimball, d.d.: Congl. 
clergyman: b. Randolph, Mass., 1825, Apr. 11. He grad¬ 
uated at Amherst College 1844, and at Andover Theol. 
Seminary 1848. In 1850, he became pastor of the First 
Church (Congl.), Yarmouth, Me. Four years later he was 
settled at Lenox, Mass., where he remained 5 years ; and 
in 1859 became pastor of Phillips Congl. Church, South 
Boston, .Mass. He was made sec. of the American Board 
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, 1876; 
having charge specially of the home department of that 
great, organization. In this position his persistent objec¬ 
tion to the appointment of missionaries who were not pre¬ 
pared to disclaim sympathy with the ‘ Andover hypothesis,’ 
of a probation in the future life for such heathen as had 
not had Christ presented to them in this life, brought upon 
him severe animadversion from some of the most promi¬ 
nent contributors to the work of the American Board, but 
his action was sustained by a large majority of the board at 
its annual meeting, 1887, Oct., at Springfield, Mass.; though 
subsequent meetings showed that the majority did not de¬ 
sire to maintain their views by intolerant measures. Dr. A., 
esteemed for most faithful service, died 1896, April 30. 

ALDEN, Henry Mills,litt.d.: editor: b. at Mt. Tabor, 
Vt., 1836, Nov. 11: graduated at Williams College, 1857, 
and at Andover Theol. Seminary, 1860. Soon after com¬ 
pleting his education, he was invited to deliver a course of 
lectures before the Lowell Institute, Boston, and accord¬ 
ingly prepared and delivered a series of 12 lectures on The 
Structure of Paganism , he being the youngest of all the 
Lowell Institute lecturers. In 1864, he entered the em¬ 
ployment of Harper & Bros., publishers, New York, as 
managing editor of Harper’s Weekly; and, in 1868, became 
editor of Harper's Magazine, which position he still holds 
(1903). In conjunction with Alfred H. Guernsey he pre¬ 
pared Harper’s Pictorial History of the Rebellion (1863-65). 
His books, God in His World (1892), and A Study of Death 
(1896), drew wide attention. 

ALDEN, Isarella(Macdonald): author: b. New York, 
1841. She married Rev. G. R. Alden in 1866, May. Her 
juvenile stories, published under the name Pansy Books, 
and comprising nearly 60 titles, are interesting and popular. 
They include: Helen Lester, a prize story written when she 
was a young girl; One Commonplace Day; Mrs. Harry 
Harper's Awakening; Eater Ried; Tip Lewis and his L,amp; 
The Broicning Boys; Links in Rebecca’s Life; An Endless 
Chain; The King’s Daughter; Mary Burton Abroad; The 
Pocket Measure; Spun from Fact; Three People; Ruth Er- 
skine's Crosses; Chautauqua Girls at Home; Four Girls at 
Chautauqua; New Year's Tangles; Six Little Girls; and 
Chrissy's Endeavor (1889). A. has been connected with the 
Chautauqua Summer School from its beginning. She is 
known also as the editor of Pansy, a juvenile publication. 


ALDEN—ALDER. 

ALDEN, James: 1810, Mar. 31-1877, Feb. 6; b. Port¬ 
land, Me.; naval officer. He was appointed a midshipman 
in the U. S. navy 1828; was commissioned lieut. 1841, lieut.- 
commander 1855, capt. 1863, commodore 1866, and rear- 
adm and commander of the European squadron; and was 
retired 1873. During his naval career he took part in the 
Wilkes exploring expedition around the world; the capture 
of Vera Cruz, Tuxpan, and Tabasco, in the Mexican war; 
the Indian war on Puget’s Sound; and the civil war, dis¬ 
tinguishing himself in the last as commander of the Rich¬ 
mond at the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and 
capture of New Orleans, and of the Brooklyn in the capture 
of Mobile Bay and the two attacks on Fort Fisher. 

ALDEN, John: 1599-1687, Sep. 12; b. England: Ply¬ 
mouth colonist. He was working at the cooper’s trade in 
Southampton while the pilgrim ship Mayflower was being 
prepared there for her voyage to America, and signing the 
famous compact 1620 became the youngest member of the 
party. In 1621 he married Priscilla Mullens, and about 
1635 was chosen magistrate of Plymouth colony, an office 
which he held till his death. Longfellow made him one of 
the principal characters in his poem, Miles Standish’s Court¬ 
ship. His descendants in America are numerous. 

ALDEN, William Livingston: author: known for his 
satirical and humorous contributions to the editorial page 
of the Mew York limes during several years: b. Williams- 
town. Mass., 1837, Oct. 9. He received his education at 
Lafayette and Jefferson colleges, graduated 1858, and 
studied law. He became a popular contributor to the 
magazines, and introduced canoeing as a recreation into 
the United States, founding 1870 the New York Canoe 
Club. His published books include: Domestic Explosives 
(1878); Shooting Stars (1879); Canoe and Flying Proa (1880); 
The Moral Pirates (1881); Life of Christopher Columbus 
(1882); The Cruise of the Ghost (1882); The Cruise of the 
Canoe Club ( 1883); Adventures of Jimmy Brown (1885); and 
Loss of the Swansea (1889). In 1885 he was appointed U. S. 
consul-general at Rome, and on the appointment of his 
successor 18S9 decided to spend several years in literary 
work in Europe. 

ALDER, a. aider [OE. and AS. alder , of all, wholly; 
entirely—from AS. cel, all]: in OE., a common prefix of 
adjectives in superlative degree, and signifying, of all; 
wholly; entirely; in the highest degree: as, Alderfikst, 
first of all. Aldeiilast, last of all. Alderlest, least of 
all. Alderliefest, -lef'est [AS. leofest, most loved]: most 
loved, or dearest of all. Aldermost, most of all. Alder- 
wisest, wisest of all. Note. —In later times * all ’ seems to 
have been substituted for alder —see all as a prefix. 

ALDER, n. aider [AS. air: Ger. eller: Icel. elrir: Sw. 
al: L. alnus']: a tree resembling the hazel; the Alnus 
glutinosa, Ord. Betuldcece, whose charcoal is used in the 
manufacture of gunpowder. Al'dern, a. made of alder. 

ALDER (Alnus): genus of plants of the natural order 
Betulacece (regarded by many as a sub-order of Amentacece: 


ALDER. 

see Birch and Amentaceas). The genus consists entirely 
of trees and shrubs, natives of cold and temperate climates- 
the flowers in terminal, imbricated catkins, which appear 
be foie the leaves; the male and female flowers in separate 
catkins on the same plant; the male or barren catkins loose 
cylindrical, pendulous, having the scales 3-lobed, and each 
with three flowers whose perianth is single and 4-partite; the 
fertile catkins oval, compact, having the scales sub-trifid, 
and each with two flowers destitute of perianth; styles two- 
fruit, a compressed nut without wings.—The Common or 
Black A. (A. glutinosa) is a native of Britain, and of the n 
parts of America and Asia. It has roundish, wedge-shaped 
obtuse leaves, lobed at the margin and serrated. The bark, 



except in very young trees, is nearly black. It thrives best 
in moist soils, and helps to secure swampy river-banks 
against the effects of floods. It attains a height, of 30-60 ft. 
Its leaves are somewhat glutinous. The wood is of an 
orange-yellow color, not very good for fuel, but affording 
one of the best kinds of charcoal for the manufacture of 
gunpowder, upon which account it is often grown as cop¬ 
pice-wood. Great numbers of small A. trees are used in 
Scotland for making staves for herring barrels. The wood 
is also employed by turners and joiners; but it is particularly 
valuable on account of its property of remaining for a long 
time under water without decay, and is therefore used for 
the piles of bridges, for pumps, sluices, pipes, cogs of mill¬ 
wheels and similar purposes. The bark is used for tanning 
and for dyeing, also for staining fishermen’s nets. It 
produces a yellow or red color, or with copperas, a black 
color. The leaves and female catkins are employed in the 
same way, by the tanners and dyers of some countries. The 
bark is bitter and astringent, and has been used for gargles, 
and also administered with success in ague. The seeds are 
a favorite food of greenfinches.—The Alder is one of the 



























ALDERMAN. 

ornaments of many of the most exquisite landscapes in 
Britain. The dark green of its foliage, and the still darker 
hue of its bark, contrast beautifully with the colors of the 
other trees with which it is usually associated on the banks 
of rivers. In boggy grounds it is often almost the only kind 
of tree that appears, and in many parts of the Highlands, 
groups of alders are scattered over the lower and moister 
parts of the mountain-slopes. The individual tree viewed 
by itself may be regarded as somewhat stiff and formal in 
appearance; but in groups or clusters, it is always far other¬ 
wise.—The common A. ceases on the Swedish shore of the 
Gulf of Bothnia, in the south of Angermannland, and is 



Alder leaves, etc.: 

r», a branchlet with male and female catkins, reduced; b. a 
branchlet with leaves and female catkins in a more advanced stage, 
reduced; c, the fruit-bearing female catkin; d , the same cut across, 
to show the small nuts or seeds. 

there called the Sea A., because it grows on low grounds 
near the sea.—In the United States, the Speckled or 
Hoary A., called sometimes Gray or White A. ( A . incana) 
is the common species northward, along streams; it is na¬ 
tive also of Europe; it grows 8—20 ft. high, has the oval 
leaves rounded at base and (except in the var. glauca) 
downy; fruit orbicular.—The Smooth A. (A. serrulata ), 
the common species from s. New England s. and w., 
grows 6—12 ft., the obovate leaves acute at base.—The 
Green or Mountain A. (A. viridis) has flowers developed 
with the leaves, and the fruit winged; from the north it ex¬ 
tends s. on the Alleghauies.—The Sea-side A. (A. maritima) 
flowers in autumn, has large catkins, growsto 20 ft., is found 
in Del. and Md., and thought to be the same as a species in 
Japan.— A. cordifolia is a large tree, native of s. Italy.— 
Several species are natives of the Himalayas.—The Berry¬ 
bearing A., or A. Buckthorn, is a totally different plant. 
See Buckthorn. 

ALDERMAN, n. dl'der-mdn , pi. Al'dermen [AS. eald, 
old; ealder or ealdor , an elder, a chief]: a senior or supe¬ 
rior; a civic dignitary next in rank to the mayor. Al'der- 
man'ic, a. -ik, in the manner of an alderman. Al'der- 
man'ly, a. -li. Note.— Originally a dignity of the highest 
rank, very nearly that of a king. 

ALDERMAN: a title given to a grade of civic officers of 
municipalities in the United States, and in England, Wales, 
and Ireland: the corresponding title in Scotland is Bailie. 
Their functions differ in different cities—in some involving 


.ALDERNEY—ALDERSHOT CAMP. 

considerable magisterial power, especially in affairs of inter¬ 
nal police. Some cities (e.g. Philadelphia), have dispensed 
with this title for their officials. In New York an A. is a 
member of the common council elected by the people. 
The London court of aldermen consists of 26 aldermen, in¬ 
cluding the lord mayor, and constitutes the bench of magis¬ 
trates for the city, besides having judicial and legislative 
authority in the corporation. Whether any definite and 
invariable functions were connected with the ancient rank 
of ealdorman , is not clearly ascertained. The term was gen¬ 
erally applied to persons of high and hereditary distinction, 
such as princes, earls, and governors. Its special significa¬ 
tion in the titles * A. of all England ’ (Aldermannus totius 
Anglice) and ‘ King’s A.’ (Aldermannus Regis), is not dis¬ 
tinctly indicated. There were also aldermen of counties, 
hundreds, cities, boroughs, and castles. 

ALDERNEY, awl'der-ni (Fr. Aurigny, Lat. Aurinia): 
island in the English Channel (see Channel Islands), lat. 
49 3 45' n., long. 2° 13' w., separated from the coast of Nor¬ 
mandy by a strait about 7 m. in breadth, called the Race of 
Alderney. Through this channel, which is very dangerous 
in rough weather, the remnant of the French fleet escaped 
after their defeat at La Hogue in 1692. The distances be¬ 
tween Alderney and the nearest points of Guernsey, Jersey, 
and Great Britain, are respectively about 15, 33, and 60 m. 
The length of the island is about 4. m., the breadth about lb 
The coast to the s.e. is bold and lofty; to the n.e. and n., it 
descends, forming numerous small bays, one of which, that 
of Crabby, affords the only anchorage in the island. A 
harbor of refuge and breakwater have been constructed on 
the n. side of the island. Six m. to the w. are the Caskets, 
a small cluster of rocks, on which are three light-houses. 
The soil in the centre of the island is highly productive; and 
the A. cows, a small but handsome breed, have always been 
celebrated. The climate is mild and healthy, and good water 
abounds. Pop. (1851) 3,333; (1871) 2,738; (1891) 1,857. Ed¬ 
ucation to some extent is universal. The population was 
originally French, but half the inhabitants now speak Eng¬ 
lish, and all understand it. Protestantism has prevailed here 
since the Reformation. A. is a dependency of Guernsey, 
and subject to the British crown. The civil power is vested 
in a judge appointed by the crown, and six jurats chosen by 
the people. These with twelve popular representatives or 
douzaimers (who do not vote), constitute the local legisla¬ 
ture. The court of justice is composed of the judge and 
jurats, the royal procureur and comptroller and the registrar 
(greffier), nominated by the governor. There is a local mili¬ 
tia, consisting of two companies of infantry, and a brigade 
of artillery. The ‘ Town,’ in a picturesque valley near the 
centre of the island, contains a few public buildings, among 
which is the old church, said to have been erected in the 
12t!) c., and a new one in the early English style, with 
a tower 104 ft. high. The living is a perpetual curacy in 
the archdeaconry and diocese of Winchester. 

ALDERSHOT CAMP, awl'der-shot-: a permanent camp 


aldine editions. 

for military review, evolution, exercise, and training; com¬ 
prising 7,003 acres on Aldershott Heath, 18£ m. from Wind¬ 
sor, Eng.; purchased by the government for £130,000, and 
opened for the reception of soldiers, 1855. There are usually 
10,000 to 15,000 troops of all arms at A.—different regiments 
occupying it in turn for an experience of camp-life. A thriving 
town has sprung up near the camp; pop. over 25,000. 
See Barracks. 

ALDINE EDITIONS: name given to the works from 
the press of Aldo Manuzio (q.v.)., (Lat. Aldus Manutius) 
and his family in Venice (1490-1597). Recommended by 
their intrinsic value, as well as by their handsome exterior, 
they have been highly prized by the learned and by book- 
collectors. Many of them are the first editions (editiones 
prindpes) of Greek and Roman classics; others contain cor¬ 
rected texts of modern classic writers, as of Petrarch, Dante, 
Boccaccio, etc., carefully collated with the MSS. All of 
them are distinguished for the remarkable correctness of the 
typography; the Greek works, however, being in this respect 
somewhat inferior to the Latin and Italian. The editions 
published by Aldus, the father, form an epoch in the annals 
of printing, as they contributed in no ordinary measure to 
the perfecting of types. No one had ever before used such 
beautiful Greek types, of which he caused nine different 
kinds to be made, and of Latin as many as fourteen. It is 
to him, or rather to the engraver, Francesco of Bologna, that 
we owe the types called by the Italians Oorsivi, and known 
to us as Italics, which he used for the first time in the 8vo 
edition of ancient and modern classics, commencing with Ver¬ 
gil (1501). Manuzio’s impressions on parchment are exceed¬ 
ingly beautiful; he was the first printer who introduced the 
custom of taking some impressions on better paper—that is, 
finer or stronger than the rest of the edition. The first ex¬ 
ample of this is in the Epistola Oraca (1499). It would be - 
difficult, to name another who has brought so much zeal, 
disinterestedness, taste, and knowledge to the furtherance of 
literature, especially classical literature. After his death, 
1515, his business was superintended by his father-in-law, 
Andreas Asulanus. Paul, the son of Aldus, possessed the 
same enthusiasm for Latin classics that his father had for 
Greek. He died at Rome in 1597. The printing establish¬ 
ment founded by Aldo continued in active operation for 100 
years, and during this time printed 908 different works. 
The distinguishing mark is an anchor, entwined bv a dol¬ 
phin, generally with the motto, Sudavit et alsit. Under the 
direction of the grandson of the founder, it lost the superi¬ 
ority which it had formerly maintained over all the other 
printing-presses in Italy. The demand wdiich arose for 
editions from this office, and especially for the earlier ones, 
induced the printers of Lyon and Florence, about 1502, to 
begin the system of issuing counterfeit Aldines. The Aldo 
mania has considerably diminished in later times. Among 
the A. works which have how become very rare may be 
mentioned the Ilorm Beatce Maria Virginis of 1497; the Virgil 
of 1501; and the Rhetores Grad / besides the editions from 
1494 to 1497, which are now extremely rare. The most 


ALDRICH. 

complete collections known are those of the former Grand 
Duke of Tuscany, and of Renouard, the bookseller of Paris. 
In 1834 appeared a third edition of the monograph published 
by Renouard, Annales de VImprimerie des Aides, ou Histoire 
dues Trots Manuces, et de leurs Editions: par A. Renouard 
(Paris, 1834). Ebert has published a catalogue of all the au¬ 
thentic A. E. in the supplement to Vol. I. of his BibliO' 
graphical Dictionary. 

ALDRICH, awl dritch or awl’drij, Nelson Wilmarth- 
merchant: b. Foster, R. I , 1841, Nov. 6. He passed the 
early part of his life at Killingly, Windham co., Conn., and 
was educated there and at the Providence Conference 
Seminary, East Greenwich, R. I. Removing to Provi¬ 
dence, he entered ou a mercantile career, which has con¬ 
tinued with great prosperity to the present time. He was 
a member of the common council of the city of Providence, 
1869-75, and its pres., 1872-3. In 1875-6, he was a member 
of the general assembly of R. I., and in the latter year 
speaker of the house of representatives. He was a member 
of the 46th congress, and was re elected to the 47th as a re¬ 
publican by a large majority. In 1881, he was elected by 
the legislature U. S. senator, to till the unexpired time of 
the late Gen. Burnside. In 1886, 1892, and 1898 he was 
re-elected for full terms. He has been an active member 
of important senate committees; was a strong supporter of 
the McKinley tariff act; and was one of the most influen¬ 
tial senators in the session of 1902-3. 

ALDRICH. Thomas Bailey; poet and prose writer: b. 
Portsmouth, N. H., 1836, Nov. 11. With the intention of 
entering college he began preparatory study, but on the 
death of his father abandoned this design, and became a 
clerk in the counting-room of his uncle, a merchant in 
New York, where he remained three years. In 1855, he 
published his first volume, entitled The Bells, and 1856 
wrote his poem Babie Bell, which at once gave him fame, 
being copied by the press all over the country. This led 
him into a literary career as a profession, and he contrib¬ 
uted thereafter to Putnam's Magazine, the Knickerbocker, 
and the weekly newspapers, writing poems and prose tales 
as the humor struck him His Daisy's Necklace, and What 
Game of It, a prose poem, gained general popularity. In 
1856, he became a member of the staff of the Home Jouimal, 
at that time under the editorship of N. P. Willis and 
George P. Morris, and here he remained three years, writ¬ 
ing considerably, and always with gratifying result. At 
the beginning of the publication of Every Saturday he be¬ 
came its chief editor, and continued such until 1874, when , 
it was stopped. In 1881 he was made editor of the Atlantic 
Monthly, to which he had for several years sent all his con¬ 
tributions; and he held this chair till 1890, June, when he 
resigned and was succeeded by Horace E. Scudder. His 
published works include The Ballad of Babie Bell, and 
Other Poems (1856); The Course of True Love Never Did Run 
Smooth (1858); Pampinea, and Other Poems ( 1861); Out of His 
Head, a Romance in Prose (1862) ; a collection of poems 
(1863); a volume of poems published in Boston (1865); and, 


ALDRO V ANDI—ALDSTONE. 

T f >c Story of a Bad Boy, which was first made popular as a 
serial in Our Young Folks, afterward published in book 
form (1870) . Marjorie Daw and Other People (1873); Pru¬ 
dence Palfrey, and Cloth of Gold, and Other Poems (1874); 
Flower and Thorn (1876); The Queen of Sheba (1877); The 
Siidwater Tragedy (1880); Friar Jerome's Beautiful Book 
(1881), Mercedes, and Later Lyrics (1884); and Wyndham 
Towers (1889); The Sisters' Tragedy (1891). 

ALDROVANDI, al-dro-van’de, Ulysses: prob. abt. 1522- 
1605; b. Bologna: one of the most distinguished naturalists 
of the 16th c. He was descended of a noble family, and 
received an excellent education, partly in his native city 
and partly at Padua. Some of his religious opinions having 
been called in question, he travelled to Rome in 1550 to 
vindicate himself; and while there, studied Roman antiqui¬ 
ties, and wrote a treatise on ancient statuary. At Rome, he 
formed the acquaintance of Rondelet. On his return, he 
studied botany, and having taken his degree in medicine at 
the Univ. of Bologna in 1553, he was in the following year 
appointed to the chairs of Philosophy and Logic, and to the 
lectureship on Botany. He practiced medicine for some 
time in Bologna, and appears after a short time to have ex¬ 
changed some of the chairs which he held in the university 
for that of Natural History. He established the Botanical 
Garden at Bologna in 1567. He was employed many years, 
in forming a museum of natural history, which he be¬ 
queathed to the senate of Bologna, and it became the 
foundation of the splendid public museum of that city, 
where many of A.’s specimens remain to this day. He 
left at his death, a prodigious mass of valuable manuscripts, 
still in the public library of Bologna, in which there is 
probably much correspondence of eminent men, showing 
the first steps of the science of natural history, after the 
long dormancy of the middle ages. All his studies and 
collections were made subservient to his work on Natural 
History, the first vol. of which—on Birds—appeared in 
1599. Six vols. appeared during A.’s life; other seven were 
published under the direction of his colleagues and pupils 
after his death. The story, that, by his scientific pursuits, 
A. reduced himself to great poverty and that he died in 
a public hospital at Bologna, though Bayle has adopted it 
in his dictionary, has no sufficient evidence. It may well 
be doubted. Complete editions of A.’s works are rare, the 
vol. on Minerals especially so. A. has been censured for 
excessive copiousness in things of little importance—due 
evidently to his conscientious anxiety to set forth all that 
js known on every subject of which he treats. 

ALDSTONE, awld’ston, or Alston, awl’ston, sometimes 
called Alston Moor: market-town of the county of Cum¬ 
berland, Eng., 30 m. e.s.e from Carlisle. . The parish of A. 
contains extensive and very productive lead mines, formerly 
belonging to the earls of Derwent water, and now to the 
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The town has 
manufactures of worsted yarns and flannel. It is in a 
mountainous district, on the declivity of a steep hill, near 


ALE—ALEMAN. 

the confluence of the Nene and South Tyne. The produce 
of the lead mines has fallen oil considerably during recent 
years. Fop. about 2,500; of parish (1871) 5,680; (1881) 
4,621. 

ALE, n. dl [AS. eale; Icel. 61; Lith. alas, a kind of beer; 
Gael, ol, to drink]: beer; a drink made from malt. Ale- 
berry, n. dl'ber-rl, a beverage made by boiling ale with 
spice, sugar, and sops of bread. Ale-cost, an herb. Ale- 
hoop [AS. hedfod, a head]: ground ivy; the Nepeta 
glechoma, or Glechuma hederdcece, Ord. Labiates, used for 
preserving ale before the use of hops. Alegar, n. dl'e-gdr 
[ale, and F. aigre, sour]: sour ale. 

ALE: apparently the current name in England for malt 
liquor in general before the introduction of hops. This 
took place, according to Johnston ( Chemistry of Common 
Life) as late as the reign of Henry VIII., about 1524. As 
the use of hops was derived from Germany, the German 
name for malt liquor {bier), beer, was used at first to dis¬ 
tinguish the hopped liquor from ale, the unhopped. The 
word ale had in all likelihood been introduced by the Danes 
and other Scandinavian settlers—for 61 (allied probably to 
oil) is still the name for malt liquor in the Scandinavian 
tongues—and must have driven out the beor of the Anglo- 
Saxons, which that people had in common with the other 
Teutonic nations. As now used, ale signifies a kind of beer 
(see Beer: Fermentation), distinguished chiefly by its 
strength and the quantity of sugar remaining undecom¬ 
posed. Strong ale is made from the best pale malt; and 
the fermentation is allowed to proceed slowly, and the 
ferment to be exhausted and separated. This, together with 
the large quantity of sugar still left undecomposed, enables 
the liquor to keep long without requiring a large amount of 
hops. The Scotch ales are distinguished for the smallness of 
the quantity of hops they contain, and for their vinous 
flavor. They are fermented at an unusually low temper¬ 
ature. The ales of Edinburgh and Prestonpans have a high 
reputation. Burton ale is the strongest made, containing as 
much as 8 per cent, of alcohol; while the best brown stout 
has about 6 per cent., and common beer only 1 per cent. 
India pale ale has a larger quantity of hops. 

ALECTROMANCY: see Cock. 

A-LEE, ad. a-le' [AS. 7deo, shelter]: a term used to denote 
the position of a ship’s helm when put in a direction oppo¬ 
site to that from which the wind blows, thus bringing the 
ship’s head to windward: it is expressed by the French sous 
le vent, or ‘ under the wind.’ 

ALEMAN, al'e-mdn, Mateo: famous Spanish novelist, 
b. Seville, about the middle of the 16th c., d. in Mexico 
during the reign of Philip III. In 1604, he published a 
poetical biography of St. Antonius of Padua; and in 1608, 
while in the New World, an Ortografa Castellana, written 
during his voyage; but his great work is Guzman de Alfar- 
rache a novel with a rogue for the hero, like some of the 


ALEMANNI. 

more recent English fictions. It was first published at 
Madrid in 1599, became immensely popular, and in half a- 
dozen years had gone through twenty-six editions, consisting 
of not less than 50,000 copies, in Spain and other countries. 
As regards the delineation of manners and the purity of 
style, this masterly, creation of A. ranks next to that most 
celebrated of all Spanish novels of the same character—the 
Lazarillo de Tormes of Mendoza. It shows keen observa¬ 
tion, and a ripe and cultivated mind. Mendoza’s hero has 
the advantage in originality, freshness, and vivacity; but 
Guzman exhibits a richer variety of gifts in the various 
characters he is compelled by circumstances to assume, such 
as a stable-boy, beggar, thief, coxcomb, mercenary, valet, 
pander, merchant, etc. The manners of the author’s own age 
are hit off with great skill and effect, and the narrative is in¬ 
terspersed with shrewd and solid reflections and moralizings. 
A. is considered to rank with Mendoza, Cervantes, etc., as 
one of the masters of the Castilian style. 

ALEMANNI, al'e-mdn'i, [that is, all-men ]: name of a 
military confederacy of several German tribes which 
appeared on the Lower and Middle Maine about the begin¬ 
ning of the 3d c. Caracalla fought with them first on the 
Maine in 211, but without conquering them; Alexander 
Severus was equally unsuccessful; but Maximinus at length 
succeeded against them, and drove them beyond the Rhine. 
After his death, they again invaded Gaul, but were defeated 
by Posthumius, who pursued them into Germany, and 
fortified with ramparts and ditches the boundary of the 
Roman territory, called the Agri Decumates. The mounds 
near Pf orung, on the Danube, the rampart extending through 
the principality of Hohenlohe to Jaxthausen, and the ditch 
with palisades on the n. side of the Maine, are remains 
of these works. The A., however, did not desist from their 
incursions, although they were repeatedly driven back. 
After 282, being pressed upon from the n.e. by the Burgun¬ 
dians, they took up permanent settlements within the Roman 
boundary from Maintz to Lake Constance. At last, Julian 
came (357) to the relief of Gaul, which had been suffering 
from the incursions of the A., and soon compelled eight of 
their chiefs to sue for peace. Their united force, in their 
principal battle with Julian, amounted to 35,000 men. After 
the 5th c., the confederated nation is spoken of as A. and 
Suavi or Suevi. In the course of the 4th c., they had 
crossed the Rhine, and extended as far west as the Yosges, 
and south to the Helvetian Alps. At length, Clovis, king 
of the Franks, broke their power in 496, and made them 
subject to the Frankish dominion. The s. part of their 
territory was formed into a duchy, called Alemannia. The 
name of Swabia came afterwards to be applied to the part 
of the duchy lying e. of the Rhine. From the A., the 
French have given the name of Allemands and Allemagne 
to Germans and Germany in general, though the inhabitants 
of the n. of Switzerland, with those of Alsace and part of 
•Swabia, are the proper descendants of the AlemannL 


ALEMBERT. 

ALEMBERT, a-lbn-bdr', Jean le Rond d’: 1717-83; b. 
Rails, one of the most distinguished mathematicians and 
writers of the 18th c. He was the illegitimate son of 
Madame de Tencin, a woman of considerable notoriety in 
the time of the Regency, and of a M. Destouches. He was 
exposed by his mother on the steps of the church of St. 
Jean le-Rond, and the policeman who found him committed 
the seemingly dying infant to the care of the wife of a poor 
glazier, thinking it too weak to be taken to the depot. The 
father, without publicly avowing the child, secured to him 
an allowance of 1,200 francs yearly. At the age of twelve, 
he entered the College Mazarin, where he soon crave indica¬ 
tion of the passion for mathematical studies which 
distinguished him through life. On leaving college, he 
returned to the humble home of his kind foster-mother, 
where he continued to live and pursue his favorite studies 
for nearly forty years, sharing with her household his small 
revenue. Although the good woman loved him as a son, so 
little did she encourage his exclusive devotion to science, 
that when he spoke of his discoveries or writings, she replied 
with a sort of pity: ‘ You will never be anything but a 
philosopher; and what is a philosopher, but a fool who 
torments himself during his life, that people may talk about 
him when he is dead.’ At first, his friends urged him to 
qualify himself for some profitable career; but after trying 
for a time the study of law, and then of medicine, he gave 
up the attempt as hopeless, and abandoned himself without 
reserve to his passion for science. In 1741, at the age of 23, 
he was admitted a member of the Academy of Sciences, 
having already attracted attention by several physico- 
mathematical tracts. Two years later appeared his Treatise 
on Dynamics, founded on a new and fertile principle which 
makes an epoch in mechanical philosophy. ‘ This principle 
consists/ says Condorcet, ‘in establishing the equality, at 
every instant, between the changes which the motion of the 
body has undergone, and the forces which have been 
employed to produce them/ in other words, it reduces all 
the laws of motion to the consideration of Equilibrium. 
Among the more important of his other scientific works are: 
his Theory of the Winds, which gained the prize of the 
Academy of Berlin, 1746, and contains the first conception 
and use of the Calculus of Partial Differences; a treatise on 
the Precession of the Equinoxes, 1749, giving for the first 
time an analytical solution of that phenomenon, as well as 
of the nutation of the earth’s axis; Essay on the Resistance 
of Fluids, 1752; Researches on some Important Points in the 
System of the Universe, 1754 and 1756. His Mathematical 
Opuscules contain an immense number of memoirs, some on 
new subjects, some containing developments of his previous 
works. 

But A. did not confine himself to physical science. 
Diderot (q.v.) having conceived the idea of the famous 
Encyclopedic, enlisted the services of A., w r ho wrote the 
Preliminary Discourse, which is allowed by all to be a noble 
tribute to iiterfiture and philosophy—a model of lim’d and 


ALEMBIC. 

eloquent exposition, combining an. immense extent ot 
knowledge with rare judgment. Besides numerous articles 
in the Encyclopedic, he published Elements of Philosophy, 
1759; Melanges of Literature and Philosophy; The Destruc¬ 
tion of the Jesuits, etc. He also wrote a great many doges of 
mei hers of the Academy of Sciences, of which he was 
elee'ed sec. 1772. His literary works have been published 
in a collected form, new edition, by Bossange (Paris, 1821, 
5 vols. 8vo). This edition contains the correspondence of 
A. with Voltaire and the king of Prussia. His scientific 
works have never been collected. 

A. gave striking proof of how little he regarded riches 
and dist inctions, or the flatteries of the great, and how genuine 
was his independence. Frederick II. of Prussia offered 
him the presidency of the Academy of Berlin, 1752, but he 
declined to leave France, and only accepted a subsequent 
offer of a pension of 1,200 francs. The king of France 
granted him a similar sum. In 1762, Catharine II. of Russia 
invited him, through her ambassador, to undertake the 
education of her son, with a salary of 100,000 francs; and 
when he declined, she wrote him a letter with her own 
hand, urging that to refuse to contribute to the education of 
a whole nation was inconsistent with his own principles: and 
inviting him, if he could not reconcile himself to the 
breaking-off of his pursuits and friendships, to bring all his 
friends with him, and she would provide both for them and 
for him everything they could desire. But A. remained 
steadfast. When the Grand Duke afterwards visited Paris, 
he good-humoredly reproached A. with his refusal; and to 
the excuse of the rigor of the climate and feeble health, 
the prince replied, with the compliment: ‘ In truth, monsieur, 
it is the only false calculation you have made in your life.’ 
A. was never married. He was tenderly attached for many 
years to a Mademoiselle Espinasse, although their intimacy, 
it is believed, never went beyond a warm friendship. The 
death of the lady was a severe blow to A. His own health 
began to give way; for he was suffering from the stone, and 
would not consent to an operation. He d. 1788, Oct. 29. 

A. was truthful, frank, and benevolent. He held it as a 
principle of morals that a man has no right to dispose at will 
of his own superfluous means while there are others in want 
of the necessaries of life. A stigma has attached to the 
name of A. from his intimate association with Voltaire and 
other assailants of Christianity; but A. in his published 
writings never denied the Christian revelation. From his 
private correspondence it is gathered that his opinions 
favored a simple theism. 

ALEMBIC, n. a-lem'bik [Ar. al, the; anbiq, a chemical 
vessel in the shape of a gourd: Sp. alambique: Gr. arnbiks, a 
cup, a goblet]: a gourd like vessel with a lid for distilling; 
a chemist’s retort—now obsolete. It was a form of still 
introduced into chemistry by the alchemists, and used by 
ancient experimenters in manipulative chemistry for the 
distillation and sublimation of substances, such as alcohol, 
or formic acid obtained by heating a decoction of red ants 


ALEMTEJO—ALENQON. 

in water. The vessel consisted of a body , cucurbit , or matrass 

(A), in which the ma¬ 
terial to be volatilized 
was placed; a head or 
capital (B) into which 
the vapors rose, were 
cooled, and then trick¬ 
led down to the lower 
part (C), whence by a 
pipe (D) the distilled 
product passed into 
the receiver (E). Where 
very volatile liquids 
were being distilled, 
it was customary to 
introduce the receiver 
(E) into a vessel with 
cold water, so as to 
increase the perfectness of the condensing part of the ar¬ 
rangement. The A. has now been entirely superseded by 
the retort and receiver or by the flask attached to a Liebig’s 
condenser. See Retort. 

ALEMTEJO, d-leng-td'zho: province in the s. of Portugal; 
9,388 sq. in. It is partly washed by the Atlantic on the 
w., and stretches to the Spanish frontier on the e. It is 
traversed by a number of mountain-chains, and is watered 
by the Tagus, Guadiana, and Saado or Sado. In the s. and 
w. the climate is hot and dry; the plains are covered with 
brown heath, unrelieved by a tree or a shrub, and only 
broken at intervals by marshy wastes, while the vegetation 
is extremely scanty. In the e. the valleys are fertile, and 
the mountains adorned with forests. The productions are 
singularly abundant. They consist of wheat, barley, rice, 
maize, the vine, and a variety of choice fruits—such as the 
citron, the lemon, the fig, the pomegranate. In the valleys, 
the principal trees are the oak with edible fruits, the ever¬ 
green-oak, the cork-oak, the chestnut, and the pine; in the 
plains, lavender, rosemary, juniper, myrtle. The pasturage 
is extraordinarily fine. Great attention is given to the rear¬ 
ing of swine, goats, and sheep, and in a less degree, of horned 
cattle, asses, and mules. As the population is sparse, more 
grain is produced than is consumed; but manufactures are 
backward. Even mining, which might be very profitable, is 
neglected. Chief towns are Evora (the cap.), Elvas, Porta- 
legre, Beja, Estremoz, and Mertola. Pop. (1900) 413,531. 

ALENX^ON, d-lbn-son': chief town of the dept, of Orne, 
France; on the Sarthe, lat. 48° 25 n., and long. 0° 5^' e. 
The town-church—a structure of the 16th c., in the Gothic 
style, contains the remains of the tombs of the A. family, 
which were almost completely destroyed at the Revolution. 
It has a fine porch and exquisitely painted windows. A. 
is a clean and handsome town, with good streets and a 
delightful public walk. The inhabitants produce excellent 
woolen and linen stuffs, embroidered fabrics, straw-hats, 
lace-work, artificial flowers, hosiery, etc. The manufacture 



ALENGTH—ALEPPO. 

of A. point lace (points d’A.), although still important, is not 
as extensive as formerly. The cutting of the so-called A. 
diamonds (quartz-crystals), found in the vicinity of the 
town, has also greatly declined. Pop. (1893) 1(5,367. 

The old Dukes of A. were a branch of the royal family 
of Valois, and were descended from Charles of Valois, who 
perished at the battle of Crecy in 1346. His grandson, John 
I., fell at Agincourt. in 1415. His successor, John II., allying 
himself with the enemies of the court, was twice condemned 
to death, but pardoned. Rene, son of John II., also excited, 
not without cause, the suspicion of the French monarch, 
Louis XI., who confined him for three months in an iron 
cage at Chinon; but as the parliament had never condemned 
him, he was released at the death of Louis, and restored by 
Charles VIII. to his title and estate. Rene’s son, who had 
married the sister of Francis I., was general of the advance- 
guard of the French army in the Netherlands. He com¬ 
manded the left wing at the battle of Pavia, where, instead 
of supporting the king at a critical moment, he fled with 
his troops; and to him, therefore, has been attributed both 
the disastrous defeat sustained by the French, and his sov¬ 
ereign’s falling into the hands of the enemy. With him 
expired the old House of A. The duchy was then giveD 
to the Duke of Anjou. Louis XIV. conferred k upon the 
Duke of Berri, and Louis XVI. on the Count of Provence. 

ALENGTH, ad. a-length' \a, and length ]; stretched to 
the full extent. 

ALEPPO, d lep'po: town in the n. of Syria, cap. of a 
Turkish vilayet of the same name, between the Orontes and. 
the Euphrates, on the banks of the little desert stream, 
Nahr-el-Haleb. It stands in a large hollow, surrounded by 
rocky hills of limestone. The fruitful gardens, celebrated 
for their excellent plantations of pistachios, are the sole con¬ 
trast to the desolation which environs the city, whose num¬ 
berless cupolas and minarets, clean, well-paved streets, and 
stately houses, make it even yet one of the most beautiful in 
the East. It is a telegraphic station in connection with 
Damascus, and with Diarbekir, on the Indo-European line. 
Formerly, it supplied a great part of the East with fabrics 
of silk, cotton, and wool, and gold and silver stuffs; but in 
1822 an earthquake swallowed up two-thirds of the inhabit¬ 
ants, and transformed the citadel into a heap of ruins. The 
plague of 1827, the cholera of 1832, and the oppression of 
the Egyptian government nearly completed its destruction. 
Under the Egyptian power, however, a new citadel and 
some other edifices were erected; but scarcely half of the 
mosques and baths have been rebuilt. The aqueduct is the 
oldest monument of the town. A. is one of the principal 
emporiums of the inland commerce of Asia. Its port is 
Alexandretta or Iskanderoon (q.v.). A. has a large trade 
in cotton and silk goods, skins, tobacco, wine, and oil, and 
manufactures cloth which is much admired (silk, cotton, 
wool; flowered and striped), carpets, cloaks, and soap. Once 
the centre of Saracenic power, it still retains much of the 
Arabic character, and its citizens are famed for their man¬ 
ners. Pop. 127,150. 


ALERT—ALESSANDRIA, 

ALERT, a. a-lert' [F. alerte, take care ! an alarm: OF 
illerte, alert—from old It. all’erte, take care! It. ull’erta, 
on the alert]: on one’s guard; watchful; sprightly, nimble. 
Alertness, n. watchfulness; nimbleness.— Syn. of ‘alert’: 
smart; brisk; nimble; active; vigilant; lively; quick; bright; 
watchful; prompt; sprightly; agiie;—of ‘ alertness’: alacrity; 
briskness; agility; activity. 

ALESIA, a-le'sJii-a: town of ancient Gaul, the siege and 
capture of which form one of Caesar’s greatest exploits. 
The Gauls were making a last effort to shake off the Roman 
yoke; and Vercingetorix, their bravest leader, after several 
defeats, had shut himself up with 80,000 men in A., there to 
await the reinforcements which he expected from a general 
insurrection of the country. The town was on a lofty hill, 
and well fitted for defense. Caesar, with his army of 60,000 
men, completely surrounded the place, with the view of 
starving it into a surrender. He fortified his position by 
two lines of rampart of prodigious extent and strength; one 
towards the town, for defense against the sallies of the be¬ 
sieged; the other towards the plain, against the expected 
armies of relief. Before they could assemble, 250,000 
strong, he was ready for them; and all their assaults, com¬ 
bined with the desperate efforts of the besieged, were of no 
avail. A. was obliged to surrender, and Vercingetorix was 
made prisoner. A. was afterwards a place of some note 
under the empire, but was destroyed by the Normans in 
864. Near the site of the ancient A., w. of Dijon, stands the 
modern village of Alise or Sainte-Reine. 

ALESSANDRIA, dl-es-sdn'dre-d: principal fortress and 
town of the province of the same name in the n. of Italy; 
in a marshy country, near the confluence of the Bormida 
and Tanaro. It was built in 1168 by the inhabitants of 
Cremona, Milan, and Placentia, as a bulwark against the 
emperor Frederick I. Its original name was Caesarea, but 
it was afterwards called A. in honor of Pope Alexander III., 
who established a bishopric in it. Designed at first as a 
fortress to guard the passage of the Bormida and Tanaro, 
and being the central point of intercourse between Genoa, 
Milan, and Turin, the town has frequently been the object 
of sanguinary strife. It was taken and plundered, 1522, by 
Duke Sforza; besieged, but without success, by the French, 
under the Prince of Conti, 1657; and again taken, in spite 
of an obstinate resistance, by Prince Eugene, 1707. After 
the prostration of Austria at the battle of Marengo, 1800, 
Bonaparte concluded an armistice at A. with his enemies, 
according to which, Upper Italy, as far as the Mincio, was 
ceded to the French, with twelve fortresses. It was the 
principal armory of the Piedmontese during the insurrection 
of the Lombardo-Venetian states in 1848-9, when many new 
fortifications were added to it. At present, the citadel is 
one of the strongest fortresses in Europe; of enormous size, 
larger, it is said, than many a town, and in the event of a war 
in Italy, the whole surrounding country can be inundated 
by means of the sluices of the Thnaro. A. has considerable 
trade in linens, woolens, silk fabrics, stockings, hats, etc., 


ALESSANDRIA DELLA ROCCA—ALEWIFE. 

and there is much culture of flowers. Two fairs are held 
in A. annually, and are largely frequented. Pop. exclusive 
of the garrison (1894) 74,700; (1901) 71,298. 

ALESSANDRIA DELLA ROCCA, -della rbkk’a: town 
of Sicily, province of Girgenti; 17 m. n. by w. from Gir- 

f enti. picturesquely situated in a mountainous district 
'op. 6,000. 

ALETHIOLOGY, n. d-le'thUl'b-jl [Gr. alethes, true. 
logos . word, doctrine]; doctrine or principle of truth. 

ALETHOPTERIS, n. al'e-thop’ter-is [Gr. alethos, truly,* 
pteris, fern]: a genus of fossil ferns abounding in the lower 
coal-formations. 

ALEURONE, n. a-lu'rdn, also Aleu'rine, n. -rin [Gr. 
aleuron , flour or meal]: microscopic rounded granules in 
seed-cells, not colorable by iodine; formed from proto¬ 
plasm, to which they return when the seed germinates. 

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, d-lu’shl-dn-, or the Catherine 
Archipelago: a group of islands, numbering above 150, 
and consisting of several clusters, which now belong to the 
United States, and form an insular continuation of the 
N. American peninsula of Alaska (q.v.), in the shape of an 
arch or bridge between North America and Asia; 55° n. lat., 
separating the Sea of Kumtchatka from the Pacific. They 
naturally subdivide themselves iuto five groups: 1. the 
Komandorski Islands, sometimes not regarded as belonging 
to the A. I.; 2. the Sasignan, or ‘ Nearest ’ Islands; 3. the 
Rat Islands; 4. the Andreianowsky, which are very small 
and little frequented; 5. the Fox Islands; among which is 
Unimak, the largest in the archipelago. The islands are all 
craggy, and have a desolate appearance from the sea. They 
exhibit traces of violent internal commotion. Several vol¬ 
canoes are still periodically active; and warm volcanic 
springs are numerous. The whole chain or group forms a 
connecting-link between the volcanic range of the w. coast 
of America and Kamtchatka. On account of the numerous 
rocks off their shores, they are not very acessible to ships. 
Under a climate which exchanges only fora short time the 
monotonous rigor of winter for a cloudy spring and a hot 
summer, little can be expected of so niggardly a soil. 
There are plenty of low scrubby bushes, grasses, moss, and 
lichens, but no strong and stately growth of trees. An ex¬ 
periment tried at Unalaska of planting pines had very little 
success. Here and there, however, European kitchen- 
gardens have been attempted with better results; and the 
cultivation of the potato has likewise succeeded. The islands 
abound in springs, and are overrun with foxes, dogs, and 
reindeer, while the coasts swarm with fish, seals, and otters. 
The natives {Aleuts), formerly numerous, now number not 
more than 3,000: they are variously regarded as of Asiatic 
or American origin. Their occupation is hunting and fish¬ 
ing. Their trade is chiefly in furs and fish, of which the 
principal entrepot is Alexandria, in the island of Rojak. 

ALEWIFE {Alorn tyrannus ): a fish of the same genus 
with the Shad (q.v.) which, in the end of spring and begin- 


ALEXANDER I—ALEXANDER II. 

Ding of summer, appears in great numbers on the e. coast 
of North America, aud enters the mouth of rivers to spawn. 
It appears in Chesapeake Bay in March, on the coasts of 
New York and New England in April, and on those of the 
British provinces about May 1. It abounds in the Bay of 
Fundy, but is more rare in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and 
the Bay of Miramichi appears to be its n, limit. It ascends 
rivers only as far as the tide extends, aud after spawning, 
returns to the sea in the middle of summer. It prefers a soft, 
muddy bottom. Its length is not more than 12 inches. 
The A. is called Spring Herring in some places, and gas- 
peau by the French Canadians. It is inferior to the her¬ 
ring, yet it is a valuable fish. The fishery is prosecuted in 
the rivers, by small-meshed seine-nets set across the stream. 
Large quantities are taken in the rivers of New England, 
New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The harbor of St. 
John’s, New Brunswick, alone produces from 12,000 to 
20,000 barrels anuually. This fish, salted, forms a con¬ 
siderable article of export from the n. parts of America to 
the West Indies. 

ALEXANDER I., King of Scotland: younger son of 
Malcolm Ceannmor, succeeded his brother, Edgar, 1107, 
and amidst incessant disturbances, governed Scotland for 
seventeen years with great ability; d. Stirling, 1124. 
Through his mother, Margaret of England, he had the 
advantage of mental cultivation. He quelied several 
formidable insurrections. His determined resistance to the 
pretensions of the English hierarchy secured the inde¬ 
pendence of the Scottish Church, while his liberal patron¬ 
age of the monasteries promoted the strength of the church 
at home. In 1123 he founded the Abbey of Iuchcolm. 

ALEXANDER II. King of Scotland: 1198-1249; sue* 
ceeded his father, William the Lion, 1214; reigned 34 year's. 
He early evinced that wisdom and strength of character, in 
virtue of which he holds so high a place in history among 
Scottish kings. The first act of his reign was to enter into 
a league with the English barons who had combined to 
resist the tyranny of King John. This drew down upon 
him and his kingdom the papal excommunication; but two 
years subsequently (1218), the ban was removed, and the 
liberties of the Scottish Church were even confirmed. On 
the accession of Henry III. to the English throne A. brought 
the feuds of the two nations to a temporary close by a treaty 
of peace (1217), in accordance with which he married 
Henry’s eldest sister, the princess Joan (1221). The alliance 
thus established was broken after the death, without issue, 
of Queen Joan (1238), aud the second marriage of A. with 
the daughter of a nobleman of France. In 1244 Henry 
marched against Scotland, to compel A.’s homage. In this 
emergency the Scottish king received the steady support of 
the barons, whose ordinary policy was opposition to the 
crown, and is said, in a short time, to have found himself 
at the head of 100,000 foot and 1,000 horse. A peace was 
concluded without an appeal to arms. While engaged in 
one of those warlike expeditions which the turbulence of his 


ALEXANDER III—ALEXANDER VI. 

subjects so frequently rendered necessary, A. died of fever 
at Kerrera, a small island opposite Oban, on the w. coast of 
Argylesliire. 

ALEXANDER III. Kiug of Scotland: 1241-85; suc¬ 
ceeded his father, Alexander II., at the age of eight; and, 
two years later, 1251, he married the princess Margaret, 
eldest daughter of Henry III. of England. The tender age 
of the sovereign enabled Henry to prosecute successfuly 
for some time his schemes for obtaining entire control over 
the Scottish kingdom; but long before he reached manhood, 
A. showed an energy and wisdom which indicated that the 
attempt to reduce him to submission would be vain. Very 
shortly after he had come of age lu was summoned to the 
defense of his kingdom against the formidable invasion of 
Haco, king of Norway (1263), who claimed the sovereignty 
of the Western Isles. In attempting a landing at Largs, on 
the coast of Ayr, the Norwegian prince sustained a total 
defeat; and A., as the result of the important victory, 
secured the allegiance both of the Hebrides and of the Isle 
of Man. The alliance betweeu Scotland and Norway was 
strengthened in 1282 by the marriage of A.’s only daughter, 
Margaret, to Eric, kiug of Norway. This princess died in 
the following year, leaving an infant daughter, Margaret, 
commonly designated the Maiden of Norway, whose un¬ 
timely death, on her way to take possession of her throne, 
was the occasion of so many calamities to Scotland. During 
the concluding years of A.’s reign, the kingdom enjoyed a 
peace and prosperity which it did not taste again for many 
generations. The justice, liberality, and wisdom of the 
king endeared his memory to his subjects, while the mis¬ 
fortunes that followed his death heightened the national 
sense of his loss. His only son. A., who had married the 
daughter of Guy, Count of Flanders, died without issue, 
1284. A. contracted a second marriage in 1285 with Joleta, 
daughter of Count de Dreux. The hopes of the nation 
were soon after clouded by his untimely death. Riding on 
a dark night between Burntisland and Iviughorn, he fell 
with his horse over a precipice, and was killed on the spot. 

ALEXANDER VI. (Borgia), Pope: 1430-1503; b. Valen¬ 
cia,Spain; the most celebrated ofthe eight popes (see Popes) 
of his name, also the most infamous one that ever lived, 
and the most vicious prince of his age (reigned 1492-1503). 
His most conspicuous qualities were a cunuing and insidi¬ 
ous cruelty, united with great fearlessness in danger, an 
unwearied perseverance and vigilance in all his undertak¬ 
ings, a soft and plausible manner towards his inferiors, a 
harsh and grasping spirit towards the rich. In spite of his 
talents and his love of art and science, he disdained, 
throughout his dissolute career, no means of gratifying his 
lust—not even perjury, murder, and poisoning. His own 
name was Rodrigo Lenzuoli, but he assumed the ancient 
and famous name of his mother’s family, Borgia He had 
five children by Rosa Vanozza, a woman celebrated for hef 
beauty, two of whom equalled himself in criminality, Coesai 
and Lucretia. See Borgia. A. was made a cardinal by hi* 


ALEXANDER I. 

uncle Calixtus III., and on the death of Innocent VIII. 
was elevated to the papal chair, which he had previously 
secured by flagrant bribery. The long absence of the popes 
from Italy had weakened their authority and curtailed their 
revenues. To compensate for this loss, A. endeavored to 
break the power of the Italian princes, and to appropriate 
their possessions for the benefit of his own family. To gain 
this end, he employed the most execrable means. He died 
from having partaken, by accident, as is commonly believed, 
of poisoned wine intended for his guests. Under his pon¬ 
tificate the censorship of books was introduced, and Savo¬ 
narola, the earnest and eloquent Florentine priest, who had 
advocated his deposition, was condemned to be burned as a 
heretic. 

ALEXANDER I. (Paulovitch), Emperor and Autocrat 
of All the Russias: b. 1777, Dec. 23; d. 1825, Dec. 1 (reigned 
1801-25). His education, in which his father, Paul I., had 
no hand, was conducted by his grandmother, Catharine II., 
and Col. Laharpe and other tutors. He always showed 
great affection for his mother, Maria, daughter of Eugene, 
Duke of Wiirtemberg. With a humane and benevolent 
disposition, the ‘northern Telemaque’ w T as imbued by 
Laharpe with the enlightened principles of the age. Pro¬ 
fessor Kraft instructed him in experimental physics, and 
Pallas in botany. It was thought better not to devote his 
attention to poetry and music, as it would have required 
too much time to make any great acquirements. In 1793 he 
married Elizabeth, daughter of Karl Ludwig, crown prince 
of Baden, and, on the assassination of his father Paul 
(q.v.), 1801, March 24, succeeded him upon the throne. 
Although A. doubtless knew of the conspiracy to dethrone 
his father, there is no reason to believe that he contemplated 
the crime of murder. His accession was celebrated by 
Klopstock in an ode, To Humanity , indicative of the high 
expectations formed of him. The young ruler seemed 
deeply penetrated with a sense of his obligation to make 
his people happy and to promote their civilization and 
prosperity. He was the first to lay the foundation of the 
national culture and popular instruction on a regular plan, 
to introduce organization into the internal administration, 
unshackle the industry of the nation, raise the foreign com¬ 
merce of Russia, and awaken in the people a feeling of 
unity and a spirit of patriotism. 

Among the improvements effected by A., his exertions on 
behalf of the language, literature, and general culture of the 
Slavonic nations deserve special notice. Seven universities, 
at Dorpat, Kasan, Charkow, Moscow, Wilna, Warsaw, and 
St. Petersburg, were either instituted or remodelled by him; 
204 gymnasiums and normal schools, and above 2,0*00 dis¬ 
trict elementary schools, were erected; and fresh life and 
activity given to the higher scientific institutions in St. 
Petersburg and Moscow. He did more than any other 
sovereign in Europe for the spread of the Bible, by sup¬ 
porting the Bible Society (suppressed, however, in 1826); 
and in 1820 he had a bishop instituted for the evangelical 
Lutheran Church, and o general consistory in St. Petersburg 


ALEXANDER I. 

for the whole empire. Pie applied large sums to the print¬ 
ing of important works, such as Krusenstern’s Travels and 
Karamsin’s History of Russia, and prized and rewarded 
scientific merit both at home and abroad. Several scien¬ 
tific collections were purchased by him, and in 1818 he in¬ 
vited two orientalists, Demange and Charmoy, from Paris 
to St. Petersburg, to promote the study of the Arabic, Ar¬ 
menian, Persian, and Turkish languages. Young men of 
talent were sent to travel at his expense. By the ukase of 
1816 he prepared the way for the abolition of slavery in the 
Baltic provinces; he also declared that no more gifts of 
peasants would be made on the crown-lands. As early as 
1801 he had abolished the secret tribunal which is said to 
have extorted confession from political offenders by means 
of hunger and thirst. The practice of slitting the nose 
and branding, which had been customary in connection with 
knouting, was also done away with. Laws were enacted to 
prevent the abuses of power by governors. The privilege 
of the nobles, that their inherited property could not be 
confiscated as a punishment, was raised by him to a common 
right for all subjects; and much was done in composing a 
code of civil law. He promoted the manufactures and 
trade of the empire by amending the laws regarding debt 
and mortgages, and by the institution of an imperial bank, 
the construction of roads and canals, making Odessa a free 
port, and above all, by the ukase of 1818, permitting all 
peasants in the empire to carry on manufactures, which was 
before only allowed to nobles and to merchants of the first 
and second guilds. 

A.’s far-sighted policy with regard to the foreign com¬ 
merce of Russia is shown in various expeditions round the 
World sent out by him; in the embassy to Persia in 1817, 
in which was the Frenchman Gradanne, who was acquainted 
with all the plans of Napoleon respecting India and Persia; 
in the missions to Cochin China and to Khiva; in the 
treaties with the United States, Brazil, and Spain; in the 
naval and commercial treaties with the Porte; and in the 
settlement on the n. w. coast of America. 

A.’s foreign policy was characterized at the outset by a 
desire for peace; in 1801 he concluded a convention, putting 
an end to hostilities with England, and made peace with 
France and Spain. He next entered, with France, into ne¬ 
gotiations respecting the indemnification of the minor states 
in Germany and Italy, but soon discovered how little the 
French ruler intended any real compensation. As Bona¬ 
parte encroached more and more, took possession of Han¬ 
over, and annihilated Holland, A. broke with France, and 
joined the coalition of 1805. He was present at the battle 
of Austerlitz, when the allied armies of Austria and Russia 
were defeated, and retired with the remains of his forces 
into Russia, declining to enter into the treaty that followed. 
Next year he came forward as the ally of Prussia; but 
after the disastrous battles of Eylau and Fried!and, 1807, 
he was compelled to conclude the peace of Tilsit, in which 
he managed to prevent the restoration of the kingdom of 
Poland, and to mitigate the hard fate of the king of Prussia. 


ALEXANDER I. 

During the war with France, A. had also to carry or 
hostilities with Persia and with Turkey. 

Dazzled by the fortune and genius of Napoleon, A., in 
pursuance of the stipulations of Tilsit, acceded with his 
huge empire to the French continental system, thus altering 
entirely the foreign policy of Russia. He began by declar¬ 
ing war on England in 1808, and attacking her ally 
Sweden, wrested from that, country, by the peace of 
Friedrichshamm (1809), the province of Finland. On the 
other hand, the Russian fleet sent to the aid of the French 
at Lisbon, fell into the hands of the British. In the autumn 
of 1808, the two great potentates held a meeting at Erfurt, 
attended with great splendor, at w T hicli A. represented, as it 
w r ere, the empire of the east of Europe, while Napoleon as¬ 
sumed the dominion of the west. In the war of France 
against Austria in 1809, A. took only a lukewarm part, al¬ 
though at the peace of Vienna he received the circle of 
Tarnopol as his share of the spoil of Galicia. Against the 
Porte, which had not observed the armistice of Slobosta, he 
renewed the war, which was continued till the peace of 
Bucharest, in 1812. 

The alliance, however, of A. with the Corsican conqueror 
involved such an inconsistency, and was so contrary to the 
real interests of Russia, that a rupture and a complete 
change of the Russian policy were inevitable. The pressure 
of the continental system on the material resources of 
Russia, the despotic changes made by Napoleon, the 
augmentation of the duchy of Warsaw, the proffers of allh 
ance by England and Sweden, awoke in A. first discontent 
and aversion, and soon the thought of a decisive contest 
against the subjugator of Europe and the disturber of the 
peace of the world. When this gigantic struggle at last 
begau (1812), Russia brought into the field an army of 
nearly 900,000 men. During this war (see Russo-German 
War), A. repeatedly exposed himself to personal danger, 
m order to fire the courage and patriotism of his troops. 
His magnanimity towards France after the taking of Paris 
facilitated the negotiations for peace, and won for him great 
personal regard, amounting to a kind of enthusiasm. He 
was received with the same feeling in London, which he 
visited after the treaty of Paris, June, 1814. When he re¬ 
turned to St. Petersburg, his first care was to provide for the 
w r ounded and for the families of the soldiers that had fallen. 
The senate wished to give him the title of ‘Blessed,’ which, 
from Christian humility, he declined. After a short residence 
in his own capital, he went to the Congress of Vienna, where 
he laid claim to Poland as essential to the interests of Russia, 
but promised to confer on it a constitution, and, on the 
whole, appeared to act for the good of humanity and the 
freedom of nations. 

In the return of Napoleon, A. saw the confusion of 
Europe begun again, and therefore urged the fulfilment of 
the treaty of Chaumont and the outlawry of the common 
enemy. His appearance in the French capital after the 
battle of Waterloo raised less enthusiasm than previously; 
yet on this occasion, too, France owed much to his 


ALEXANDER I. 

generosity. It was about this time that the tendency ot 
A. to pietism, fostered by intercourse with Madame 
Krudener (q.v.), was most strongly manifested, and exer¬ 
cised decided influence on bis political views. It was under 
the influence of this religiosity that he founded the Holy 
Alliance (q.v.), the ostensible object of which was to bring 
the principles of Christianity into recognition in the political 
arrangements of the world,,but which became, in fact, a 
mere handle for political reaction. 

In the end of Oct. 1815, A. returned to his own domin¬ 
ions. His policy, and the march of events, had completely 
changed the internal condition of Russia and her foreign 
relations. Her weight in European politics had become 
powerful; the limits of the empire had extended in all 
directions; and notwithstanding the war, the earlier legisla¬ 
tive reforms had begun to act favorably on the industry and 
well-being of the nation. After 1805, A. had remodelled 
the army after the fashion of the western powers, and raised 
it to a condition that menaced Europe. When peace was 
attained, he not only sought to heal the wounds inflicted by 
the war, but to carry forward the work of reform formerly 
begun. Numerous administrative abuses were done away 
with, and the condition of the peasants was more and more 
alleviated. In 1818, the Jesuits, who were causing a great 
deal of disturbance, were compelled to leave St. Petersburg 
and Moscow, and in 1820 were sent out of the empire. On 
the other hand, proselytism was rigidly prohibited, and the 
Duchoborzes, a sect of the Russo-Greek Church, were 
allowed the free exercise of worship. 

But however good A.’s intentions might be, his internal 
policy met with obstructions, partly arising from his per¬ 
sonal views and character, partly from the nature of his 
position. Affected with a morbid religiosity, worn out and 
shaken perhaps in body and mind by the vast events in the 
vortex of which he had moved for the last ten }^ears, the 
emperor became possessed by the dread of another 'European 
revolution; and the political struggles against reaction in 
Germany, and the outbreaks against despotism in Italy and 
Spain, appeared to him as the beginning of a new and ter¬ 
rible catastrophe. The attention now bestowed by A. on 
foreign relations threw internal improvements into the 
background; and the liberal reformer and pupil of Laharpe 
found himself involved in hopeless inconsistency, when he 
fully concurred in the policy of the Austrian cabinet, and, at 
the congresses of Troppau, Laybach, and Verona, helped to 
crush, together with the insurrections, the just requirements 
and political progress of the nations. 

This complete reversal of policy could not fail of great 
results, especially as Russia peculiarly abounded in ferment¬ 
able materials. Poland saw itself completely disappointed 
in its national expectations, and required the actual carrying 
out of the promised constitution. The contact into which 
the Russians had come during the w T ar with the civilization 
and institutions of the western nations had excited in differ 
ent classes of Russian society wishes and views by no mean^ 
compatible with their condition at home. On the other 


ALEXANDER I. 

Jiand, there liad long existed in the most influential circles 
an Old-Russian party, who either found their interests hurt 
by the enlightened measures of the emperor, or saw in them 
tlie downfall of the national church, and of the nation itself. 
Resides, the army was kept up on the war-footing, and in 
1821 numbered about 830,000 regular troops; and this 
pressed severely on the people, and produced discontent, 
along with exhaustion and disorder of the finances. To 
meet this evil, A. began the planting of military colonies, 
which, however, met with insuperable obstacles, and did 
not attain the end in view. But to exorcise the spirit of 
political discontent and the phantom of a Russian revolution, 
the emperor adopted the same measures generally applied 
over the rest of Europe, with similar views. The censor¬ 
ship of the press, and a rigid guard over the importation of 
books, were again introduced; restrictions were put on 
science, literature, and education; inquiries instituted into 
all democratic movements; masonic lodges and missionary 
societies suppressed; and gradually all plans for reform and 
progress given up. Over all the provinces of the empire a 
net of police, open and secret, was spread, which interfered 
with the ordinary intercourse of society. 

The experience that, in spite of this system of repression, 
public opinion could not be stifled, and that parties and 
individuals only expressed themselves more bitterly; the 
variance with his former self in which A. found himself 
involved; and the difficulties of governing the huge empire, 
which were now becoming more manifest and startling—all 
this tormented and imbittercd his morbid mind, and led him 
to complain of ingratitude and of a want of recognition of 
his good intentions. Sometimes he sought to forget his 
position in the dissipations of a splendid court, in which 
luxury and piety were strangely blended; at other times he 
plunged into the darkness of religious mysticism. The 
progress of the revolt in Greece brought the policy of the 
emperor into complete opposition to public opinion and the 
most sacred sympathies of the nation. The Russian people, 
restrained from all participation in political movements, 
were profoundly affected by the religious element of the 
Greek struggle; but the emperor condemned the rising as 
insurrection, disclaimed the favor he had formerly shown 
to the Greek cause, and confined himself to exhortations to 
the Porte to act with humanity. The death of his only and 
much-loved natural daughter, the terrible inundation suffered 
by St. Petersburg in 1824, in which he exposed himself to 
personal danger, and the alarm caused by a Russo-Polish 
conspiracy against all the members of the House of 
Romanow, contributed not a little to break the heart of the 
emperor, and completely destroy the composure of his 
mind. Sick in body, weary of life, and possessed by 
thoughts of death, he began, 1825, Sep., a journey to the 
Crimea, with a view to benefit the health of the empress, 
who was ailing, and that he himself might enjoy retirement. 
Leaving the empress at Taganrog, he continued his journey, 
but was suddenly seized by a fever peculiar to the country, 
and obliged to return to Taganrog Here, in spite of all 

Vol. 1 — 15 


ALEXANDER tl. 

care, he became worse, and died. The rumor that he bad 
been poisoned is altogether groundless. He is said to have 
learned, shortly before his death, the details of the conspiracy 
which liis brother and successor, Nicholas I. (q.v.), had to 
begin his reign by putting down.—See Choiseul-Gouffier’s 
Memoires Historiques sur VEmpereur Alexandre et la Cour 
de Russie (Par. 1829); and Alexander I.: His Life and Times , 
by C. Joyneville (Lond. 1875). 

ALEXANDER II., Emperor of Russia: b. 1818, Apr. 
29; d. 1881, March 13; (reigned 1855-81). He was carefully 
educated by his father, Nicholas, who professed himself 
delighted with the manifestations of ‘ true Russian spirit ’ in 
his son. At sixteen, he was declared of age, made com¬ 
mandant of the Lancers of the Guard, Hetman of the 
Cossacks, first aide de-camp of the emperor, and subjected 
daily to a life of maneuvering, reviewing, and military 
parade, which at last seriously injured his health. He then 
travelled through Germany to recruit his energies, and 
while there, concluded a marriage with the princess Maria, 
daughter of the Grand Duke of Darmstadt, 1841. He then 
vigorously applied himself to his duties as chancellor of the 
Univ. of Finland. By his dexterous and subtle manners, 
he insinuated himself into the affections of the Finns, and 
weakened their love of independence. On his accession to 
the throne, 1855, March 2, he found himself in a very 
critical position. He had two parties to conciliate—the old. 
Muscovite party, zealous for war, and the more peaceable 
portion of the nation, with w T hom he sympathized. Through¬ 
out his reign, he had to hold the balance between conserva¬ 
tives and extreme radicals, but succeeded in guiding and 
promoting reform. The grand achievement of his reign, 
which was in great measure his own deed, was the emancipa¬ 
tion of the serfs—23,000,000 souls, 1861. Reforms of the 
tribunals, of civil and criminal procedure, and of municipal 
institutions followed. In 1865, A. established elective 
representative assemblies in the provinces. He resisted 
strenuously all foreign interference with Polish affairs in 
1863. There was war in Central Asia repeatedly, and the 
Russian dominions were much extended in that region. 
The czar shared the national sympathy with the Slavonic 
races under Turkish rule, and took the field with the army 
during the momentous war between Russia and Turkey in 
1877-8. Latterly, he showed some tendency to reactionary 
measures, as in the reorganization of public education. He 
had been shot at by a Pole in Paris in 1867; but of late years,' 
revolutionary discontent has been much on the increase in 
Russia, and persistent attempts were made to assassinate the 
czar, especially by members of the Nihilist Society. See 
Nihilism. In 1879, he was shot at in his capital; in the 
same year, the train in which he was supposed to be travel¬ 
ling was blown up by an elaborate mine beneath the r ilway; 
in 1880, a violent and destructive explosion was effected by 
dynamite below the imperial apartments in the palace at St. 
Petersburg; and 1881, March 13, he w r as so severely injured 
by a bomb thrown at him as he was passing in his carriage 
through the street near his palace, that he died a few hours 


ALEXANDER III—ALEXANDER SEVERUS. 

Afterward. The empress had d. in 1880.—A. was succeeded 
by his son. 

ALEXANDER III. (Alexandrovitch), Emperor and 
Autocrat of All the Russias: b. 1845; proclaimed emperor, 
1881, March 14 (N.S.), the day after the assassination of his 
father, Alexander II. His coronation was postponed till 
1883, and was then celebrated with extraordinary magnifi¬ 
cence. A. married, 1866, Nov. 9, Marie Sophie Frederica 
Dagmar, daughter of Christian IX., king of Denmark. 
Without signalizing his reign by large domestic reforms, 
A. conducted the government on the plan of his father, and 
suffered as did his father from the threats of Nihilists, 
though, in virtue of precautions, not to the point of assassina¬ 
tion. It is in foreign affairs that the reign of Alexander III. 
was most significant, particularly in its connection with Bul¬ 
garia (q. v.). Even more important has been the march of the 
power of Russia eastward into Central Asia. The building 
of a complete line of railway from the Caspian Sea to Merv 
has been prosecuted, and the Russians have pushed their 
outposts clear to the Afghan frontier. In fact the question 
of this frontier has been in dispute between the Russian and 
British governments since 1882, when the latter declared its 
understanding of the line to be from the Oxus as far as 
Klioja-Salee to the w., and from that point s.w. to Sarakhs, 
on the Persian frontier. In 1885, however, this line not 
having been either accepted or declined on the part of 
Russia, a joint commission was appointed by the two govern¬ 
ments, wdiich endeavored to rectify the disputed frontier. 
Slight conflicts occurred between the Russians and Afghans 
while this commission was supposedly engaged in its work, 
and no definite conclusion was reached, though an agreement 
to adhere to the military status quo was generally adhered 
to. In 1884, Sep , a meeting occurred at Skiernievice, in 
Russian Poland, between the emperors of Austria, Germany, 
and Russia,when, as has been believed, the old Triple Alliance 
was renewed. In 1894 the czar, in failing health, weut to 
his palace in the Crimea. There, on Nov. 1, he died, leav¬ 
ing the record of a blameless private life and of a ruler 
who sought peace. 

ALEXANDER I., King of Servia: 1876-1903, June 11; 
son of Milan I., king of Servia, and Nathalie, daughter 
of Col Kescliko of the Russian army. King Milan ab¬ 
dicated the throne, 1889, and proclaimed his son king 
-under a regency; in 1893 Alexander was crowned. In 
1900 he married Draga Maschin, lady-in-waiting to his 
mother. He became unpopular by revoking the constitu¬ 
tion of 1888 granting freedom of the press, and by annul¬ 
ling in 1903 the acts of the general assembly under a 
constitution of his own making; the proposal to make the 
queen’s brother heir to the throne further exasperated the 
people; the army conspired to put Prince Peter ( q.v .) 
Karageorgevitch, of the Obrenovitcli dynasty,, on the 
throne. The king, queen, and several palace officials were 
assassinated and Peter was proclaimed king, bee bERViA. 

ALEXANDER SEVERUS : Roman emperor (reigned 
222-235); cousin, adopted son, and successor of Heliogaba- 


ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 
lus. The excellent education which he received from his 
mother, Julia Mammaea, rendered him one of the best 
princes in an age when virtue was reckoned more danger¬ 
ous than vice in a monarch. His first expedition, against 
Artaxerxes, king of Persia, was terminated by a speedy 
overthrow of the enemy. But during one which he un¬ 
dertook against the Germans on the Rhine, to defend 
the frontiers of the empire from their incursions, an in¬ 
surrection broke out among his troops, headed by Maxi- 
min, in which A. was murdered, with his mother, not 
far from Mentz. 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT, al-egz-an'der: b.c. 356- 
323; b. Pella; son of Philip of Macedon and Olympias, 
daughter of Neoptolemus of Epirus. His great natural en¬ 
dowments were early manifested. Philip’s triumphs sad¬ 
dened him. On one occasion he exclaimed, ‘My father 
will leave nothing for me to do.’ His education was 
committed first to Leonidas, a maternal relation, then to 
Lysimachus, and afterwards to Aristotle. The philosopher 
instructed him in every branch of human learning, espe¬ 
cially in what relates to the art of government, while he 
disciplined and invigorated his body by gymnastic exer¬ 
cises. As Macedon was surrounded by dangerous neigh¬ 
bors, Aristotle was anxious to inspire his pupil with mili¬ 
tary ardor, and with this view recommended him to 
study the Iliad, a revision of which he himself undertook 
for his use. A. was 16 years of age when his father 
marched against Byzantium, and left the government in 
his hands during his absence. Two years afterwards he 
displayed singular courage at the battle of Chaeronea, b.c. 
338, where he overthrew the Sacred Band of the Thebans. 
Father and son quarrelled when the former repudiated 
Olympias. A. took part with his mother, and fled, to es¬ 
cape his father’s vengeance, to Epirus; but receiving his 
pardon soon afterwards, he returned, and accompanied 
him in an expedition against the Triballi, when he saved 
his life on the field. Philiji being appointed generalis¬ 
simo of the Greeks, was preparing for a war with Persia, 
when he was assassinated (b.c. 336), and A., not yet 20 
years of age, ascended the throne. After punishing his 
father’s murderers, he went into the Peloponnesus, and in 
a general assembly of the Greeks he caused himself to be 
appointed to the command of the forces against Persia. 
On his return to Macedon he found the Illyrians and Tri¬ 
balli up in arms, whereupon he marched against them, 
forced his way through Thrace, and was everywhere 
victorious. But now the Thebans had been induced, by a 
report of his death, to take up arms, and the Athenians, 
stimulated by the eloquence of Demosthenes, were pre¬ 
paring to join them. To prevent this coalition, A. rap¬ 
idly marched against Thebes, which, refusing to surren¬ 
der, was conquered, and razed to the ground; 6.000 of 
the inhabitants were slain, and 30,000 sold into slavery; 
house and family of the poet Pindar alone being spared. 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

356-323 B - c. 


LINE ENGRAVING FROM AN ANTIQUE BUST 
Rome. Joseph Longhi del. Anderloni sculp. 






















































































ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

A., having appointed Antipater his deputy in Europe, 
now prepared to prosecute the war with Persia. He crossed 
the Hellespont b.c. 334, in the spring, with 30,000 foot and 
5,000 horse; attacked the Persian satraps at the river 
Granlcus, and gained a complete victory, overthrowing the 
son in-law of Darius with his own lance. The only real 
resistance the Macedonians met with was from the Greek 
auxiliaries of the Persians, who were marshalled in 
phalanxes, under the command of Memnon of Rhodes; but 
finally they all were slain, except 2,000 taken prisoners. A. 
celebrated the obsequies of his fallen warriors in a splendid 
manner, and bestowed many privileges on their relations. 
Most of the cities of Asia Minor, Sardis not excepted, 
opened their gates to the conqueror, nor did Miletus or 
Halicarnassus offer longer resistance. A. restored democ¬ 
racy in all the Greek cities, cut the Gordian-knot (q.v.) 
with his sword as he passed through Gordium, and pro¬ 
ceeded to the conquest of Lycia, Ionia, Caria, Pamphylia, 
and Cappadocia. His career was checked for a time by a 
dangerous illness, brought on by bathing in the Cydnus. 
On this occasion he showed his magnanimity in the follow¬ 
ing circumstances. He received a letter from Parmenio, in¬ 
sinuating that Philip, his physician, intended to poison 
him, having been bribed by Darius. A. handed the letter 
to Philip, and at the same time swallowed the draught 
which had been prepared for him. As soon as he recovered, 
he advanced towards the defiles of Cilicia, in which Darius 
had stationed himself, with an army of above 500,000 men. 
He arrived b.c. 333, Nov., in the neighborhood of Issus, 
where, between the mountains and the sea, a battle was 
fought. The disorderly masses of the Persiaus were thrown 
into confusion by the charge of the Macedonians, and fled 
in terror. On tiie left wing, 30,000 Greeks, in the pay of 
the Persian king, held out longer, but they too were at 
,ength compelled to yield. All the treasures as well as the 
family of Darius fell into the hands of the conqueror, who 
treated the latter with the greatest magnanimity. The 
king, who fled towards the Euphrates, twice made overtures 
of peace, which A. haughtily refused, saying that Darius 
must regard him as the ruler of Asia, and the lord of all his 
people. One of the conditions of the second overture was 
that A. should possess all Asia to the Euphrates On hear¬ 
ing which his general, Parmenio, exclaimed: ‘I would do 
it, if I were A.’ ‘So would 1/ replied the monarch, ‘if 1 
were Parmenio.’ The victory at Issus opened the whole 
country to the Macedonians A. now turned towards Syria 
and Phoenicia, to cut off Darius’s escape by sea. He occu¬ 
pied Damascus, where he found princely treasures, and 
secured to himself ail the cities along the shores of the 
Mediterranean. Tyre, confident in its strong position, 
resisted him, but was conquered and destroyed, after seven 
months of incredible exertion, b.c. 332. Thence he marched 
victoriously through Palestine, where all the cities submitted 
to him except Gaza, which shared the fate of Tyre. Egypt, 
weary of the Persian yoke, welcomed him as a deliverer; 
and, to strengthen his dominion here, he restored all the old 


ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

customs and religious institutions of the country, and 
founded Alexandria in the beginning of b c. 331, which be¬ 
came one of the first cities of ancient times. Thence he 
marched through the Libyan Desert, in order to consult the 
oracle of Jupiter Ammon, whose priest saluted him as a son 
of Jove; and at the return of spring went against Darius, 
who had assembled an army in Assyria. A battle ensued, 
b.c. 331, Oct., on the plains of Arbela, or rather Guagamela, 
for Arbela, the point to which A. pursued the Persians, is 
50 m. from the scene of the fight. See Arbela. Notwith¬ 
standing the immense superiority of his adversary, who had 
collected a new army of 500,000 men, A. was not for a 
moment doubtful of victory. Heading the cavalry himself, 
he rushed on the Persians, and put them to flight; but as 
soon as he had entirely dispersed them, he hastened to the 
assistance of his left wing, which, in the meanwhile, had 
been sorely pressed. He was anxious to make a prisoner of 
the Persian king himself, but the latter escaped by flight on 
horseback, leaving his baggage and all his treasures a prey 
to the conqueror. Babylon and Susa, the storehouses of the 
treasures of the East, opened their gates to the conqueror, 
who next marched towards Persepolis, the capital of Persia, 
which he entered in triumph. 

The marvellous successes of A. now began to dazzle his 
own judgment, and to inflame his passions. He became a 
slave to debauchery, and his caprices were as cruel as they 
were ungrateful. In a fit of drunkenness, and at the 
instigation of Thais, an Athenian courtesan, he set fire to 
Persepolis, the wonder of the world, and reduced it to a 
heap of ashes; then, ashamed of the deed, he set out with 
his cavalry to pursue Darius. Learning that Bessus, the 
satrap of Bactriana, held the king a prisoner, he hastened 
his march, in the hope of saving him, but he found him 
mortally wounded on the frontiers of that country, b.c. 330. 
He mourned oyer his unfortunate enemy, and caused his 
body to be buried with all the usual rites observed in Persia; 
but he pursued Bessus, who himself aspired to the throne, 
through Hyrcania, Iran, Bactriana, over the Oxus to 
Sogdiana (now Bokhara), whose satrap, Spitamenes, sur¬ 
rendered Bessus to him. Having discovered a conspiracy 
in wdiich the son of Parmenio was implicated, he put both 
father and son to death, though Parmenio himself was inno¬ 
cent. of all knowledge of the affair. This cruel injustice 
excited universal displeasure. In 329 he penetrated' to the 
furthest known limits of Northern Asia, and overthrew the 
Scythians on the banks of the Jaxartes. In the following 
year he subdued the whole of Sogdiana, and married 
Roxana, whom he had taken prisoner. She was the 
daughter of Oxyartes, one of the enemy’s captains, and was 
said to be the most beautiful of the virgins of Asia. A new 
conspiracy broke out against A., at the head of wdiich w 7 ere 
Hermolaus and Callisthenes, a pupil of Aristotle, wdiich 
occasioned the death of many of the culprits; while Cal¬ 
listhenes himself w 7 as mutilated, and carried about in an 
iron cage through the army, till some one put an end to his 
sufferings by poison. 


ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

In the year b.c. 327, A. proceeded to the conquest of 
India, then known only by name. He crossed the Indus 
near the modern Attock, and pursued his way under the 
guidance of a native prince to the Hydaspes (modern Jelum), 
where he was opposed by Porus, another native prince, 
whom he overthrew after a blood)- contest. Thence he 
marched as lord of the country through that part of India 
which is now called the Punjab, establishing Greek colonies. 
He then wished to advance to the Ganges, but the general 
murmuring of his troops obliged him, at the Hyphasis 
(modern Sutledge), to commence his retreat, which was 
accomplished under circumstances of extreme danger. 
■When he had again reached the Hydaspes, he built a fleet, 
and sent one division of his army in it down the river, 
w r hile the other followed along the banks, fighting its way 
through successive Indian armies. At length, having 
reached the ocean, he ordered Nearchus, the commander of 
the fleet, to sail thence to the Persian Gulf, while he himself 
struck inland with one division of his army, in order to 
return home through Gedrosia (now Beloochistan). Here 
he had to traverse immense deserts, where a great part of 
his army perished for want of food and water, and were 
buried in the sand. The other division marched through 
Arachosia and Drangiana (Afghanistan) under Craterus, but 
they united again in Carmania. Of all the troops, however, 
which had set out with A., only about a fourth part arrived 
with him in Persia, b.c. 325. At Susa he married Stateira, 
the daughter of Darius, and he bestowed presents on those 
Macedonians (about 10,000 in number) who had married 
Persian women, his design being to unite the two nations as 
closely as possible. He also distributed liberal rewards 
among his soldiers. At Opis on the Tigris he declared it to 
be his intention to send home the invalids richly rewarded; 
and this he accomplished, but not till he had with some 
difficulty repressed the mutiny which broke out on the 
occasion. Soon afterwards he was deprived, by death, of 
his favorite Hephaestion, on which occasion his grief was 
unbounded, and he interred the deceased with kingly 
honors. As he was returning from Ecbatana to Babylon, it 
is said that the Magi foretold that the latter city would 
prove fatal to him; but A. despised their warnings, and, in 
spite of the advice of his friends, marched to Babylon, 
before reaching which, however, he was met by ambassadors 
from all parts of the world—Libya, Italy, Carthage, Greece, 
the Scythians, Celts, and Iberians. Here he again occupied 
himself with gigantic plans for the future, both of conquest 
and civilization, when he was suddenly taken ill after a 
banquet, and died eleven days afterwards, b.c. 323, May 
(or June) 11 (or 13), in the 32d year of his age, having 
reigned tw r clve years and eight months. His body was 
deposited in a golden coffin at Alexandria, by Ptolema3us, 
and divine honors were paid to him, not only in Egypt, but 
in other countries. A. had appointed no heir to his immense 
dominions; but to the question of his friends: ‘ Who should 
inherit them? 5 he replied: ‘ The most worthy.’ After many 
disturbances, his generals recognized as kings the weak- 


ALEXANDER. 

minded Aridseus—a son of Philip by Philinna, the dancer— 
and A.’s posthumous son by Roxana, while they shared the 
provinces among themselves, under the name of satraps. 
Perdiccas, to whom A. had, on his death-bed, delivered his 
ring, became guardian of the kings during their minority. 

It is but right to observe that A. did something besides 
shedding blood during his life. He diffused the language 
and civilization of Greece wherever victory led him, and 
planted Greek kingdoms in Asia, which continued to exist 
for some centuries. At the very time of his death he was 
engaged in devising plans for the drainage of the unhealthy 
marshes around Babylon, and a better irrigation of the 
extensive plains. It is even supposed that the fever which 
he caught there, rather than his famous drinking-bout, was 
the real cause of his death. To A., the ancient world owed 
a vast increase of its knowledge in geography, natural 
history, etc. He taught Europeans the road to India, and 
gave them the first glimpses of that magnificence and 
splendor which has dazzled and captivated their imagination 
for two thousand years. 

ALEXANDER, Archtbald, d.d., ll,d.; 1772, Apr. 
17—1851, Pet. 22; b. Rockbridge co., Ya.; Presb. theolo 
gian. He was educated at Lexington Acad., which after¬ 
ward grew into Washington and Lee Univ. Religious 
impressions during the ‘ Great Revival ’ led him to study 
for the Christian ministry. He was licensed to preach 
1791, and was for some years itinerant preacher in Char¬ 
lotte and Prince Edward counties. In 1796 he was chosen 
pres, of Hampden Sydney Coll., Ya., and, with an inter¬ 
mission, served in that office until 1807, when he became 
pastor of the Pine St. Presb. Church, Philadelphia. When 
Princeton Tlieol. Seminary was organized 1812, he was 
elected to the chair of pastoral and polemic theology, and 
spent the rest of his life in this service, becoming distin¬ 
guished both as dialectician and as preacher. He died 
in Princeton. For 21 years, beginning 1829, he contributed 
constantly to the Princeton Review. His Outlines of the 
Evidences of Christianity (1823) was long used as a text¬ 
book in colleges, and was translated into foreign lan¬ 
guages. Other works are— Treatise on the Canon of the 
Old and New Testaments (1826); Lives of the Patriarchs 
(1835); Essays on Religious Experience (1840); History of 
African Colonization (1846); History of the Log College 
(1846); History of the Israelitish Nation (1852). 'The fol¬ 
lowing were among posthumous publications. Outlines of 
Moral Science; Patriarchal Theology; and Church Polity 
and Discipline. 

ALEXANDER, James Waddell, d.d.: 1804, Mar. 13 
—1859, July 31; b. Louisa co., Va.; son of Archibald A.: 
pastor and educator. He prepared for college in Phila¬ 
delphia; graduated at Princeton 1820; and from the tlieol. 
seminary. After serving as tutor, he was pastor in Char¬ 
lotte co., Ya., 1825-28; and of the First Presb. Church in 
Trenton, N. J., 1828-30, after which he edited The Presby¬ 
terian in Philadelphia until 1833, when he was chosen 


ALEXANDER. 

prof, of rhetoric and belles lettres at Princeton College. 
For eleven years from 1833 lie was pastor of the Duane 
St. Presb. Church, New York city; for 7 years from 1844 
prof, of eccles. hist, and church govt, in Princeton Theol. 
Seminary; and from 1851 until his death he ministered to 
the Fifth Ave. Presb. Church in New York. Among his 
published works are Consolation; Thoughts on Family 
Worship; The American Mechanic and Workingman; Dis¬ 
courses on Christian Faith and Practice; Sacramental Dis¬ 
courses; and more than 30 vols. for the Amer. Sunday 
School Union. He was a frequent contributor to theol. 
reviews. 

ALEXANDER, Joseph Addison, d.d.: 1809, Apr. 4— 
1860, Jan. 28; b. Philadelphia; son of Archibald A.: 
Presb. clergyman, linguist, and Biblical commentator. 
He graduated at Princeton 1826, the first scholar in his 
class, and founded Edgehill Seminary, in company with R. 
B. Patton. After serving as adjunct prof, of languages in 
the college 1830-33, and passing several years in study 
abroad, he became prof, of oriental languages in Princeton 
Theol. Seminary 1838, and continued in the service of the 
seminary until liis death. He became a master of the Se¬ 
mitic and kindred languages, as well as those of modern 
Europe; and thus laid a foundation for his exegetical 
works, which still retain an honored place in pastoral li¬ 
braries. Among these are The Earlier Prophecies of Isaiah 
(1846); The Later Prophecies of Isaiah (1851); The Psalms 
Translated and Explained (1850); Commentary on the Acts 
(1857); Commentary on Mark (1858); Essays on the Primi¬ 
tive Church (1851). His posthumously published works in¬ 
clude Commentary on Matthew; Notes on N. Test. Literature 
(co-author with Dr. Charles Hodge); and a volume of ser¬ 
mons. He contributed much to the Princeton Review, and 
was an effective preacher. His biography appeared 1869. 

ALEXANDER, Mrs.: pen-name of Annie F. Hec¬ 
tor (q.v.). 

ALEXANDER of Hales (in Latin, Alexander Halensis): 
d. 1245: a famous theologian, known as the ‘Irrefragable 
Doctor.’ He was originally an ecclesiastic in Gloucester¬ 
shire, but had attended the schools of Paris, got the degree of 
doctor, and had become a noted professor of philosophy and 
theology there, "when (1222) he suddenly entered the order 
of the Minorite Friars. From that time, he lived the life of 
a studious recluse. His chief and only authentic work is 
the Summa Universa Theologies (best ed., Venice, 1576, 4 
vols.), written at the command of Pope Innocent IV., and 
enjoined by his successor, Alexander IV., to be used by all 
professors and students of theology in Christendom. A. 
gave the doctrines of the church a more rigorously syllogistic 
form than they had previously had, and may thus be con¬ 
sidered as the author of the scholastic theology. Instead of 
appealing to tradition and authority, he deduces with great 
subtlety, from assumed premises, the most startling doctrines 
of Catholicism, especially in favor of the prerogatives of the 


ALEXANDER—ALEXANDERS. 

papacy. He refuses any toleration to heretics, and would 
have them deprived of all property; he absolves subjects 
from all obligation to obey a prince that is not obedient to 
the church. The spiritual power which blesses and conse¬ 
crates kings, is by that very fact, above al 1 temporal powers, 
to say nothing of the essential dignity of its nature. It has 
the right to appoint and to judge these powers, while the 
pope has no judge but God. In ecclesiastical affairs, also, 
he maintains the pope’s authority to be absolute, superior 
to all laws and customs. Some of the points on which A. 
exercises his dialectics seem ludicrous. 

ALEXANDER. William (known as Loud Stirling): 
American revolutionary general: see Stirling, Earl of. 

ALEXANDER NEVSKI, nev'ske: 1219-68; b. Vlad¬ 
imir: Russian hero and saint, son of the Grand Duke 
Jaroslav, of Novgorod. In order to defend the empire, 
wmcb was attacked on all sides, but especially by the 
Mongols, his father quitted Novgorod, leaving the cares of 
the government to his sons Fedor and Alexander, the former 
of whom died soon afterwards. The latter vigorously 
resisted the enemy; yet Russia was forced to submit to the 
Mongol dominion, 1238. A. now fought to defend the w. 
frontier agaiLst the Danes, the Swedes, and the Teutonic 
knights. He received the surname of Newski, on account 
of the splendid victory over the Swedes, which he achieved 
in 1240, on the Newa (Neva), in the province where St. 
Petersburg now stands. In 1243, on the ice of Lake Peipus, 
he defeated the Livonian Knights of the Sword, who had 
been stimulated by the pope to attack the Russian heretics. 
At the death of his father in 1247 he became Grand Duke 
of Vladimir. Pope Innocent IV. now made a diplomatic 
attempt to reunite the Greek and Roman churches, since his 
military scheme had failed, and with this view sent an 
embassy to A., which, however, proved as ineffectual as the 
former. To the end of his life, how r ever, he remained a 
vassal of the Tatars or Mongols. Thrice had he to renew 
his oath of fealty to the Asiatic barbarians, making in each 
instance a journey to their camp. He d. at Kassimcow, on 
his return from the last of these journeys; and the gratitude 
of the nation perpetuated his memory in popular songs, and 
even canonized him. Peter the Great honored his memory 
by building a magnificent convent on the spot w r here A. had 
fought his great battle, and by founding the knightly order 
of A. N. 

ALEXANDERS, al-egz-tin'derz (Smyrnium olusatrum ); 
biennial plant of nat. order Umbelliferce (q.v.), found in 
waste ground, near ruins, etc., in Britain and s. Europe. 
The plant has an aromatic taste, strong and pungent, but 
becomes rather pleasant when blanched, and w r as formerly 
cultivated and used in the same way as celery, though at 
present little regarded. The fruit is carminative.— S. per- 
foliatum, native of Italy, is used in the same way. The 
genus Smyrnium contains only a few known species, chiefly 
natives of the temperate parts of the n. hemisphere.— 
Another umbelliferous genus, Zizia, is popularly called 
Golden A. in N. America. 


ALEXANDRA—ALEXANDRA 

ALEXANDRA, al-egz-an'dra, Caroline Marie Char¬ 
lotte Louise Julie, queen of Great Britain and Ireland 
and empress of India; b. 1844, Dec. 1, daughter of Chris¬ 
tian IX., King of Denmark. She was married 1868, Mar. 
10, to Albert Edward (q. v.), Prince of Wales, eldest son 
of Queen Victoria, and heir to the British throne, who 
succeeded as Edward VII., 1901, Jan. 22. 
ALEXANDRETTA: see Iscanderun. 

ALEXANDRI (or Aleksandri), Vasii.io (Basil) b. 
Jassy, Moldavia, 1821; Rouman poet and litterateur. His 
family was of Venetian origin. He studied at the Univ. 
of Paris, taking the degree Bachelor of Letters, and re¬ 
turned to Jassy 1839, where he became the associate of a 
band of young men educated in France, who, besides 
being ambitious of literary distinction, were zealous for po¬ 
litical equality and for Rouman nationality and independ¬ 
ence. In 1842 he began to write the songs and ballads on 
which his chief claim to literary reputation rests. In 1844 
he suddenly attained immense local popularity as a play- 
writer. A. was engaged in the revolutionary movement at 
Jassy 1848, and on its failure betook himself to Paris. 
When the Russian war had given Moldavia and Wallachia 
their virtual emancipation from the yoke of Turkey, the 
union of the two principalities was carried by the resolu¬ 
tion of their inhabitants, with the support of France; and 
A. inspired the resolution of his countrymen, especially by 
a song which he wrote at the critical moment in 1856, The 
Hour of Union, a stirring appeal to the feeling of Rouman 
nationality. A. was prominent in all the political transactions 
which culminated in this result. Two years earlier he had 
emancipated the serfs on his estate; and the government 
found itself compelled to decree general enfranchisement. 
He was foreign minister under Ghika 1859-60. 

A.’s Popular Ballads of Roumania appeared at Jassy 
1852-3. One of the parts, translated into French by him¬ 
self, was pub. at Paris as Ballades et Ghantes Populaires de 
la Roumanie. His complete w T orks were pub. 1873-76, in 
7 vols.; his theatrical pieces, 1875, in 4vols. D. 1890. 


ALEXANDRIA. 

ALEXANDRIA: city, cap. of Alexandria co., Ya., and 
a port of entry; beautifully situated on the right bank of the 
Potomac river, seven m. below Washington. Here the 
river is a mile in width, forming a fine harbor for the largest 
vessels, and there is a considerable and growing foreign 
trade. The city is well laid out, with well paved streets, a 
horse railway, and a railroad connection with Washington; 
the Chesapeake and Ohio canal also begins here, and con¬ 
nection is made with the Virginia Central r.r. It is lighted 
by gas, supplied with water, has a steam fire department, 
and a handsome public market, a court-house, 15 churches, 
4 banks and 29 school rooms. The industries of A in¬ 
clude machine shops, flouring mills, plaster mills, and an 
extensive cotton factory. There are several important 
private institutions of learning, and a large library. A con¬ 
siderable coal trade reaches A. from the Cumberland region, 
and large shipments of coal are made to eastern parts. The 
number of vessels registered in 1880 was 98, having a ton¬ 
nage of 4,859. The number of vessels entering the port for 
1886 was, foreign 11, coastwise 152; the number clearing— 
foreign 14. coastwise 139; the value of exports was $87,930. 
Pop. (1890) 14,339; (1900) 14,528. 

ALEXANDRIA, dl-egz-dn'clri-d: town of Dumbarton¬ 
shire, Scotland, on the w. bank of the Leven, opposite to 
Bonhill, three m. from Dumbarton, on the Glasgow, Dum¬ 
barton, and Yale of Leven railway. It is a town of recent 
growth, of neat and pleasing appearance, in the midst of 
beautiful scenery. It has extensive cotton-printing works, 
and other public works. Pop. over 7,000. 

ALEXANDRIA, dl-egz-dn'dri-d (called Skanderi'eh by 
the Turks and Arabs): founded by Alexander the Great in 
the autumn b.c. 332. It was situated originally on the low 
tract of land which separates the lake Mareotis from the 
Mediterranean, about 14 m. w. of the Canopic mouth of the 
Nile. Before the city, in the Mediterranean, lay the island 
of Pharos, upon the n.e. point of which stood the famous 
light-house (Pharos) and which was connected with the 
mainland by a mole, called, from its length, the Heptasta- 
dium, or ‘ Seven-Furlong’ mole, thus forming the two 
harbors. The plan of A. was designed by the architect 
Dinocrates, and its original extent is said to have been about 
4 miles in length, with a circumference of 15 m. It 
was intersected by two straight main streets, crossing each 
other at right angles in the middle of the city. Colonnades 
adorned the whole length of these streets, which w^ere in 
general very regularly built. The most magnificent quarter 
of the city was that called the Brucheium, which was situated 
on the eastern harbor. This quarter of the city contained 
the palaces of the Ptolemies, with the Museum and the old 
library; the Soma or mausoleum of Alexander the Great 
and of the Ptolemies, the Poseidonium,and the great theatre. 
Further w. was the emporium or exchange. The Serapeion, 
or temple of Serapis, stood in the western division of the 
city, which formed the Egyptian quarter, and was called 
RhacOtis; a small town of that name had occupied the site 


ALEXANDRIA. 

before the foundation of A. To the w. of the city lay the 
great Necropolis, and to the e. the race-course, beyond 
which was the suburb Nicopolis. The greater part of the 
space under the houses was occupied by vaulted subter¬ 
ranean cisterns, capable of containing a sufficent quantity of 
water to supply the city for a year. From the time of its 
foundation, A. was the Greek cap. of Egypt. Its pop. in 
its prosperity, is said by Diodorus to have amounted to 
about 300,000 free citizens, which would involve more than 
an equal number of slaves and strangers. This population 
consisted mostly of Greeks, Jews, and Egyptians, together 
with settlers from all nations of the known world. After 
the death of Alexander the Great, A. became the residence 
of the Ptolemies. They made it, next to Rome and Antioch, 
the most magnificent city of antiquity, as well as the chief 
seat of Grecian learning and literature, which spread hence 
over the greater part of the ancient world. The situation 
of the city, at the point of junction between the East and 
West, rendered it the centre of the commerce of the world, 
and raised it to the highest prosperity. 

A. had reached its greatest splendor when it came into 
the possession of the Romans, about b.c. 80. From th;v. 
time its prosperity began to decline—at first almost imper¬ 
ceptibly, afterwards more rapidly, in consequence of the 
removal of the works of art to Rome, the massacres of 
Caracalla, the laying waste of the Brucheium by Aurelian, 
the siege and pillage of the city by Diocletian, and, lastly, 
the rising prosperity of the rival city of Constantinople. All 
these causes combined to destroy A. so speedily, that, in 
the 4th c. no building of any importance was left in it 
except the temple of Serapis. The strife between Christianity 
and heathenism gave rise to bloody contests in A. The 
Serapeion, the last seat of heathen theology and learning, 
was stormed by the Christians, a.d. 389, and converted into a 
Christian church. This put an end to heathenism, and A. 
became henceforward a chief seat of Christian theology, 
and continued so till it was taken by the Arabs, under Amru, 
in June, 638. This siege, and still more, its conquest by 
the Turks in 868, completed the destruction of the city. It 
revived, indeed, in some degree under the Egyptian caliphs, 
and continued during the middle ages to be the most impor¬ 
tant emporium of trade between the East and West; but the 
discovery of America, and of the passage to India by the 
Cape of Good Hope, very much diminished the trade of A.; 
and the dominion of the Mamelukes, and the conquest of 
the Osmanli, annihilated even the little which the Arabs 
had restored. The result was, that in 1778 A. contained 
no more than 6,000 inhabitants. After the conquest of 
Egypt by the French in the end of the 18th c., A. 
began to revive; and under Mehemet Ali, who resided in 
it a part of every year, it prospered to such a degree that 
it may now be reckoned one of the most important com¬ 
mercial places on the Mediterranean. The Suez canal.di¬ 
verted part of its trade as the centre of steam communica¬ 
tion with India; but this was more than compensated by the 
general impetus given by the canal to Egyptian nros,peritj, 


ALEXANDRIAN CODEX. 

The present city is not situated exactly on the site of 
the old one, but is built chiefly on the mole called the 
Heptastadium, which has been increased by alluvial de¬ 
posits till it has become a broad neck of land between the 
harbors, of which the eastern is called the New Port, and 
the western the Old Port. A. is connected with Cairo, by 
rail (continued to Suez) and by the canal of Mahmoudieh. 
Originally dirty and ill built, it has some handsome streets 
and buildings; but the best streets were ruined in 1882. 
The recent growth of A. has been extraordinary. Pop. 
(1825), 16,000; (1840), 60,000; (1870), 238,888; (1897) 319,766, 
of whom 60,000 are Europeans. Value of exports from 
A. in 1881, £13,684,630 (mostly cotton and cotton seed, two- 
thirds going to Great Britain); of imports, £7,110,168 (halt 
from Britain). Of the few remaining objects of antiquity 
the most prominent is Pompey’s Pillar (q.v.) as it is erro¬ 
neously called. Of the so-called Cleopatra’s Needles—two 
obelisks of the time of King Thothmes III., who lived b.c. 
16th c.—one was brought to England and erected on the 
Thames Embankment, 1878; and the other, presented by the 
Khedive to the United States, was set up in Central Park, 
New York, 1881. Other antiquities of A. are some cata¬ 
combs, and underground cisterns almost entirely filled up. 
In 1882 an English fleet bombarded the forts of A.; the 
town was thereafter sacked and plundered by the conniv¬ 
ance of the native military usurper and his party, and great 
part of it destroyed by fire. See Alexandrian Library. 

ALEXANDRIAN CODEX, kd'deks: an important manu¬ 
script of the Christian Scriptures in Greek, now in the Brit¬ 
ish Museum. It is written on parchment, in finely formed 
uncial letters, and is without accents, marks of aspiration, or 
spaces between the words. Its probable date is the latter 
half of the 6th c. With the exception of a few gaps, it con 
tains the whole Bible in Greek (the Old Test, being in the 
translation of the Septuagint), with the epistles of Clemens 
Romanus. For purposes of biblical criticism, the text of the 
Epistles of the New Test, is the most valuable part; for with 
respect to the Gospels, it is clear that the original text which 
the copyist had before him must have been far inferior. 
This celebrated manuscript belonged, as early as 1098, to 
the library of the patriarch of Alexandria. In 1628 it was 
sent as a present to Charles I. of England by Cyrillus Lucaris, 
patriarch of Constantinople, who declared that he had got 
it from Egypt; and that it was written there appears from 
internal and external evidence. Grabe made this manuscript 
the foundation of his edition of the Septuagint (4 vols., Oxf. 
1717-20). Fac-similes have been published, of the New 
Test., by Woide (Lond. 1786), and by Cowper (Lond. 1860); 
of the Old Test., by Baber (Lond. 1816). 

ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY: a remarkable collection 
of books, the largest of the ancient world, founded by 
Ptolemy Soter, in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Even in 
the time of its first manager, Demetrius Phalereus, a ban¬ 
ished Athenian, the number of vols. or rolls already amounted 
to 50,000; and during its most flourishing period, under the 


ALEXANDRINE. 

direction of Zenodotus, Aristarchus of Byzantium, Apollo 
nius Rhodius, and others, is said to have contained 400,000, 
or, according to another authority, 700,000. The greater part 
of this library, which embraced the collected literature of 
Rome, Greece, India, and Egypt, was contained in the Muse¬ 
um , in the quarter of Alexandria called Brucheium. During 
the siege of Alexandria by Julius Caesar, this part of the li¬ 
brary was destroyed by tire; but was afterwards replaced by 
the collection of Pergamos, presented to Queen Cleopatra by 
Mark Antony, to the great annoyance of the educated Ro¬ 
mans. The other part of the library w T as kept in the 
Serapeion, the temple of Jupiter Serapis, where it remained 
till the time of Theodosius the Great. When this emperor 
permitted all the heathen temples in the Roman empire to 
be destroyed, the magnificent temple of Jupiter Serapis was 
not spared. A mob of fanatic Christians, led on by the abp. 
Theophilus, stormed and destroyed the temple, together, it 
is most likely, with the greater part of its literary treasures, 
391 A.d. It was at this time that the destruction of the 
library was begun, and not at the taking of Alexandria by 
the Arabians, under the caliph Omar. The story, at least, is 
ridiculously exaggerated which relates that the Arabs found 
a sufficient number of books remaining to heat the baths 
of the city for six months. The historian Orosius, who 
visited the place after the destruction of the temple by the 
Christians, relates that he then saw only the empty shelves 
of the library. See Petit-Radel, Becherches (Paris, 1819); 
Ritschl, Die Alexandrinischen Bibliotheken (Berlin, 1838); 
aud works by Weniger (1875), and others. 

ALEXANDRINE, a. al'egz-an'drln [city of Alexandria , 
n. Africa—named after Alexander the Great]: denoting a 
verse of twelve syllables. Al exan drian, a. - drl-dn , of or 
pertaining to Alexandria in Egypt, or to a school of 
philosophy which flourished there in the early Christian 
centuries. 

ALEXAN DRINE or Alexandrian AGE: a period 
of history, when after liberty and intellectual cultivation 
had declined in Greece, Alexandria in Egypt became the 
home and centre of science and literature. The A. A. may 
be divided into two periods: the first including the reigns of 
the Ptolemies, b.c. 323 to 30; the second, b.c. 30 to a.d. 
640, or from the fall of the Ptolemaean dynasty to the irrup¬ 
tion of the Arabs. 

Ptolemaeus Soter, the first ruler who introduced and 
patronized Greek science and literature in Alexandria, was 
followed by that yet more munificent patron, Ptolemaeus 
Philadelphus, who regularly established the celebrated 
Alexandrian Library and Museum, which probably had 
been begun by his father. This Museum contained porticos, 
a lecture-room, and a large hall, in which the learned men 
—the professors and fellows, as they might be called— 
dined together. The Alexandrine school consisted of 
Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, and latterly, Romans. The 
grammarians and poets made the greatest figure. The 
grammarians were both philologists and litterateurs, who 


ALEXANDRINE. 

explained things as well as words, and were thus a kind of 
encyclopedists. Among these rank Zenodotus of Ephesus, 
Eratosthenes of Gyrene, Aristophanes of Byzantium, 
Aristarchus of Samotlirace, Crates of Mallus, Dionysius the 
Thracian, Apollonius, the Sophist, and Zoi’lus. Their 
chief service consists in having collected the writings then 
existing, prepared corrected texts, and preserved them for 
future generations. The most noted of the poets of the 
Alexandrine school were Apollonius Rhodius, Lycophron, 
Arauis, Nicander, Euphorion, Callimachus, Theocritus, 
Dionysius, and the seven tragedians called the Alexandrine 
Pleiades. 

The Alexandrine school had a spirit and character alto- 

f ether ditferent from the previous intellectual life of Greece. 

'rom the attention paid to the study of language, it was 
natural that correctness, purity, and elegance of expression 
should become especially cultivated; and in these respects 
many of the Alexandrine writers are distinguished. But 
what no study and no efforts could give—the spirit that 
animated the earlier Greek poetry was, in most of these 
works, wanting. In place of it, there was displayed greater 
art in composition; what had formerly been done by genius, 
• was now to be done by the rules furnished by criticism. 
Ouly a few show real genius; the works of the rest, fault¬ 
less according to rule, are destitute of life and soul. In a 
school where imitation and rule thus took the place of 
inspiration, each generation of disciples became more arti¬ 
ficial and lifeless than their masters. Criticism degenerated 
into frivolous fault-finding, and both prose and poetry 
became labored affectation. 

The Alexandrine Philosophy is characterized by a 
blending of the philosophies of the East and of the West, 
and by a general tendency to eclecticism, as it is called, or 
an endeavor to reconcile conflicting systems of speculation, 
by bringing together what seemed true in each. Not that 
the Alexandrine philosophers were without their sects; the 
most famous of which were the Neo-Platonists (q.v.). 
Uniting the religious notions of the East with Greek 
dialectics, they represent the struggle of ancient civilization 
with Christianity; and thus their system was not without 
influence on the form that Christian'dogmas took in Egypt. 
The amalgamation of eastern ideas with Christian gave rise 
to the system of the Gnostics (q.v.), which was elaborated 
chiefly in Alexandria.—The Alexandrine school was no 
less distinguished for the culture of the mathematical and 
physical sciences, which here reached a greater height than 
anywhere else in ancient times. As early as b.c. 3d c., 
Euclid had here written his great work on geometry. 
The astronomers of the A. school were distinguished 
from all their predecessors by their setting aside all meta¬ 
physical speculation, and devoting themselves to strict 
observation. Among the distinguished physicists and 
mathematicians of the A. school, were Archimedes, 
Eratosthenes, Aristarchus of Samos, Ptolemagus, etc. For 
about four centuries, the Alexandrine school was the 
centre of learning and science in the ancient world. See 


ALEXANDRINES—ALEXEI MICHAILOVITCH. 

Vacherot, Histoire critique de Vecole d'Alexandria (3 vols., 
Paris, 1846-51). 

ALEXAN DRINES: rhyming verses consisting each of 
twelve syllables or six measures. The name is most 
probably derived from an old French poem on Alexander 
the Great, belonging to the 12th or 13th c., in which this 
measure was first used; according to others, it was so called 
from the name of one of the authors of that poem being 
Alexander. The Alexandrine has become the regular epic 
or heroic verse of the French, among whom each line is 
divided into two hemistichs, the sixth syllable always end¬ 
ing a word. In English, this rule is not always observed, 
as in the following verse from Spenser: 

That all the woods shall an|swer, and their echo ring. 

The only considerable English poem wholly written in A. is 
Drayton’s Polyolbion; but the Spenserian stanza regularly 
ends in an Alexandrine, and the measure occurs occasion¬ 
al^ in heroic verse, as the last line of a couplet: 

When both are full, they feed our blest abode, 

Like those that watered ouee|the paradise of God.— Dryden. 

ALEXANDROPOL: see Gumhi. 

ALEXANDROVSK d-leks-dn-drovsk’: town in the s. of 
Russia, cap. of the dist. of the same name; on the left bank 
of the Dnieper, below the cataracts. It is 48 m. s. of 
Ekaterinoslav, is fortified, and has considerable trade. In¬ 
land productions are shipped here for the Black Sea. Pop. 
(1880) 4,507.—There are various other towns and districts 
of the same name in Russia; the most important of which 
is that in the government of Vladimir, in the centre of the 
empire. It was a favorite summer residence of the czar 
Ivan Vasiliewitch, who introduced there the first printing- 
press known in Russia. It has a magnificent imperial stud, 
commenced by the empress Elizabeth in 1761, and com* 
pleted about twenty years after. Pop. over 16,000. 

ALEXEI MICHAILOVITCH, d-lek-sd'e me-ki'lo-vitch. 
second Russian czar of the House of Romanow: b. 1629, 
March 10; d. 1676, Jan. 29: succeeded his father, Michael 
Fedorovitch, 1645. The young czar A. yielded himself to 
the control of his chancellor, Plessow, and his tutor, Moro- 
sow, and the avarice of these bad advisers caused an in¬ 
surrection in 1648, in which Plessow lost his life. Popular 
discontent favored the plans of two pretenders to the throne— 
Demetrius III. (q.v.) and Ankudinow. The latter, professing 
to be a son of the czar Wasili Shuiskoi, was put to death at 
Moscow in 1653. A. possessed good qualities, which ap¬ 
peared in his riper years. In his two campaigns against the 
Poles, 1654-56 and 1660-67, he took Smolensk, conquered 
and devastated almost the whole of Lithuania, and even se¬ 
cured for himself the possession of several provinces. He 
also gained a part of the Ukraine; and though his war with 
Sweden (1656-58) was unfortunate, he lost nothing by the 
following peace. A. conferred great benefits on his country¬ 
men by the introduction of various important reforms into 
the Russian laws; he ordered translations of numerous sci- 


ALEXEI PETROWITCH—ALEXIUS COMNENUS. 

entific works, chiefly of a military nature, into Russian; and 
even ventured on some ecclesiastical changes. In his pri¬ 
vate character, he was amiable, temperate, and pious. His 
second wife, the beautiful Natalia Narischkin, was the 
mother of Peter the Great. 

ALEXEI PETROWITCH, pd-tro'vitch: 1690-1718; D. 
Moscow; eldest son of Peter the Great of Russia. Having 
shown himself opposed to the reforms and innovations made 
by the emperor, he was excluded by Peter from the line of 
succession to the throne. With this decision he appeared to 
be satisfied, and declared his intention of spending the remain¬ 
der of his days in a monastery. But when Peter the Great 
undertook his second tour in Northern Europe, A., under 
the pretense of following the czar, escaped in 1717 to 
Vienna, and thence went to Naples. He was induced to return 
to Russia, where, by the ukase of 1718, Feb. 2, he was dis¬ 
inherited, and an investigation was ordered to detect ah 
parties concerned in his recent flight from Russia. His 
mother, Eudoxia, with Marie Alexiewna, step-sister to the 
czar, and several other eminent persons, were made prison¬ 
ers, and either put to death or otherwise punished. A. was 
condemned to death, but soon afterward received a par¬ 
don. However, the terror and agitation of the trial so 
affected his health that he died 1718, June 26. The czar, 
to avoid scandal, ordered the trial to be published. Other 
accounts assert that A. was beheaded in prison. By his 
wife, Charlotte Christine Sophie, princess of Brunswick- 
Wolfenblittel, A. left a son, who, as Peter II., was elevated 
to the throne. 

ALEXIPHARMIC, a. d-leks'i-fdr'mik [Gr. alexo, I keep 
off; pharmdkon, poison]: having the effect of expelling 
poison or infection by sweat: N? the medicine that expels 
poison. Alexiteric, a. a-leks'i-ter'ik [mid. L. alexiteria, 
a medicine which only mitigates disease: Gr. alexo; 
deleterion, poison]: resisting poison: N. the medicine 
which does so. 

ALEXIS: see Alexei. 

ALEXIUS COMNENUS, al-eks'i-us com-ne'nus: one of 
the ablest rulers of the Byzantine empire; 1048-1118; b. 
Constantinople; third son of Johannes Comnenus, the bro. of 
the emperor, Isaac Comnenus. The family came originally 
from Italy, and settled in Asia Minor. His father having 
refused the purple on the abdication of Isaac, it was given 
to one Ducas, the son of a distinguished general. A. in his 
youth gave brilliant promise of the vigorous military genius 
which he afterwards manifested; and at length, after a series 
of anarchic reigns of brief duration, his soldiers succeeded in 
elevating him to the throne, while the old and feeble Niceph¬ 
oros Botaniates, his predecessor, was compelled to retire 
to a monastery. Gibbon graphically paints the position and 
achievements of A. in the 48th chap, of his Decline and Fall 
of the Roman Empire. Everywhere he was encompassed 
with foes. The Scythians and Turks were pouring down 
from the north and northeast; the fierce Normans, who had 
violently effected a lodgment in Sicily and Italy, were men- 


ALFIERI. 

aping his western provinces; and, finally, the myriad war. 
riors of the first crusade had burst into his empire on their 
way to Palestine, and had encamped around the gates of his 
capital. Yet he contrived to avoid all perils and disgraces 
by the wisdom of his policy, the mingled patience and 
promptitude of his character, his discipline in the camp, 
and his humanity on the throne. He reigned for 37 years; 
and if it had been possible to preserve the weak and corrupt 
Byzantine empire in its integrity, a ruler like A. might have 
clone it. He could only delay its inevitable destruction. 
Undoubtedly, the great interest which attaches to A. arises 
from his relation to the crusaders. Historians differ as to 
the purity and sincerity of his conduct towards them. His 
daughter Anna, who wrote his life, defends his * policy ’ 
with filial piety: but it seems clear that he entertained a 
profound dread and suspicion of the half civilized Franks, 
and, knowing the weakness of his own empire, was com¬ 
pelled to dissimulate. He certainly promised them help, 
and persuaded them to go off into Asia; it is equally certain 
that he did not fulfil his promises, and that he simply 
used them as instruments to reconquer from the Turks the 
islands and coasts of Asia Minor. Perhaps, however, little 
apology is needed for a monarch who ‘ subdued the envy 
of his equals, restored the laws of public and private order, 
and caused the arts of wealth and science to be cultivated 
ALFAL'FA: see Lucern. 

ALFIERI, alfe-a're: Vittorio, Count: 1749-1803; b. 
Asti, Piedmont; modern Italian dramatic poet. He received 
a very defective education in his father’s house, and was 
then sent to the academy of Turin, which he quitted as ig¬ 
norant as he had entered it, to join a provincial regiment. 
After a hurried tour through Europe, he returned to Turin 
in 1772. He then left the military service, and renouncing 
idleness and unworthy amours, devoted himself to literary 
occupation. The applause which his first attempts received 
encouraged him in his determination to win fame as a dra¬ 
matic author. But as he clearly saw the deficiencies of his 
education, he began at a mature age to learn Latin, and also 
to study the Tuscan dialect, for which purpose he went to 
Tuscany. On his journey thither, A. made the acquaintance 
of the Countess of Albany (q.v.), to whom he became deeply 
attached. To render himself worthy of her esteem, he 
strove with unremitting earnestness after poetic excellence, 
and in order to be perfectly free and independent of all other 
cares, he transferred his whole property to his sister, in ex¬ 
change for an annuity. A. now lived alternately in Florence 
and in Rome. Afterwards, when his friend the countess 
was released from other ties by the death of her husband, 
they lived together in the closest intimacy in Alsace or in 
Paris, where A. was incessantly occupied in writing, revising, 
and publishing his works. There appears to have been a 
marriage, although it was never made public. On the first 
outburst of the French Revolution, A. went to England, but 
soon returned to Paris. In 1792, he was again forced to flee 
from France, and he then settled with his inseparable com- 


ALFONSINE—ALFONSO. 

panion in Florence, where he died. The ashes of A. and 
those of his friend repose in the church of Santa Croce, in 
Florence, under a beautiful monument by Canova, between 
the tombs of Michael Angelo and Macchiavelli. As a dra 
matic author, A. attempted three different departments He 
published 21 tragedies, G comedies, and 1 ‘ tramelogcdia,’ a 
name invented by himself. His dramatic works show a 
want of fresh imaginative vigor, and betray the laborious 
perseverance with which he did violence both to himself and 
to art. A. was inspired more by politics than by poetry. 
He wished to breathe a spirit of freedom into the dormant 
minds of his countrymen, and considered the theatre as a 
school in which the people might learn to be ‘ free, strong, 
and noble.’ In order to preserve the purity of his muse, A. 
had resolved to read no other poet. lie wished to produce 
an effect by the very simplest means, and, renouncing the 
aid of ornament, to please by manly strength and earnestness 
alone. His works are on this account cold and stiff, his 
plots simple even to poverty, his verse hard and unpleasing, 
and his language destitute of that magic splendor of color¬ 
ing which stirs the inmost soul. Notwithstanding this, A. 
did good service to Italian tragedy. He corrected the effemi¬ 
nate taste which had before prevailed, as w T ell as the pedantic 
imitation of Attic models Succeeding wi iters endeavored 
to imitate his strength and simplicity. A. was more unsuc¬ 
cessful in his comedies than in his tragedies. They manifest 
the same serious political tendency; the invention is poor, 
the development of the plot uninteresting, and the characters 
are only general sketches, without individuality. The most 
successful of his dramatic works is Abel, a mixture of trag¬ 
edy and opera, invented by himself, which he designated by 
the singular name ‘ tramelogedia.’ Besides dramatic works, 
A. left an epic poem, in four cantos, also many lyrical 
poems, 16 satires; also poetical translations of Terence, 
Vergil, and portions of iEschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and 
Aristophanes. After his death, appeared his Misogallo, a 
memorial of his hatred to the French. The Countess of 
Albany caused a collected edition of his works to be pub¬ 
lished (35 vols. 4to, Pisa, 1805-1815), containing his autobi¬ 
ography; Centofanti published a life in 1842, and Teza in 
1861. 

ALFONSINE, dl-fbn-se'na: town of Italy, province of 
Ravenna, nearly 4 m. n.w. from Ravenna, in a level, irri¬ 
gated, and fertile district. Pop. 4,000. 

ALFONSINE TABLES: see Alfonso X. 

ALFONSO, al-fbn'so, I: earliest King of Portugal: 1110— 
85; son of Henry of Burgundy, conqueror and Count of 
Portugal. At his father’s death he was only two years of 
age, and the management of affairs fell into the hands of 
his ambitious and dissolute mother, Theresa of Castile, from 
whom he was compelled forcibly to seize it, on attaining his 
majority. He then entered on a war with Castile, whose 
supremacy he did not recognize, and leaguing himself w ith 
Navarre, made several conquests in Galicia, after which he 
proceeded to attack the Moors, whose invasions he had 


ALFONSO VI.—ALFONSO III. 

already begun to check by building the fortress of Leiria. 
A battle was fought in the plains of Ourique, 1139, July 25, 
when victory declared for the Portuguese, after a bloody 
struggle, in which, it is said, not less than 200,000 Moors 
perished. From that day A. assumed the title of king, 
which the pope confirmed. He took Lisbon, by the help of 
the English fleet of crusaders, 1147, Oct. 25; and in 1158, 
after a siege of two months, made himself master of 
Alcazar-de-Sal and Evora. In 1171 he took by assault the 
fortress of Santarem from the Saracens, and annihilated the 
garrison; and at the same place he defeated the Almohadian 
ruler, Jusuf-ben-Jakub, in 1184. He invited to his land the 
Knights-Templars and Knights of St. John, and established 
the orders of Avis and of St. Michael. The Portuguese 
style him El Conquistador (the Conqueror). But he was also 
a legislator, establishing the Cortes of Lamego, and promul¬ 
gating a code of laws relating to the order of succession, the 
privileges of the nobility, the administration of justice, etc. 
He died at Coimbra, Dec. 6, 1185. 

ALFONSO VI., King of Portugal (reigned 1662-83): sec¬ 
ond son of John IV. He was at first expected to enter the 
service of the church, but the death of his elder brother in 
1656 altogether changed his plans. Being then a minor, the 
government of the kingdom was intrusted to his mother, 
Louisa de Guzman, a woman of great wisdom and pru¬ 
dence, who felt it her duty to retain the power in her own 
hands, even after A. lmd reached his majority, for the sickly 
and dissolute prince displayed little aptitude for business. 
But the court minions, who had their own reasons for wishing 
him to rule, urged him to remove his mother from her office. 
This was accomplished in 1662. The minister, Count Castel- 
Melhor, a mere trifler, possessed supreme authority. Never¬ 
theless, Portugal was victorious in the war against Spain, 
although for this she had to thank her English and French 
allies. In 1666, A. married Maria-Francisca-Elizabeth of 
Savoy, who, however, soon conspired with his brother 
Pedro against him. The plot succeeded. A. was seized 
and imprisoned at Cintra, where he died 1683, Sep. 12. 
Pedro then obtained the throne, and married the widow of 
his brother. 

ALFONSO III., surnamed Tiie Great, King of Leon, 
Asturias, and Galicia: 848-910: succeeded his father, 
Ordofio I., 866, but had to maintain his rights by force of 
arms against Count Froila, who had usurped the throne. 
Having caused the latter to be murdered, he proceeded 
sternly to reduce to obedience the powerful nobility of the 
kingdom, who looked with a jealous eye on the monarchy re¬ 
maining in one family; and then, carrying his arms against 
other enemies, he fought through more than 30 campaigns, 
and gained numerous victories over the Moors. He crossed 
the Douro, broke down the walls of Coimbra, penetrated to 
the Tagus and Estremadura, enlarged his territories by a 
portion of Portugal and Old Castile, and re-peopled the 
conquered and desolated Burgos. But these wars entailed 
great expense and misery on the nation. In 888, A. had to 


ALFONSO V.— ALFONSO X. 

endure tlie pain of beholding at the head of a rebel army 
his own son Garcias, who wished to seize the crown, 
although pretending a simple desire for the prosperity of 
the commonwealth. A. collected his forces, conquered his 
son, and threw him into prison. But Garcias’ mother, by 
the help of several of the grandees, excited a new conspir¬ 
acy, which resulted in the abdication of the monarch in 
favor of his imprisoned son. In order, however, to be still 
useful to his country, A. became commander of Garcias’ 
forces in an expedition against the Moors. After returning 
in triumph, he died at Zamora. 

ALFONSO V., King of Aragon, Naples, and Sicily: 
(reigned 1416-58) d. 1458: received the surname of ‘the 
Magnanimous,’ because on his accession to the throne he 
destroyed a document containing the names of all the gran¬ 
dees who were hostile to him. His historical importance 
arises from his having brought Southern Italy under the 
dominion of Aragon. In 1420 he attacked Corsica, but 
speedily hastened to Naples at the request of Queen Joanna 
II., who besought his assistance against Louis of Anjou. 
For some time he enjoyed the highest favor; but, in 1428, 
having thrown into prison her minion Caraccioli, who was 
his enemy, the queen declared for his rival, Louis. At her 
death, 1485, A. resolved to claim the kingdom; but Bene of 
Anjou, whom Joanna had appointed her successor after the 
death of Louis, opposed him. Rome and Genoa sided with 
Rene, and the Genoese fleet attacked and defeated that of 
A., the monarch himself being taken prisoner. He was sent 
to Duke Philip of Milan, who, charmed by his manner and 
talent, set him at liberty, and even formed an alliance with 
him. After several battles and a long mountain-war in the 
Abruzzi, A. overthrew his adversary, and entered Naples in 
triumph. Having once firmly established his power, he 
proceeded to suppress the disorders which had sprung up 
during the worthless reign of Joanna, and honorably dis¬ 
tinguished himself by his patronage of letters. He died at 
Naples while his troops were besieging Genoa, 1458, June, 
27. 

ALFONSO X., surnamed ‘the Astronomer,’ ‘the Phi¬ 
losopher,’ or * the Wise ’ {El Sabio), King of Leon and 
Castile: 1221-84: succeeded his father, Ferdinand III., 1252. 
As early as the storming of Seville in 1248, he had given 
indications of his courageous spirit. But, instead of wisely 
attempting to expel the Moors and subdue the nobility, he 
lavished the resources of his kingdom in fruitless efforts to 
secure his election to the imperial throne of Germany. 
Rudolf of Hapsburg was chosen in opposition to him. Nor 
would Pope Gregory X. recognize his claims even to the 
duchy of Swabia. Soon after, his throne was threatened by 
the turbulence of the nobility and his wars with the Moors. 
The latter, however, he defeated in 1263, in a bloody battle, 
and took from them Xeres, Medina-Sidonia, San-Lucar, and 
a part of Algarve, uniting at the same time Murcia with 
Castile. In 1271, an insurrection broke out in his dominions 
at the head of which was his son Philip. Three years 


ALFORD. 

elapsed before it was finally quelled. In the mildness with 
which he treated the rebels, men saw only indications of his 
weakness. But afterwards determining to employ more 
stringent measures, his. son Sanclio also rebelled, "and in 
1282 deprived him of his throne. He now sought the help 

the Moors; but after fruitless efforts to recover his power, 
he died at Seville, 1284, April 4. His improved tables, 
still known under the name of the Alfonsine Tables, were 
completed in 1252 at the cost of 40,000 ducats-an unpre¬ 
cedented sum to be expended on such a work in those days. 

ALFONSO XII., KING OF SPAIN, only son of 
Queen Isabella II. and King Francis of Assisi; b. 1857, 
Nov. 28. When the revolution of 1868 broke out he left 
Spain with his mother, and till 1874 resided partly in 
France and partly in Austria, In the latter year he came 
forward as claimant of the throne, and near the end of the 
year was proclaimed king by Gen. Martinez Campos. On 
his accession succeeded in putting an end to the Carlist 
struggle, and thereafter reigned in peace till his death. 
He first married Princess Maria de las Mercedes, and about 
a year and a half after her demise celebrated his second 
nuptials with Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria 
D. 1885, Nov. 25. 

ALFONSO XIII., KING OF SPAIN, son of Alfonso 
XII. and Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria; b. 1886, 
May 17. His education was conducted with exceptional 
care, owing to the delicate condition of his health. During 
his minority his mother acted as Queen Regent. He was 
crowned 1902, May 17, and subsequently manifested a 
strong will in dealing with public matters. 

ALFORD, awl'ford, Henry, D.D : 1810-71; b. London: 
a biblical critic of the highest reputation, and also a poet of 
considerable genius. Educated first at Ilminster grammar- 
school in Somersetshire, and finally at Trinity College, 
Cambridge, where he gained his degree, and took orders in 
the church. His first volume, published at Cambridge, 
1831, was entitled Poems and Poetical Fragments. Three years 
afterwards, the young author was elected a Fellow of Trinity, 
and in the following year (1835), appeared his most popular 
work, The School of the Heart, and other Poems, frequently 
re-issued, especially in America. About the same time, A. 
was appointed vicar of Wymeswokl, Leicestershire, where 
he remained till 1853, gradually enlarging the circle of his 
studies, and obtaining fresh honors. In 1841, he published 
Chapters on the Greek Poets , which exhibit both purity of 
taste and breadth of scholarship. In 1844, appeared the first 
vol. of his magnum opus, the Greek Testament with notes 
and various readings; the second was not published till 1852. 
In 1853, he was removed to Quebec Street Chapel, London, 
where he continued to maintain his high reputation as a 
sound and eloquent preacher, until, 1857, he was appointed 
Dean of Canterbury by Lord Palmerston. A.’s poetry is 
characterized not so much by depth or origiuality as by 
freedom from affectation, obscurity, or bombast. His 
Greek Testament, which was completed 1861, occupies the 
first rank among English editions. Among his latest 
writings was A Plea for the Queen's English, which excited 


ALFRED. 

considerable discussion. He also published several volumes 
of sermons. He died 1871, Jan. 12. See Life, Letters, etc. 
(1873). 

ALFRED, dl'fred, surnamed Tiie Great: 849-901; b. 
Wantage, Berkshire. His father was Etlielwolf, son of 
Egbert, king of the West Saxons; and though the youngest 
of four sons, he succeeded to the crown, at the age of 23, on 
the death of his brother Ethelred. He had already given 
proofs of high ability as a general in repelling the incessant 
incursions of the Danes, at that time the most terrible 
warriors in Europe. After he succeeded to the throne, he 
redoubled his exertions to restore the independence of his 
country. At first he strove without success, while the 
Danes continued to pour fresh bands upon the coast, and 
the Anglo-Saxons either bent to the yoke or forsook their 
homes. In 878, the invaders had completely overrun the 
whole kingdom of the West Saxons. A., no longer able to 
collect an elective army, was obliged to seek security in the 
hills and forests, and for some time found refuge in a 
cowherd’s hut. He still, however, kept up some communi¬ 
cation with his friends; and as soon as the people began once 
more to arm against the Danes, he built a stronghold on an 
elevation or island (still known as Athelney, i.e., the 
‘ island of the nobles,’ or the ‘ royal island ’) amid the 
marshes of Somersetshire, to which he summoned his faithful 
followers. From this fortress he made frequent successful 
sallies against the enemy, and after a comparatively short 
time, he found himself at the head of a considerable army, 
with which he totally routed them (878) near Edington, in 
Wiltshire. After holding out for some time in a stronghold 
to which they had retreated, the invaders capitulated. A. 
accepted hostages, and their solemn oath to quit his territory 
of Wessex, and receive baptism. Their king, Godrun or 
Guthrun, was baptized, with thirty of his followers, and 
ever after proved faithful in his allegiance to A. 

After this decisive victory, the power of A. steadily in¬ 
creased, both by land and sea—for already he had built 
England’s first fleet—he beat the Danes in numerous battles, 
and gradually their possessions were confined to the n. and 
e. coasts. In 886, A., without any formal installation, be¬ 
came recognized as the sovereign of all England, a title to 
which he had proved his right by the most indisputable 
of arguments. During the ensuing years of peace, he rebuilt 
the cities that had suffered most during the war, particularly 
London; erected new fortresses, and trained the people to 
the use of arms, while he encouraged husbandry and other 
useful arts, and founded those wise laws and institutions 
which contributed so much to the greatness and welfare of 
England. The grateful reverence of posterity has, as is 
usual with mankind, become prodigal in its awards, ascrib¬ 
ing to A. the entire credit of having established many 
beneficial institutions, some of w T hich had already existed 
among the Anglo-Saxons, but were by him revived, re¬ 
modelled, and improved. Of his political institutions, little is 
known beyond the fact that he compiled a code of laws, di¬ 
vided England into counties, hundreds and tithings, and thor 



ALFRED THE GREAT 

849-901. 



























ALFRED. 

oughly reformed the administration of justice by making these 
tithings, hundreds, etc., so far as was practicable, respon¬ 
sible for the offenses committed within their jurisdiction. 
William of Malmesbury, with enthusiastic exaggeration, 
declared that ‘a purse of money, or a pair of golden 
bracelets,’ might in A.’s day he exposed for weeks in com¬ 
plete safety on the common highways. A. is also said— 
though erroneously, as is now believed—to have been the 
author of ‘trial by jury.’ In an age of ignorance and 
barbarism, A. was an accomplished scholar and a zealous 
patron of learning. Iso prince of his age did so much for 
the ditfusion of knowledge, and few monarchs at any time 
have shown an equal zeal for the instruction of their people. 
He caused many manuscripts to be translated into Anglo- 
Saxon from Latin, and himself translated several works, 
such as Boethius on the Consolation of Philosophy, the 
History of Orosius, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, and Selec¬ 
tions from the Soliloquies of St. Augustine. Among his 
original w r orks in the Anglo-Saxon language are Laws of 
the West Saxons, Institutes, Chronicles, Meditations, etc. 
All his works strikingly indicate the serious, elevated, and 
yet practical character of the man. In his translations, A. 
is frequently more than a translator. He adds his own 
reflections to those of his author; and expands the geo¬ 
graphical outline of Orosius by a chart of Germany, an 
account of the Baltic, and the icy regions towards the north 
pole, wffiicli are reasonably correct, considering the means 
which then existed for acquiring a knowledge of these 
places. Several works attributed to A. are believed not to 
be genuine. 

The peaceful labors of A. were, 89B, interrupted by a fresh 
invasion of Northmen under Hasten or Hastings, more 
formidable than any that had yet been attempted in his 
reign. The defection of the East Anglians and North¬ 
umbrians added to the difficulties with which he had to 
contend. A., however, was fully prepared, and though, 
during their protracted stay in his dominions, the invaders 
overran a large extent of country, and committed consider¬ 
able depredations, they were beaten in almost every en¬ 
counter with the English, and finally quelled. A d. 901, 
October 27, aged 52, leaving his country in the enjoyment 
of comparative peace and prosperity, the fruit of that wise 
and energetic rule which has made his memory dear to all 
generations of Englishmen, as that of their best and greatest 
king. We cannot perhaps realize the resolute patience of 
A., in his political and military capacityfor we have a 
very imperfect knowledge of the obstacles in his way; but 
it must excite both our wonder and reverence to behold a 
man pursuing solitarily, in the midst of ferocity, barbarism, 
and ignorance, and in spite of the perpetual pains with 
which his body was racked, so many various and noble 
schemes for the civilization and true glory of his country.— 
The most authentic and interesting of the original sources 
of information on the history of A., is the life by Asser, 
bishop of Sherborne, a book distinguished by extreme 
simplicity and affection. The best edition is that of Wise 


ALFRETON—ALGiE. 

(Oxford, 1782). Of the modern Lives, the most complete 
and careful are that of Prof. Reinhold Pauli, edited by 
T. Wright, and that by Mr. T. Hughes (1869). 

ALFRETON, dlfre-ton: market-town of Derbyshire, 
Eng., 12 m. n.n.e. from Derby; a station on the Erewash 
branch of the Midland railway. It has manufactures of 
hats, stockings, and brown earthenware. There are 
collieries and iron-works in the vicinity. The town is 
irregularly built, and contains many very old houses, but 
has of late rapidly increased. It is said to derive its name 
from Alfred the Great. Pop. (1881) 13,885; (1891) 15,355. 

ALFRIC: see JElfric. 

ALGiE, n. plu. dl'je [L. alga, sea-weed]: an order of sea 
or aquatic plants. Alga, n. alga, an aquatic plant of the 
Order Algai. Algous, a. dl'gus, pertaining to sea-weed. 
Algoid, a. dl'goyd [L. alga: Gr. eidos, a form]: like sea¬ 
weed. Algology, n. dl-gol'dji [Gr. logos, discourse]: a 
treatise on the algae or sea-plan is; the study of sea-plants. 

ALGiE: a natural order of plants, belonging to the class 
Cryptogamia of Linnaeus, and to the Acotyledoves of the 
natural system. It contains a great number of species, 
about 2,000 being known and described, and among these 
there is a great variety of forms. They grow for the most 
part in water, some in fresh, and some in salt water, but 
some on moist rocks or ground; while others are frequently 
found covering the glass and pots of hot-houses. Some 
species occur even upon diseased animal tissue, as Achlya 
prolifera upon the gills of fish, while Sarcinula ventriculi 
(q.v.) appears to be formed in the human stomach. They 
are most numerous in still or stagnant water and in warm 
climates. Their structure is very various; they are found 



Algse. 

1. Alaria esculenta. 3 Himanthalia lorea. 

2. Dictyota dicUotoma. 4. Rytipliloea thuyoides. 

of all grades, from the little microscopic vesicle* to great 
sea-weeds, which ramify like trees. The diversity in size is 
as great as in form; some species being visible only through 
the microscope, and resembling mold or rust; some a few 















ALG^E. 

inches, others several feet in length; while the Laminaria, 
which float in the South American seas, measure more than 
100 feet; and Macrocystis pyrifera of the Pacific Ocean 
reaches the length of 1,500 feet. Yet they are seldom to be 
found as thick as the finger, or as broad as the hand, al¬ 
though some far exceed these dimensions, the trunk of 
Lessonia fuscescens attaining the thickness of a man’s thigh. 
Some species are firmly fixed at the bottom of the water, 
some adhere to rocks and stones left dry by the retiring 
tide; some frequently break loose, and float about upon and 
beneath the surface. They have in no case proper roots, 
but merely processes for their attachment to the surfaces on 
which they are fixed; they seem to derive their nourishment 
by all parts of their surface from the water or moist air in 
which they grow. The Gulfweed ( Sargassum ) floats in 
long pieces in the Atlantic Ocean and all the great seas; a 
large portion of the sea between the West Indies and the 
Canary Islands, is specially called the Mer de Sargasse. The 
weed is carried in such quantities by the current into the 
Gulf of Mexico, that it covers the sea in tracts of many miles 
in breadth, and gives it the appearance of a meadow. Many 
fabulous stories were related of this Gulfweed by the mariners 
of the 15th c. Ships were said to have been stopped in their 
course, and the crews obliged to cut their way with 
hatchets. The discoveries of Columbus put an end to these 
exaggerated reports 

A. are entirely cellular in their structure, however elon¬ 
gated may be their fronds, having 
no proper vessels, but consisting of 
an irregular tissue of utricular cells. 

The fronds of many are articulated. 

Some of the simplest or lowest or¬ 
ganization are propagated by spon¬ 
taneous separation; in others, the re¬ 
productive organs consist of spores 
(see Acotyledonous Plants) en¬ 
closed in perispores, and variously 
disposed in receptacles of different 
kinds; sometimes in the interior of 
the cells. Antheridia (q v.) also oc¬ 
cur in some; and zoospores, or spores 
with moving cilia, which exhibit 
phenomena of motion resembling 
those of animal life. The Diato- 
macece, in which the ordinary mode 
of reproduction is by spontaneous 
separation, have by some been re¬ 
ferred to the animal kingdom. They 
are entirely microscopic, resemble showing the receptacles of 
the animalcules called Infusoria, ]*e e f ™f^ 0 ° r a,;.hifg 
and are generally found in still wa- f r0 nd ; b, b, 6 . large al¬ 
ters and moist places, but occur in cells which help to float 
prodigious numbers in some parts the t )lant - 
of the Antarctic Ocean, where they give a color to the water. 

A. differ from Fungi (q.v.) in deriving their nourishment 
exclusively, as it would seem, from the medium by which 








ALGA MARINA—ALGAROTTI. 

they are surrounded, and not from the substance upon which 
they grow. The substance of which they are composed 
is also very different. Yet it has been felt not a little 
difficult to determine to which of the two orders some of 
the lowest forms of vegetable life should be referred. 

As to their substance, A. consist chiefly of vegetable gela¬ 
tine, which dissolves in water when they are boiled in it. 
The harder parts of their fronds are sometimes coriaceous, 
or horny, or cartilaginous, but never really ligneous. Their 
color is not always green, but mostly brown or yellow, some¬ 
times purple, or violet, or rose color; and many of them 
present a very beautiful appearance when examined through a 
microscope. Many contain an abundance of iodine. Differ¬ 
ent species of Wrack ( Fucus ), (q.v.), which are cast on 
shore in vast confused masses by the waves, are gathered 
and burned in the Orkney Islands, in Normandy, and other 
parts of the world, the ashes forming an article of commerce 
under the name of Kelp (q.v.\, and containing much of the 
iodide of sodium. Sea-weeds of all kinds are an excellent 
manure. None of the species are poisonous, and some of 
them are used for food, as Carrageen (q.v.) or Irish moss, 
Dulse (q.v.), Laver (q.v.), etc. The edible swallows' 
nests of the Indian Archipelago are composed of a spe¬ 
cies of sea-weed. Several kinds are eaten as articles of 
luxury by the Chinese. Plocaria tenax, one of the species 
so used, furnishes them also with an admirable, glue, of 
which great quantities are prepared and brought to the 
market. Plocaria helminthocorton, Corsican moss, a native 
of the Mediterranean, and found principally around the 
shores of Corsica, is used as a vermifucre. See Plocaria. 

One of the latest classifications, showing the place and 
character of A., is Dr. Goebel’s new revision of Sachs; for 
outline of his system, see Botany. The usual division 
of A. has been into Chlorospermece, Rlwdospermeai, and 
MelanospermeoR; see Bessey’s Botany. For American A., 
see Contributions of Spilth. Inst.; for other, see Kutzing’s 
Phycologia Geve^uits (Leip. 1843), and his Species Algarum 
GLeip. 18 i?r); Greville’s A. Britannicce (Lond. 1830); British 
Sea weeds, nature-printed (Lond.: Bradbury and Agnew). 

ALGA MARI NA: see Grass Wrack. 

ALGARDI, dl - gaPde , Alessandro: 1002-54; b. Bologna: 
an Italian sculptor, ranked next to Lor. Bernini among 
Italian sculptors of the 17th c., excelling especially in the 
representation of nude figures. His works, however,suffered 
troin the faults prevalent in his time, especially from a 
striving after pathos and picturesque effects, opposed to the 
true character of sculpture. His most important work is a 
colossal relievo of Attila in St. Peter’s, Rome. His statue 
of the God of Sleep in the Villa Borghese has frequently 
been mistaken for an antique. 

ALGARO'BA* see Carob. 

ALGAROTTI, n. ul ' gd-roth [said to be after discoverer]: 
the oxychloride or flowers of antimony. 

ALGAROTTI, dl gd rot'e, Francesco, Count: 1712-64; 
b. Venice: an Italian author: studied in Rome and Bologna, 


ALGAIIVE—ALGEBRA. 

and when 21 years old, published in Paris (1733), a work 
entitled Newtonianismo per le Donne (The Newtonian Phi 
losophy adapted to the Ladies), which was the basis of hi 
subsequent reputation. Until 1739, he lived in France 
On his return from a journey to Russia, A. became ac 
quainted with Frederick II. of Prussia, who elevated hin 
to.the rank of count, and made him, in 1747, lord chamber 
lain. He was also patronized by Augustus III., of Poland 
and lived alternately in Berlin and Dresden until 1754 
when he returned to Italy. He died 1764, March 3, at 
Pisa, where, in the Campo Santo, Frederick the Great raised 
a monument to his memory. Though his poetry shows no 
great genius, his letters rank with the best in Italian; and 
in his own time lie was recognized as a good judge of 
painting and architecture, and his reputation is confirmed 
by his work Saggi sopra le Belle Arti (Essays on the Fine 
Arts), and by the paintings that he selected for the Dresden 
gallery. 

ALGARVE, al-gdr'm: smallest and most southerly of the 
provinces of Portugal, between Andalusia and the At¬ 
lantic Ocean: estimated 1,875 sq. m. In ancient times it 
was much more extensive. It received its name from the 
Arabs, in whose language A. signifies ‘ a land lying to the 
west.’ It was a Moorish province till 1253, when Alphonso 
III. united it to the crown of Portugal as a separate king¬ 
dom. The n. part of the province is occupied by a range 
of mountains of an average height of 4,000 ft., which form 
the continuation of the Sierra Morena of Spain, and termi¬ 
nate in Cape St Vincent, the s.w. extremity of Europe. 
The highest ridges are entirely destitute of vegetation; and 
the mountainous tract in general admits of but little culti¬ 
vation. From the main ridge, the country slopes s. in 
jagged terraces and low hills, leaving a level tract of a few 
m. along the coast. The soil of this plain is but indiffer¬ 
ently suited for the production of grain, or even of pastur¬ 
age; but it produces abundance of the finest fruits of the 
south, even plantains and dates. The wine is also of excel¬ 
lent quality. The African heat of the climate is mitigated 
by the cool sea-breeze. The only river of importance is 
the Guadiana, on the frontiers of Spain. The inhabitants 
employ themselves chiefly in fishing, in manufacturing salt, 
and cultivating fruit. They are considered the best sailors 
and the truest friends in Portugal. Pop. (1890) 228,551. 
The chief town is Faro (pop 8,097). 

ALGEBRA, n dl’je-brd [Sp.; It.; mid. L. algebra —from 
Ar. al, gabr, the putting together of broken things]: arith¬ 
metic by signs—commonly the letters of the alphabet—the 
drst letters, a, b , c, d, etc., represent known quantities, and 
the last letters, w, x, y, z, unknown quantities. Algebraic, 
a. dlje-bratk, or Al'gebra'ical, a. -i-kdl, pertaining to 
a.gebra. Al gebra'ically, ad. -li. Ai/gebra'ist, n. one 
who is skilled in algebra. 

ALGEBRA: a branch of pure mathematics. The name 
is derived from the Arabs, who call the science Al gebr icai 
mokdbala —i.e., supplementing and equalizing—in reference 


ALGEBRA. 

to tlie transposition and reduction of the terms of an equation 
Among the Italians in early times it was called Artt> 
Maggiore, as having to do with the higher kinds of calcula¬ 
tion, and still oftener Regola de la Oosa, because the un¬ 
known quantity was denominated cosa, the ‘ thing;’ hence 
the name of Cornice Art, given to it by early English 
writers. 

The term Algebraical is generally applied vaguely to any 
expression or calculation in which signs are used to denote 
the operations, and letters or other symbols are put instead 
of numbers. But it is perhaps better to restrict the name 
A. to the doctrine of Equations (q.v.). Literal arithmetic, 
then, or multiplying, dividing, etc., with letters instead of 
Arabic ciphers, is properly only a preparation for A.; while 
Analysis (q.v.), in the widest sense, would embrace A. as its 
first part. A. itself is divided into two chief branches. The 
first treats of equations involving unknown quantities having 
a determinate value; in the other, called the Diophantine or 
Indeterminate Analysis, the unknown quantities have no 
exactly fixed values, but depend in some degree upon 
assumption. 

The oldest work in the West on A. is that of Diophantus 
of Alexandria, 4th c. It consisted originally of 13 books, 
and contained arithmetical problems: only 6 books are now 
extant. They are written in Greek, and evince no little 
acuteness. The modern Europeans got their first acquaint¬ 
ance with A., not directly from the Greeks, but, like most 
other knowledge, through the Arabs, who derived it, again, 
from the Hindus. The chief European source was the 
work of Mohammed Ben Musa, who Jived in the time of 
Caliph A1 Mamun (813-833); it has been translated into 
English by Dr. Rosen (Lond. 1831). An Italian merchant, 
Leonardo Bonaccio, of Pisa, travelling in the East about 
1200, acquired a knowledge of the science, and introduced it 
among his countrymen on his return; he has left a work on 
A., not yet printed. The first work on A. after the revival 
of learning is that of the Minorite friar Paciolo or Luca 
Borgo (Ven. 1494). Scipio Perreo in Bologna, discovered, 
1505, the solution of one case of cubic equations. Tartaglia 
of Brescia (d. 1557) carried cubic equations still further, and 
imparted his discoveries to Cardan of Milan, as a secret. 
Cardan extended the discovery himself, and published, 1545, 
the solution known as ‘ Cardan’s Rule.’ Ludovico Ferrari 
and Bombelli (1579) gave the solution of biquadratic 
equations. A. was first cultivated in Germany by Christian 
Rudolf, in a work printed 1524; Stifel followed with his 
Arithmetica Integra (Numb. 1544). Robert Recorde, in 
England, and Pelletier, in France, wrote about 1550. Vieta, 
a Frenchman (d 1603), first made the grand step of using 
letters to denote the known quantities as well as the un¬ 
known. Harriot, in England (1631), and Girard, in Holland 
(1633), still further improved on the advances made by 
Vieta. The Geometrie (1637) of Descartes makes an epoch 
in A.; it is rich in new investigations. Descartes applied A. 
to Geometry, and was the first to represent the nature of 
curves by means of equations. Fermat also contributed 


ALGECIHAS—ALGER. 

fluch to the science; and so did the Arithmetica Universalii 
of Newton. To th<ese names may he added Maclaurin, 
Moivre, Taylor, and Fontaine. Among the chief promoters 
of A., in more recent times, are Euler, Lagrange, Gauss, 
Abel, Fourier, Peacock, De Morgan, Sylvester, ami Cayley. 

ALGECIRAS, or Algeziras, dl-je-ze'ras: town in Spain, 
prov. of Cadiz, on the Gulf of Gibraltar. Its harbor is bad, 
but it has a good dock, and fine aqueducts. The citadel is in a 
very dilapidated condition, and the trade in corn and brandy 
is no longer important. The place, however, which is 
pleasantly situated, has a picturesque appearance. It was 
the first town in Spain taken by the Moors (713), in whose 
possession it remained for seven centuries; but in 1344, after a 
siege of 20 months, it was retaken by the brave Alfonso XL, 
king of Castile. It is said that crusaders from all parts of 
Europe were present at this siege, which was the siege of the 
age, and is spoken of as such. Edward III. of England 
purposed coming in person to the assistance of the Spanish 
monarch, whom he greatly admired. Alfonso destroyed 
the old Moorish town; the modern one was built by Charles 
III. in 1760 Between Algeciras and Tarifa, 1801, June 6, 
the English admiral Saumarez attacked the combined 
French and Spanish fleets under Rear-Admiral Luinois. He 
was defeated, but renewed the engagement a few days 
afterwards;and gained a complete victory. A. is 5 m. from 
Gibraltar, across the bay or gulf, and 10 round by land. 
Pop. 12,465. 

ALGEMESI, al-ha-ma-se': town of Spain, province of 
Valencia, 21 m. s.s.w. of Valencia, near the river Jucar. 
It produces rice and silk, and holds a celebrated annual 
fair in September. 

ALGER al'jer, Horatio, Jr.: author: b. Revere, near 
Boston, 1834, Jan. 13. He graduated at Harvard College 
1852, and began to teach, also giving time to writing, for 
which he had early shown adaptation. For a time he held 
editorial positions on two Boston newspapers, then made 
a tour of a year through Europe, keeping his literary con¬ 
nection by corresponding with t he American press. Upon 
his return to the United States he took his old profession 
of teaching, but continued to write; and in 1866, when he 
removed to New York, became deeply interested in the 
condition of street boys, and was led to give his attention 
to the writing of works of fiction for youth, having as 
heroes, or for his illustrations, children of this class. 
Among his works, which were continued in series, are 
Ragged Dick Tattered Tom. and Luck and Pluck. He had 
written also Bertha's Christmas Vision { 1855); Nothing to Do 
(1857); Frank’s Campaian , or wliat a Boy can Do (1864); Paul 
Prestons Charge (1865); Helen Ford , a novel (1366); a 
volume of poems; lives of Webster, Lincoln, and Garfield; 
Lake Walton and Young Acrobat of the Great North Am&i'i 
can Circus (1889). He died 1899, July 18. 


ALGER. 

ALGER, Russell Alexander: capitalist and manu¬ 
facturer; b. Lafayette, Medina co., O., 1836, Feb. 27. He 
was left an orphan when 13 years old; worked on a farm 
in summer by the month till he was 20, attending the Rich¬ 
field (Ohio) Acad, in winters. He taught school in the 
winters at the age of 19, 20, and 21. He was admitted to 
the bar by the supreme court of Ohio, 1859; and removed 
to Grand Rapids, Mich., 1860. At the outbreak of the 
civil war, he enlisted as a private in the 2d Mich, vols.; 
1861, Sep. 2, was commissioned capt. 2d Mich, cav., 1862, 
Apr. 2, promoted maj.; July 1 was wounded, captured, 
and escaped at Boouesville, Miss.; Oct. 16 promoted lieut.- 
col. 6th Mich, cav.; 1863, Feb. 28, commissioned col. 
5th Mich, cav.; 1864, July 8, wounded at Boonsboro’, 
Md.; July 11, brevetted brig.gen. vols. for gallantry at 
Trevillan Station; and 1865, June 11, brevetted maj.gen. 
vois. for services during the war. After the close of the 
war he engaged in lumbering, and became very wealthy. 
Gen. A. was a delegate to the national repub. convention 
in Chicago 1884; was gov. of Mich. 1885-87; was an un¬ 
successful candidate for the presidential nomination before 
the repub. national convention at Chicago 1888; was com¬ 
mander-in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic 
1889-90; secretary of war 1897-99; and was elected U. S. 
senator in 1903. 

ALGER, William Rounseville: clergyman and au¬ 
thor : b. Freetown Mass., 1822, Dec. 28. He graduated at 
the Cambridge Divinity School, Harvard College, 1847, and 
was ordained pastor of the Unitarian church, Roxbury, Mass. 
In 1855, he succeeded Theodore Parker as minister of the 
Society of Liberal Christians in Boston, meeting in Music 
Hall, where he continued to preach till 1876, when he be¬ 
came minister of the Unitarian Church of the Messiah, New 
York. He succeeded in this position Orville Dewey and 
Samuel Osgood, and was followed after three years by 
Robert Collver. For the next three years he preached in 
different cities in the west, but iu 1882 settled in Boston, 
and gave his attention to general literature. His principal 
works are : The Poetry of the Orient { 1856); Critical History 
of the Doctrine of a Future Life (1862) The Genius of Soli¬ 
tude (1868); Friendships of Women (1868)- Prayers ofered 
in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1868 (1869); 
The End of the World and the Day of Judgment, The 
Sword , the Pen , and the Pulpit, and A Tribute to Charles 
Dickens (1870); Life of Edwin Forrest, with a Critical 
History of the Dramatic Art, 2 vols. (1876) '. The School of 
Life (1881); A Symbolic History of the Cross of Christ (1881); 
The Sources of Consolation in Human Life ( 1892). 


ALGERIA. 

ALGERIA, al-je'rt-d (in French, Algerie): a country 
on the n. coast of Africa, a subordinate part of the Turkish 
Empire till 1830; now aFrenck colony. It lies between 2° 8' 
w. long., and 8 50' e. long. It is bounded on the n. by 
the Mediterranean, on the e. by Tunis, on the s. by Sahara, 
and on the w. by Morocco. The French have extended 
their dominions more than 200 m. into the interior, but 
those of the deys—the former rulers of A.—comprehended 
territories lying nearly twice as far s. The census of 
1901, March 24, gave the area of the three departments 
of A. —Algiers, Oran, and Constantine—as 184,474 sq. 

m. , the departments ranking in size, Constantine, Al¬ 
giers, and Oran. Physically, A. forms a part of the 

n. border of the great plateau of H. Africa, which here 
rises from the sea in three terraces. The Atlas Moun¬ 
tains run parallel to the coast-line. Behind these, a vast 
tract of heathy plains, called the Sebkhas, interspersed 
with salt-lakes, stretches southwards, until bounded by 
a second chain of mountains; beyond which, again, lies 
the great desert of Sahara. The plains and valleys 
which open out towards the sea in then, of A., such as 
those round Bona, Algiers, Oran, etc., are extremely fertile, 
abound in wood and water, consist mostly of a calcareous 
soil, and are well adapted for agriculture. They form the 
Tell, which was once one of the granaries of Italy. In 
strong contrast to these are the Sebkhas or lesser deserts, 
covered with herbs and brushwood, but almost destitute of 
fresh water, except where here and there they are interrupted 
by an oasis. The most s. part of the country beyond the 
Atlas partakes of the nature of the Sahara, but contains 
oases covered with palm trees, and well peopled. This is a 
part of the ‘ date-country,’or ‘ Blad-el-Djerid.’ There are 
no rivers of any importance in the entire colony, nothing 
beyond mere coast streams, which rise in the neighboring 
Atlas. The largest is the Shelif, about 230 m. in length. 
With respect to the climate, the heat in the Tell is sometimes 
very great. On the coast it is mitigated by the sea-breeze; 
and among the high mountains of the interior, the winters 
are even cold. The average temperature of Algiers is about 
63° F. A. is not unfrequently visited by the simoom, or hot 
wind, called by the Italians sirocco, and by the Spaniards 
solano. Its mineral wealth is considerable; iron, lead, 
copper, and manganese are found. The marble of Numidia 
was in requisition in ancient times. Extensive forests of 
oaks, cedars, pines, and pistachio nut trees cover large 
portions of the country, and furnish an abundant supply of 
timber and resin. The cereals and the olive are cultivated 
in the Tell; and the oases of Sahara are famed for their 
dates. The latter region, by means of numerous artesian 
wells, has been made exceedingly productive within recent 
years. The pop. has more than doubled in 10 years, and 
the former desert tracts have more than 500,000 palm and 
90,000 fruit trees. The draining of Lake Hallula, in the 
plain of Metidja. gave 34,000 acres of land to cultivation. 

Language.— Four languages are spoken in A., the 
Berber, the Arabic, the Turkish, and the negro dialects. 

Vol. 1 — 10 


ALGERIA. 

The Berber, which is the most ancient of ah, has a variety 
of dialects, and is spoken by all the Kabyle tribes. It pos¬ 
sesses no literature in its own alphabet, Arabic characters 
alone being used. The Arabic is of course an importation 
from the East, and has borrowed expressions and idioms 
from the various native languages with which it came into 
contact; but its differences are comparatively slight. The 
Koran is the great bond of union. The Turkish, since the 
French conquest, has become almost extinct. The negro 
dialects are of little consequence. 

History .—In the most ancient times the Numidians were 
settled in the e. part of the regency, and the Moors (or 
Mauri) in the w. Under the Romans, the former was in¬ 
cluded in the province of Africa, while the latter was called 
Mauritania Caesariensis. Like the rest of N. Africa, it 
had then reached its highest prosperity. It had numerous 
cities, which were principally Roman colonies. But its 
conquest by the Vandals, under the famous Genseric, about 
440, threw it back into a state of barbarism, from which it 
only partly recovered after the Mohammedan immigrants 
had established their dominion. About 935, the city, Al- 
Jezira, i.e., the island, and later Al-Gazie, i.e., the warlike, 
now called Algiers, was built by an Arabian prince, Zeiri, 
whose successors ruled the land till 1148, after which it was 
governed by the Almohades (q.v.) till 1269. It was then 
split up into many small territories. In 1492 the Moors and 
Jews who had been driven out of Spain settled in A., 
and began to revenge themselves on their persecutors by 
piracy. Ferdinand, the Spanish monarch, attacked them 
on this account, took the city of Algiers in 1509, and erected 
fortifications on the island which forms its harbor. One of 
the Algerine princes, the Emir of Metidja, whose territories 
were threatened by the Spaniards, now invited to his assist¬ 
ance the Greek renegade, Horuk or Harude Barbarossa, who 
had made himself famous as a Turkish pirate chief. This 
laid the foundation of the Turkish dominion; for when 
Barbarossa arrived in 1516, he treacherously turned his 
corsair bands against the emir, whom he murdered, and 
then made himself sultan of Algiers. His subsequent suc¬ 
cesses alarmed the Spaniards, who marched an army against 
him from Oran. Barbarossa was defeated in many en¬ 
counters, and, at last, being taken prisoner, was beheaded 
in 1518. His brother was then chosen sultan. He put him¬ 
self under the protection of the Ottoman court, by the help 
of a Turkish army drove the Spaniards out of the country, 
and established that svstem of military despotism and piracy 
which lasted until 1830, when the French captured the city 
of Algiers and took possession of the country. 

Under Moslem rule the Algerines carried on a piratical 
war against the powers of Christendom; made landings 
on the Italian and Spanish coasts; were constantly fighting 
to extend their possessions inland: subdued the whole 
country to the border of Morocco, except the Spanish pos¬ 
session of Oran; and advanced their expeditions beyond 
the Straits of Gibraltar. The court at Constantinople gave 
them the right to choose a dey from among themselves. 


ALGERIA. 

1600; but this divided local authority and led to grave inter* 
nal strife. The English bombarded Algiers 1669, the 
Dutch 1670, and the French 1682 and 1687. Dey Ibrahim 
took possession of Oran 1708; and his successor, Baba-Ali, 
wrested the country from the dominion of the Porte, con¬ 
ducted a successful war, and concluded peace on his own 
terms. Then followed a period of supreme rule by deys, 
few of whom were permitted to die a natural death. Spain 
sent an expedition against A. 1775, comprising 44 ships of 
war, 840 transports, and 25,000 soldiers; but like all her 
previous ones, this was singularly unfortunate, and A. con¬ 
tinued to defy the great Christian powers and to enforce 
tribute from the weak ones. During the French revolu¬ 
tion and at the time of the empire, poweiful fleets in the 
Mediterranean temporarily checked the piracies, but they 
were soon resumed as vigorously as ever. The first signal 
defeat of the pirates was by an American fleet off Cartha- 
gena, 1815, June 20, when the dey was forced to acknowl¬ 
edge the inviolability of the American flag. The English 
secured from the other Barbary states the recognition of 
an international law respecting the treatment of prisoners; 
and when A. refused to assent to it, English and Dutch 
fleets bombarded Algiers and laid half the city in ruins. A 
treaty was exacted from the dey 1816, in which he agreed 
to release r,n Christian slaves without ransom, and promised 
to put an end forever to both piracy and Christian slavery. 
Outrages against French officials, French vessels, and Ro¬ 
man vessels^flying the French flag, succeeded the termina¬ 
tion of piracy, and were continued till the French sent a 
formidable expedition to A., bombarded and captured 
Algiers, and took possession of the whole country 
1830, July. 

Under the French occupation, the first administrative 
officer was Marshal Bourmont, who was succeeded, after 
the revolution in France, by Gen. Clausel. He undertook 
to subdue the country and to give it a permanent govt.r 
but the people rebelled against the imposition of French 
laws and customs and the desecration of their sacred places, 
and Clausel was compelled to send a milit. expedition 
against the refractory local authorities and the turbulent 
people. This movement led to the preaching of a holy 
war. and the gradual loss of power by Clausel. For mak¬ 
ing a treaty with the bey of Tunis which the home govt, 
disapproved, Clausel was recalled. He was succeeded by 
Gen. Berthezene, who, proving a failure, was speedily su¬ 
perseded by Lieut.gen. the Duke of Rovigo 1831, Dec. 
The duke remained in A. till 1833, Mar.; was a severe and 
relentless administrator; annihilated the whole Arab tribe 
El Uffia in a night massacre; treacherously slew two 
powerful Arab chiefs; and left the country in widespread 
warfare against the French. In 1834 the French govt, re¬ 
solved to retain possession of the country. It created an 
administration with supreme power, civil and milit., in¬ 
vested in a gov.gen., receiving orders direct from the min¬ 
ister of war. For the administration of justice, a variety 
of tribunals was provided, Frenchmen and foreigners 


ALGERIA. 

were made amenable to French laws and the natives to 
their own. The municipal institutions, educational sys¬ 
tem, and police arrangements of France were established, 
and for the first time in many years an era of peace and 
prosperity seemed about dawning, when the treaty was 
suddenly broken and the French army was signally de¬ 
feated at Makta. A change in administrative and milit. 
officers was made; Clausel was sent to A. and took vigor¬ 
ous measures to wipe away the disgrace of the Makta 
defeat; and Abd-el-Kader (q.v.), the emir about whom the 
people had rallied when the Marabouts began preaching 
thenoly war, became all-powerful. Numerous expeditions 
were sent against him without material results; and 1837, 
May 30, the last appointed French commander, Gen. 
Bugeaud, was compelled to make peace with him. Abd-el- 
Kader recognized the sovereignty of France over the 
regency, and received in return the govt, of the provinces 
of Oran, Titeri, and Algiers, excepting the cities of Oran, 
Arzeu, Masagran, Mostaganem, Algiers, Blidah and Ro- 
leah, Sahel, and the plain of Metidja, Lieut.-gen. Dam- 
remont succeeded Marshal Clausel 1837, Feb. He chas¬ 
tised the Kabyles of the province of Algiers, and May 13 
stormed and captured the city of Constantine, which vic¬ 
tory led to the subjugation of the enure province of Con¬ 
stantine, but cost the commander his life. In 1839 Abd- 
el-Kader again violated the treaty, headed an uprising, 
regained his former power, and carried on a skilful warfare 
against the French till 1847, when his fortunes changed, 
the most of his allies and followers deserted him, the 
French succeeded in hemming him in on all sides, and he 
surrendered to Gen. Lamoriciere near the end of December. 

During the French revolution of 1848, Feb., the Kabyles 
made a new insurrection, which, however, was soon 
quelled. The national assembly declared A. a permanent 
possession of the republic, and proposed to grant it all the 
political privileges of a French province. While the 
French were extending the work of conquest, coloniza¬ 
tion, and civilization, the Kabyles stubbornly resisted 
every attempt at subjugation or the imposition of civilized 
discipline, and further military operations were soon found 
necessary. In 1853-4 and 1856-7 expeditions were organ¬ 
ized against the Kabyles, and after a barbarous struggle 
the French subdued them. In 1860 Marshal Pelissierwas 
appointed gov.gen.; 1863 Emperor Napoleon offered A. 
a new constitution 1864 troubles arose between the col 
onists and Arabs, in which the latter were again conquered, 
and Marshal MacMahon succeeded Pelissier; 1865 Napoleon 
visited A. and promised to maintain its nationality, while 
declaring that it must continue united to France; 1867 two 
expeditions reduced to submission several tribes that had 
revolted; 1867-8 A. was visited by a famine; and 1870, 
when the Franco-Prussian war compelled the withdrawal 
of the greater part of the French troops from A., the 
natives began to entertain hopes of freeing themselves from 
the yoke of the invader. In the face of a threatened general 
uprising, and the growing discontent of the colonists with 


ALGERINE—ALGIERS. 

the milit. govt., the new republican govt, in Paris author¬ 
ized a civil administration, with a gov., prefect for each 
province, and a council of which the prefects, abp., com¬ 
mander of the army, and other officials, were members. 

Since the French occupation, there has been steady in¬ 
crease in the foreign trade of A., three-fourths of the 
imports coming from France and two-thirds of the exports 
going thither. The principal imports are manufactured 
cotton, woolen, linen, and silk goods, sugar, hides, build¬ 
ing materials, and metals; and exports, cereals, wool, live 
animals, fruit, vegetable fibres, cork, and iron, copper, and 
lead ores. In 1890 the imports aggregated $52,018,026; 
exports $52,019,826; 1891 the revenue was $9,034,000; ex¬ 
penditure $8,832,592. Mohammedan schools for instruc¬ 
tion in French and Arabic were maintained by the govt., 
and attended largely by pupils of both sexes; numerous 
banks have been established; there is adequate submarine 
and inland telegraph service; and 1891 there were 1,910 m. 
of railroads. 

Population .—According to the census of 1901, March 24, 
the department of Constantine had 1,990,992 pop.; that 
of Algiers, 1,640,985; and that of Oran, 1,107,354—total 
4,739,331. The native pop. was 4,072,080. 

ALGERINE, a. al'je-rnin , of or belonging to Algiers: 
N. an inhabitant of; formerly, a pirate. 

ALGIERS, al-jirz [Arabic, Al-jezira, the island]: cap. of 
Algeria: built about 935 by an Arab chief. It rises from the 
sea-shore up the sides of a precipitous hill in the form of an 
equilateral triangle. The apex is formed by the Casbah, the 
ancient fortress of the deys, which is 500 ft. above the sea- 
level, and commands the whole town. The base is a mile in 
length The present city may be regarded as divided into 
two parts: the old, or high town; and the new, or low town. 
With the exception of some mosques, the latter consists 
of wharves, warehouses, government houses, squares, and 
streets, principally built and inhabited by the French; while 
the former is almost wholly Moorish both in its edifices and 
inhabitants. The great centre of bustle and activity in A. 
is the Place Royale—a large oblong space in the centre of 
the town, planted with orange and lime trees, and sur¬ 
rounded by houses in the European style. Here may be 
found as motley a crowd as anywhere in the world, denizens 
of all nations—Arabs, Moors, Jews, French, Spaniards, 
Maltese, Germans, Italians, etc. The city is intersected by 
two large parallel streets, Bab-el-Ouad and Bab-azoun, run¬ 
ning n. and s. for more than half a mile. They are flanked 
by colonnades, but are very narrow, and therefore inconven 
ient for traffic; as promenades, however, nothing could be 
more agreeable. In 1833, A. had upwards of 100 mosques 
and marabouts. The mosques are divided into two classes— 
the djamas, or principal mosques, and the mesjids, or in¬ 
ferior mosques. The marabouts are the tombs and sanctu¬ 
aries of saints. Everywhere A. wears the aspect of a rising 
'.olonial city. Other towns in the province still retain their 


ALGIN—ALGOLOGY, 

oriental character, with the exception of a few military 
buildings; but the new town of A. might deceive the trav¬ 
eller into the belief that he is still in Europe, were it not 
for the throng of swarthy faces he meets. The streets are 
regular, spacious, and elegant; some of them as handsome as 
the Parisian Boulevards, and adorned with arcades. The 
shops, too, are occasionally very good. The houses are in 
some instances five stories high, which, though it gives a 
massive and imposing appearance to the city, is yet a very 
perilous innovation in a place which has suffered dreadfully 
from earthquakes. 

But perhaps greater interest attaches to the old Moorish 
town, which is connected with the new by a steep, narrow, 
jagged-looking street called the Casbah, leading down from 
the fortress of the deys. The houses ar r square, substan¬ 
tial, flat-roofed; rise irregularly one over the other; and have 
no windows, but only peep-holes, which are intended to ex¬ 
clude impertinent eyes, and are therefore fortified with iron 
gratings instead of glass, so that the houses have a very 
prison-like appearance. Although the streets at first con¬ 
trast unfavorably with those of Europe, on account of their 
narrowness, the coolness which this secures soon reconciles 
the traveller to other inconveniences The inhabitants have 
recourse to their flat roofs or terraces in the evening to enjoy 
the delicious sea-breeze. Horse-racing is the great amuse¬ 
ment. The Arabs are passionately fond of it. The town 
has supreme courts of justice, a chamber and tribunal of 
commerce, a college, and schools, a Rom. Cath. cathedral 
and churches, a French Prot. church, a synagogue, a bazaar 
of native industry, theatres, and banks. 

A., misgoverned by a long succession of Turkish deys, 
fell into the hands of the French 1830 (see Algeria), who 
ended the ferocious despotism. The Turks withdrew in 
great numbers. A. is now known as the chief com¬ 
mercial place in Algeria, and is a winter resort for Europe¬ 
ans suffering with chest diseases. Pop. (1901) 96,542, less 
than one-half Europeans. 

ALGIN, til’jin [Lat. alga , sea-weed) substance forming in 
part a jelly-like material on the surface of certain sea-weeds. 
The tlialli of a Laminaria, chemically treated, produce 
a gelatinous mass, about 2 per cent, of which is A This 
mass, heated and filtered, leaves a cellulose amounting to 
10-15 per cent, of the air-dried plant. The solution con¬ 
tains also mucilage and dextrine. Add sulphuric or hydro¬ 
chloric acid, and the A. becomes compact. To render this 
soluble, redissolve in carbonate of soda. A. is used as 
sizing for textile fabrics, and for culinary purposes. The 
dry A resembles horn, and can be turned and polished. 

ALGOA BAY, al-gd'a: extensive inlet at the e. extremity 
of the s. coast of Africa, about 430 m. e. of Cape Town. 
Its anchorage is mostly good, and it is the harbor of the 
e. province, by far the most flourishing portion of the col¬ 
ony. See Cape of Good Hope. 

ALGOLOGY: see under Alg/E. 


ALGON QUIN S—ALH A M A. 

ALGONQUINS, dl-gbn'kwinz: the most prominent of the 
three aboriginal races that the French found in the great 
basin of the St Lawrence. They were then the lords not 
only of the best part of Canada, but of much adjacent ter¬ 
ritory to the n and w. In what is now the United States, 
the Algonquin tribes occupied the coast region from the 
n.e limit to the James river, iu Va., and were found 
westward as far almost as the Rocky Mts. The Abenakis, 
Micmacs, Delawares, Mohigans, Shawnees, Pequots, Ojib- 
ways, Crees, and perhaps the Blackfeet and Cheyennes, 
were of Algonquin stock. In a much narrower sense, the 
name of A. is now applied to the remnant of an aborig¬ 
inal people in the province of Quebec, Can. See Leland’s 
Algonquin Legends of New England. 

ALGOR, n. algor [L.— from algeo y I feel cold]: the 
Sense of coldness experienced at the onset of fever. Algid, 
it. dljid, chilled with cold, become cold. 

ALGORITHM, n. al'gorithm [Sp. algoritmo, the science 
of numbers—Sp spelling of an Arabic word: Ar. al, the: 
Gr. arithmos , number], the art of computation, notation; 
algebra 

ALGUAZIL, or Alguacil, n. al'gwd-zeV [Sp. aJguacil, a 
police-officer—from Ar. al-wazir, a vizier, a lieutenant; from 
Wasil, i.e., the ‘power’ derived from the king], general 
name in Spain of the officers intrusted with the execution 
of justice. There are ‘ Alguaciles mayores,’ who either 
inherit the office of executing justice in a town as a hered¬ 
itary right belonging to their families, or are chosen to the 
office by the municipality; formerly, the name was also 
given to the officers that executed the sentences or orders of 
tribunals, such as the tribunal of the Inquisition, and of 
the various orders of knights. But usually, under the name 
of A., is understood the ‘Alguaciles menores,’ or ‘ordi- 
narios,’ that is to say, the attendants or officers of the courts 
of justice, gens d arines, bailiffs—in short, all the inferior 
officers of justice and police. 

ALGUM, n al gum [Heb. almug, a corrupted form of 
algum: Sans, valguka, sandal-woodj: sandal-wood; a tree, 
indigenous chiefly on the Malabar coast of India, whose 
wood is used both medicinally and as a perfume; the San- 
talum album , Ord Santdldcece; the almug or algum trees of 
Scripture are also referred to the Plerocar'pus santalinus, or 
red sandal-wood of India, Ord. Leguminbsce. 

ALIIA GI. see Manna. 

ALHAMA, d-lamd [Arab, ihe Bath; the Roman Astigia 
Juliensis] • town of Andalusia, Spain, province of Granada, 25 
m. s. w. from Granada. Its situation is extremely picturesque, 
on the edge of a projecting rock overhanging a deep chasm 
of limestone hills, through which the river Marchan foams, 
with mountains in the background rising 8,000 ft. Vine¬ 
yards and gardens mingled with the houses on the steep 
slopes add to the interest of the scene. A. is a decayed town, 
although its warm sulphureous baths are still frequented 


ALHAMA—ALHAMBRA. 

by visitors in tbe beginning and end of summer. The Moors 
derived a large revenue from its baths. It was a famous 
fortress of the Moors; and its capture, 1482, prepared the 
way for that of Granada. There are still remains of the 
Moorish castle and town wall. There are ruins also of a 
Roman aqueduct: the principal bath still in use is a Moorish 
edifice; and a smaller one is supposed to be Roman. Pop. 
7,758. 

ALHAMA: town of Murcia, Spain, 17 m. s.w. from 
Murcia; celebrated for its warm mineral waters, and re¬ 
sorted to for bathing.* It has a ruined castle. Pop. 6,800. 

ALHAMBRA, al-hdm'bra: the fortress which forms a sort 
of acropolis or citadel to the city of Granada, Spain, and in 



which stood the palace of the ancient Moorish kings of 
Granada. The name is a corruption of the Arabic Kal-’at 
al hamra, ‘ the red castle.’ It is surrounded by a strong 
wall, more than a mile in circuit, and studded with towers. 
The towers on the n. wall, defended by nature, were used 
as residences connected with the palace. One of them con¬ 
tains the famous Hall of the Ambassadors. The remains of 
the Moorish palace are called by the Spaniards the Casa 
Real. It was begun by Ibnu-l-ahmar, and continued by his 
successors (1248-1348). The portions still standing are 
ranged round two oblong courts, one called the Court of the 
Fish-pond , the other the Court of the Lions. They consist 
of porticos, pillared halls, cool chambers, small gardens, 
fountains, mosaic pavements, etc. The lightness and ele¬ 
gance of the columns and arches, and the richness of the 
ornamentation, are unsurpassed. The coloring is but little 












































PLATE ?, 


Alder 

Aliped 



Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa). Another specimen. 



Alhambra. 














ALHAURIN EL GRANDE—ALI-BEN-ABI-TALEB. 

altered by time. The most characteristic parts of the Casa 
Real have been reproduced in the ‘ Alhambra Court ’ of the 
Crystal Palace at Sydenham, Eng. A great part of the 
ancient palace was removed to make way for the palace 
begun by Charles V., but never finished. It is lon^ since 
any part of the Moorish palace was inhabited; but it is kept 
in a state of preservation as a work of art, and as a memorial 
of the tragic legend of the Abencerrages (q.v.). In 1890, 
Sep. 15, it was nearly destroyed by fire. 

ALHAURIN EL GRANDE, dl-ow ren' el gran'dd: town 
of Granada, Spain, prov. of Malaga; 19 m. w. from Malaga, 
on the n. side of the Sierra de Mijas, and near the Faala, an 
affluent of the Guadalherce. It is well built, with a number 
of squares, wide, w T ell-paved streets, and many fountains. 
There are remains of a Roman aqueduct and of an Arab 
Ratification. Many of the inhabitants are employed in 
the quarries and mines of the vicinity. Pop. 7,514. 

AjuiA, a led: town of Sicily, prov. of Palermo, 30 m. s.e. 
from Palermo, picturesquely situated ou the crest of a hill, 
in a mountainous and craggy district, near a torrent called 
the Fiume Tor to. Pop. 6,425. 

ALIAS, conj. a'li-ds [law L. alms —from L. alius, an¬ 
other]: otherwise: N. a false or assumed name; in law, 
formerly a second writ of execution issued when the first 
has failed. 

ALIBAUD, a-le-bo' , Louis: d. 1836, July 11: notorious for 
his attempt to murder King Louis-Philippe. He w’as, at the 
revolution of July, quarter-master in the 15th regt. of the 
line. Having been degraded subsequently for an accidental 
brawl in the streets of Strasburg, he demanded his 
discharge in 1834, and went to live at Perpignan, and then 
at Barcelona, where, having become a fanatical republican, 
he returned to Paris with the determination to murder the 
king. A weariness of life had also seized him, so great 
that he thought of suicide. A. fired at the king, 1836, June 
25, at the moment when, driving through the gate of the 
Tuileries, he bowed to the national guard as they presented 
arms, the ball passed close by the king’s head. Being 
immediately seized, he regretted nothing but the failure of 
his attempt. After a short trial, he w T as guillotined. 

ALI-BEN-ABI-TALEB, d'le-ben-d'be-ta'leb: the first 
convert to Mohammedanism, and fourth caliph: d. 660. 
He was the bravest and most faithful follower of the Pro¬ 
phet whose daughter, Fatima, he married. Being made 
caliph in the place of the murdered Othman, he was vic¬ 
torious over the rebels in ninety engagements. He took 
prisoner Ayeshah, the young widow of Mohammed, and his 
greatest enemy, in the battle i the Camel—so called because 
Ayeshah appeared in the field riding on a camel. A. was 
murdered by a fanatic, and was buried near Kufa, where a 
monument was erected to him. to which his votaries still go 
on pilgrimage, and which caused the building of the city 
Med jed Ali. The religious sect formed by the followers of 
Ali, called Shiites (q.v.), has spread extensively under that 


ALIBI—ALICATA. 

name in Persia and Tartary. The descendants of Ali and 
Fatima, called the Fatimites (q.v.), although much perse¬ 
cuted by the Ommiades, have nevertheless ruled on the 
banks of the Nile and of the Tagus, in West Africa, and in 
Syria. The best edition of the Proverbs or Maxims ascribed 
to Ali has been published by Fleischer (Ali’s Hundred Pro¬ 
verbs, Arabian and Persian, Leip. 1837); Ali’s Divan, the 
most complete collection of his lyrical poems, mostly on 
religious subjects, appeared, 1840, at Bulak, near Cairo. 

ALIBI, n. dl'i-bl [Law L. alibi, elsewhere—from L. 
alius, another]: a law term, being elsewhere; being with an¬ 
other person in another place. A. is a defense resorted to 
in criminal prosecutions, when the party accused, in order 
to prove that he could not have committed the crime with 
which he is charged, tenders evidence that he was in a dif¬ 
ferent place at the time. When true, there can be no better 
proof of innocence; but as offering the readiest and most ob¬ 
vious opportunity for false evidence, it is regarded with sus¬ 
picion. In the case of crimes the place of committing which 
is immaterial—as, for example, the act of fabricating the 
plates, or of throwing off the spurious notes, in a case of 
forgery—a proof of A. is of no avail. 

ALICANTE, d-le-kdn'ta: chief town of a prov. of the 
same name in Spain; one of the most considerable sea¬ 
ports of Spain. It is strongly fortified, and is the staple 
place for the products of Valencia, especially soda, cotton 
and linen fabrics, ropes, corn, oil, silk, and the wine of the 
neighboring district, known as A. or vino Unto, on account 
of its dark color. A good deal of this rough, and at the 
same time sweet, wine is used to ‘ doctor ’ thin clarets for 
the British market. In 1331, the town was besieged by the 
Moors; and again by the French under Asfeld in 1709 In 
1873 it was unsuccessfully bombarded by the Carthaginian 
insurgents. Pop. 50,142. The Province of A. is formed 
of parts of the old kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia. 
Pop. (1900) 470,149. 

ALICATA, d-le-kd'td, or Licata: town of Sicily, prov. 
of Girgenti; 26 m. s e. from Girgenti. It is most beautifully 
situated on the sea-coast, at the mouth of .the Salsa (anc. 
Himera Meridionalis), one of the largest rivers, if not the 
largest, in Sicily; its buildings stretch along the shore, and 
occupy the steep slope of the hill, which is crested by the 
great old fortress, now indeed of little strength, but of 
imposing appearance. On the brow of a hill to the w. of 
the town is the dismantled castle of St. Angelo, said to 
occupy the site of that in which the tyrant Phalaris kept the 
brazen bull, his celebrated instrument of torture. A. is 
generally believed to stand on the spot where the ancient 
Phintias was built, b.c 280, by Phintias, tyrant of 
Agrigentum, after he had destroyed Gela, the inhabitants of 
which he transferred hither. The place and immediate 
neighborhood were the scene of some memorable battles in 
the wars between the Carthaginians and Sicilians and 
between the Carthaginians and Romans. In the 


ALIDADE—ALIEN. 

middle ages, A. suffered severely from the depredations Oi 
Barbary corsairs. Its port is quite inferior, the sea being so 
shallow that only vessels of small size can approach the 
town; larger vessels are compelled to anchor about a mile 
from the town, and are loaded and unloaded by the aid of 
small craft. Yet A. has considerable trade, exporting corn, 
macaroni, fruit, almonds, pistachio-nuts, sulphur, soda, and 
wines. Pop. 17,338. 

ALIDADE, n. al’i-ddd [mid. L. alidada, an optical in¬ 
strument—from Ar. al-haddt, a sort of rule]: the index or 
ruler which moves about the centre of an astrolabe or 
quadrant, carrying the sights. 

ALIEN, n. al'yen [OF. alien or allien, a stranger—from 
L. alienus, of another country—from alius, another]: one 
born in or belonging to another country; a foreignera 
stranger: Adj. foreign; strange. Alienage, n. dl'yen-aj, 
state of being an alien. Alienate, v. al'yen-at, to trans¬ 
fer anything to another without power of recall; to give to 
another for good; to estrange; to withdraw love or affection 
from. Al iena ting, imp. Al iena ted, pp. Alienable, 
a. dl'yen-d-bl, that may be transferred or withdrawn. 
Alienability, n. dl'yen-d-bil'i-ti, the being able to be 
given away. Alienation, n. dl'yen-d shun, the transfer of 
anything to another. Alienator, n. dl'yen-a'ter, one who 
transfers anything. Alienee, n. dl'yen-e', one to whom a 
thing is transferred. Alienism, a. dlyen-izm, the condition 
of an alien.—S yn. of‘alienation’: estrangement; abstrac 
tion; madness; derangement; insanity; aberration. 

ALIEN. The citizen of one country, when resident in an¬ 
other, unless naturalized (see Naturalization), is an alien. 
Tbe condition of an alien does not necessarily result from 
foreign birth, for the son of a natural-born or naturalized 
citizen and resident is not an alien, wherever he may be 
born. The allegiance due by an alien or stranger to the 
prince in whose dominions he resides is usually called local 
or temporary allegiance. It differs from natural allegiance 
chiefly in this, that whereas natural allegiance is perpetual, 
and unaffected by change of residence, local allegiance 
ceases when the stranger transfers himself to another king¬ 
dom. See Allegiance: Naturalization: Conspiracy 
Bill. 

In the United States, an A. is a person born out of the juris¬ 
diction of the United States and not since naturalized in ac¬ 
cordance with the constitution and laws. Exceptions to this 
are children of U. S. ministers at foreign courts. An A. can¬ 
not in general acquire title to real estate by descent or by mere 
operation of law; and if he purchase land, he may be divested 
of the fee under certain procedure; some of the states have 
statutory exceptions to this rule. An A., though afterwards 
naturalized, is ineligible to the office of president of the 
United States, and in some states, notably in New York, to 
that of governor; and he cannot be a member of congress 
until the expiration of seven years after his naturalization. 


ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS—ALIMENT. 

He cannot, unless naturalized, exercise any political rights 
whatever. An A. has the right to acquire personal estate 
and make and enforce contracts in relation to the same; 
he is protected from injuries and wrongs to his person and 
property, liis relative rights and character; he may sue and 
be sued. . An A. owes a temporary allegiance, and his 
property is liable to taxation. A. enemies during war are 
incapable to sue, and may be ordered out of the country. 

ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS, in United States his¬ 
tory: acts of congress 1798 to repress the activity of politi¬ 
cal opponents of Pres. John Adams’s administration. 
There were three ‘Alien Laws,’ against alien pamphleteers 
and agitators of French, English, Irish, and Scotch birth, 
all sympathizers with Thomas Jefferson and the republican 
party of that day. The second alien law authorized the 
pres, to expel fro'tn the country all aliens whom he might 
judge dangerous to the public safety: this is the alien law 
par excellence. The first act lengthened the probation for 
citizenship from 5 to 14 years; the third act empowered 
the pres., in time of war with any country, to expel all 
natives of that country. The seditioi: law declared the 
people of France enemies, and adherence to them by an 
American, treason: combining to obstruct the Federal govt, 
was declared ‘ high misdemeanor.’ 

ALIFEROUS, a. d-lif'er-vs [L. ala, a win g;fero, I carry]; 
having wings. Aliform, a. al'i-fawrm [L. forma, shape]: 
wing-shaped. 

ALIGARH: see Allygurh. 

ALIGHT, v. a-lit' [AS. alihtan, to light on anything, 
especially on the ground—from lihtan, to alight— lit., to 
remove a burden from]: to get or come down; to settle on, 
as birds. Alight ing, imp. Alight ed, pp. 

ALIGN, v. d-lin' [F; aligner, to draw out by line—from 
ligne, a line: L. ad, lined, a line]: in mil., to place two ob¬ 
jects, or two bodies of men, in the same straight line. 
Alignement, or Alignment, n. d-lin'ment [F. alignement, 
a row, a level]: the act of adjusting to a line; the position of 
a body of men in a straight line; a supposed line to preserve 
a fleet, or part of one, in its just direction; measurement by 
straight lines as in the ground-plan of a railway. 

ALIKE, a. ad. d-lik' [a shortened form of AS. anlike or 
onlike: AS. on, on; lie, like (see Like)]: the same in appear¬ 
ance; not different; in the same manner or degree. 

ALIMENT, n. ali-ment [F. aliment, food—from L. 
alimentum —from L. dlo, I nourish, Goth, alan; Icel. ala, 
to nourish]: that which nourishes; food; nourishment; 
support: V. to grant means of support; to maintain. 
Al iment'ing, imp. Al iment ed, pp. Alimen'tal, a. 
supplying food that can nourish. Alimen'tally, ad. -VI. 
Alimentary, a. dl'i-men' ter-i, having the property of 
nourishing; in anat., connected with the introduction, the 
assimilation, and evacuation of food, as the alimentary canal. 
Al'imen tariness, n. Al'imenta'tion, n. -td'shun, the 


ALIMENT-ALIMENTARY CANAL. 

power of affording nourishment; the state of being nour 
ished. Alimony, n. dli-mon-i, the sum allowed for the 
support of a wife who is separated from her husband. 
Al imen'tiveness, n. -tiv-nes, in phren., the organ which 
creates a desire for food and drinks, or w T hich gives the 
pleasure arising from eating and drinking. 

ALIMENT, in Law: a technical term not known in the 
law of England; but in the law of France, and of Scotland, 
retaining the meaning which it had in the Roman law {Dig. 
34, 1, 6); signifying the food, dwelling, clothing, and other 
things necessary to the support of life, or such money as 
may be judicially demanded in lieu of them. 

ALIMENTARY CANAL: in Mammalia; that portion of 
the digestive apparatus through which the food passes after 
mastication. It is lined by a mucous membrane, which 
extends from the lips to the anus, being modified in each 
region. See Mucous Membrane. The A. C. really begins 
at the back of the mouth, in the lower part of the bag called 
the pharynx, which communicates with the nostrils above, 
and the gullet or oesophagus below, and also with the mouth 
and the larynx. The pharynx is surrounded by three muscles, 
the constrictors, which grasp the food, and force it into the 
next portion of the A. C., the oesophagus. This is a tube 
composed of an outer layer of longitudinal muscular fibres, 
and an inner of circular, which extend down to, and spread, 
out upon, the stomach. These fibres, by a series of peri¬ 
staltic contractions, carry the morsel of food along into the 
stomach. In vomiting there is a reversal of these actions, 
which ruminating animals can accomplish at will. The 
oesophagus passes through an opening in the diaphragm, 
and joins the stomach, which is a pouch curved with "the 
concavity upwards, expanded into a cul de sac on the left 
side (the cardiac extremity), and gradually narrowed to the 
right or pyloric end. It consists of musclar fibres continu¬ 
ous with those of the oesophagus, which become thicker 
towards the pylorus. Its external surfaces are covered by 
peritoneum, and it is lined by a thick soft mucous mem¬ 
brane, which, when the stomach is empty, lies in folds. 
Between the muscular and mucous layers is a fibrous 
layer, in which the blood-vessels lie before they pass into 
the mucous layer. See Stomach. At its pyloric or left 
extremity the stomach communicates with the small intes¬ 
tine, which is about 20 ft. in length, becoming gradually 
narrower towards its lower end, and arranged in numerous 
convolutions, which occupy the middle of the abdominal 
cavity, and are kept in position by the peritoneum, which 
attaches them to the back of the abdomen. 

The small intestine is subdivided into three parts. The 
first 10 inches from tlie stomach is the duodenum, into 
which open the duct of the pancreas and the common bik 
duct; of the remainder, the jejunum includes about two- 
fifths, and the ileum , three-fifths. The differences between 
these last two are not visible externally, but consist in modi¬ 
fications of their internal structure. The tube consists of 


J 


ALIMONY—ALI PASHA. 

peritoneum, longitudinal and circular muscular fibres, a 
fibrous layer, and the mucous membrane. See Intes¬ 
tines. Small. 

_ The ileum ends at the right iliac region in the large intes¬ 
tine, which is from 5 to 0 ft. in length. It begins at the 
pouch called the blind'gut (caput ca3cum coli) or cul de sac 
(see CiECUM) which has a small worm-like appendage (ap¬ 
pendix vermiformis); a double valve guards the opening of 
the small into the large intestine. The colon passes up¬ 
wards on the right side to below the liver (ascending colon), 
then crosses from the right hypochondrium across the upper 
umbilical region to the left hypochondrium (transverse 
colon), then descends to the left iliac fossa (descending colon), 
when it bends twice like an S (sigmoid flexure), and then 
joins the rectum at the left margin of the true pelvis. The 
colon is distinguished by its pouched or sacculated appear¬ 
ance, the sacs being separated by three flat bands of longi¬ 
tudinal muscular fibres. The peritoneum covers it only in 
parts. See Colon. The rectum is not sacculated, but its 
muscular coat becomes much thicker; at its lower end the 
longitudinal fibres stop, but the muscular become more 
numerous, forming the internal sphincter muscle. The 
rectum is not straight, but takes a curved course. 

The A. C. thus consists of a continuous passage lined by 
mucous membrane, which rests on a fibrous and muscular 
basement. Its length is generally about five or six times 
the length of the body, or about 30 ft. It begins below the 
base of the skull, and passes through the thorax, abdomen, 
and pelvis, and consists shortly of the mouth, pharynx, 
oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. 
The above describes the A C. in human anatomy; its parts 
are variously modified in different animals. See articles on 
its subdivisions: also Peristaltic Motion. 

ALIMONY, al'i-mon-i (see Aliment), in Law: the main¬ 
tenance or support which a husband is bound to give to his 
wife after separation from her; or the support which either 
father or mother is bound to give his or her children, though 
this is usually called maintenance. The causes for which 
A. is granted to a wife are desertion, or cruelty on the part 
of the husband, and divorce. It is granted in proportion to 
the wants of the person requiring it, and the circumstances 
of those who are to pay it. A. is allowed to the wife 
'pendente life, almost as a matter of course, whether she be 
plaintiff or defendant, for the reason that she commonly 
has no other means of living. 

ALI PASHA, d'le pd-sM': 1741-1822, Feb 5; b. Tepelen, 
a small place at the foot of the Klissoura Mts., Albania; one 
of the most ferocious and unscrupulous men that even the 
East has produced. He was descended from an Albanian 
pasha, who perished at the siege of Corfu, 1716. His 
mother was a vindictive and merciless woman, who never 
hesitated to employ the most revolting means of accomplish¬ 
ing her purposes. Having lost his father, a comparative^ 
quiet and enlightened man. his education necessarily 


ALI PASHA. 

devolved upon lier; and she did not fail to inspire him with 
her remorseless sentiments. His youth was passed in 
extreme peril and hardship, for the neighboring pashas 
combining, had robbed his father of nearly all his possessions, 
in the effort to recover which, young Ali was repeatedly 
defeated, and at last had to betake himself to the mountains, 
and even to pledge his sword to save himself from dying of 
hunger. These calamities only nurtured a natural boldness 
and cunning, afterwards developed in a variety of qualities, 
such as subtlety, dissimulation, foresight, treachery, vigor, 
and diabolical cruelty. It is said that the change in his 
fortune arose from his having accidentally discovered a chest 
of gold, with which he raised an army of 2,000 men, gained 
his tirst victory, and entered Tepelen in triumph. On the 
very day of his return, he murdered his brother, and then 
imprisoned his mother in the harem on the charge ot 
poisoning him, where she soon after died. He next 
reconciled himself to the Porte by helping to subdue the 
rebellious vizier of Scutari; and thus acquired not only the 
lauds that had been wrested from his father, but likewise 
several Greek cities. He also attacked and slew (with the 
permission of the sultan) Selim, pasha of Delvino, and, as a 
reward, was appointed lieutenant to the new pasha of 
Derwend; but instead of attending to the security of the 
high roads (which was his office), he rendered them more 
insecure than ever by participating iu the plunder which 
the klephtis (robbers) were allowed to make. The result 
was his deposition by the Porte; but he speedily purchased 
back its favor, for he was a master-hand at bribery. Shortly 
after this, he acquired a high reputation as a soldier, and 
did such good service to the Turks in their Austro-Russian 
war of 1787, that he was named pasha of Trikala in 
Thessaly; at the same time he seized Janina or Joannina, of 
which he got himself appointed pasha by the instrumentality 
of terror, a forged firman, and bribery. It must be ad¬ 
mitted that, as a ruler, he now displayed some good 
qualities. He swept his old friends, the robbers, from the 
mountain roads, incorporated them into military troops, 
quelled the wretched factions that prevailed, and every¬ 
where, by the vigor and vigilance of his administration, 
introduced order in the place of anarchy. 

Soon after this, he entered into an alliance with Napoleon 
Bonaparte, who sent him engineers. When Bonaparte was 
defeated in Egypt, Ali, 1798, took the places in Albania 
possessed by the French. After a three years’ war, he 
subdued the Suliotes, for which the Porte promoted him 
to be gov. of Roumania. About this time, he revenged 
upon the inhabitants of Gardiki an injury done to bin mother 
forty years before, by the murder of 739 male descendants 
of the original offenders, who themselves were all dead. 

In the interior of his dominions, Ali maintained strict 
order and justice. Security and peace reigned, high roads 
were constructed, and industry flourished, so that the 
European travellers, with whom he willingly held inter 
course, considered him an active and intelligent governor 






ALIPED—ALISM A CE JS. 

From the year 1807, when he once more entered into an 
alliance with Napoleon, the dependence of Ali on the 
Porte was merely nominal. Having failed, however, in his 
principal object, which was to obtain, at the peace of Tilsit, 
through the intluence of Napoleon, Parga, on the coast of 
Albania, and the Ionian Islands, he entered into an alliance 
with the English, to whom he made many concessions. In 
return for these, they granted Parga, nominally to the 
sultan, but really to Ali. As he now considered his power 
to be securely established, he caused the commanders of the 
Greek Armatoles (or Greek militia), who had hitherto given 
him assistance, to be privately assassinated one by one, 
while he also put to death the assassins, to save himself from 
the suspicion of having been their instigator. The Porte at 
length determined to put an end to the power of this daring 
rebel; and in 1820, Sultan Mahmoud sentenced him to be 
deposed. A. resisted for a time several pashas that were 
sent against him; but at last surrendered, on the security of 
an oath that his life and property would be granted him. 
Regardless of this, he was put to death. A. had great 
natural gifts, but a character of the worst description. He 
never scrupled to use any means, provided it speedily 
secured his end. Like many other half-civilized monarchs 
and chiefs within the sphere of European intluence, he was 
keenly alive to whatever transpired among the powers of 
Christendom. Though utterly illiterate himself, he had all 
the foreign journals translated and read to him. He watched 
every political change, as if aware that the interests of his 
little region depended for their prosperity on the West, and 
not on the East; and made friendly advances to both the 
French and the English, recognizing that the practical 
dominion of the world had passed from the Crescent to the 
Cross. 

ALIPED n. dl'i-ped [L. ala , a wing; pes or pedem, a 
foot]: an animal, such as the bat, whose feet, connected by 
a membrane, serve as wings. 

ALIQUANT, a. al'i-kwdnt [L. aliquantum, a little]: that 
does not divide exactly. 

ALIQUOT, a. al'i-kwot [L. aliquot, some—from alius , 
another; quot, how many]: that measures or divides exactly. 
One quantity or number is said to be an Aliquot Part of 
another, when it is contained in this other an exact number 
of times without remainder: thus 2, 2], 4, and 5 are A. parts 
of 20, being contained in it 10, 8. 5, and 4 times. The con¬ 
sideration of A. parts occurs chiefly in the rule of Practice. 
Suppose we have to find the price of a number of articles at 
6f cents; since f cents is the eighth part of 6 cents, to the 
price at 6 cents, add of that price. 

ALISMA'CExE: a natural order of monocotyledonous 
plants^ consisting of herbaceous plants either floating in water 
or growing in swamps. The leaves have parallel veins, 
even if expanded into a broad blade. The flowers are in 
umbels, racemes, or panicles; the sepals 3, the petals 3, the 
number of stamens definite or indefinite. The ovaries are 
several, superior, one-called, distinct or united; the styles 


ALISON. 


and stigmas equal to them in number. The fruit is dry, 
with one or two seeds in each carpel; the seeds exalbumi- 


nous. There are about 
i species, 
le natural 
incaginecp , 
illied, and 
i this by 
ists. The 
oth orders 
natives of 
1 parts of 
Water 
(Alisma 
s a very 
nt in stag- 
in Amer- 
parts of 
;s leaves, 
long foot- 
; up above 
nd among 
far above 



0J them, arises the erect 

x ™ , . v scape of leafless stem. 

Water Plantain ( Alisma plantago). divided into s l en der 

whorled branches and branchlets, among which the little 
flowers appear to lie thinly scattered. The fleshy rhizome, 
or root-stock, is eaten by the Calmucks, after it has been de¬ 
prived of its acridity by drying. The corms of the Arrow¬ 
head ( Sagittaria ) possess somewhat similar properties. See 
Arrowhead. 

ALISON, al'i-son, Archibald: 1757-1839; b. Edin¬ 
burgh: studied at the Univ. of Glasgow, afterwards at 
Oxford. He took orders in the Church of England in 1784, 
and among other preferments, a prebendal stall in Salisbury, 
and the perpetual curacy of Kenley, Shropshire. From 
1800, he ceased to reside in England, and officiated in the 
Episcopal chapel in Cowgate, in his native city, where he 
died. A. is known principally by his Essays on the Nature 
and Principles of Taste , pub. 1790. The second edition, 
1811, gave occasion to an article by Jeffrey, in the Edin¬ 
burgh Review. It has since gone through several editions 
and been translated into German and French. The Essay» 
advocate what is called the ‘ association ’ theory of the sub¬ 
lime and beautiful, and are distinguished for their pleasing 
and elegant style. See Esthetics. 

ALISON, Sir Archibald, Bart: 1793-1867; b. Kenley, 
Shropshire; younger son of Archibald, the author of the 
Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste. At Edin¬ 
burgh Univ. he obtained the highest honors in Greek and 
mathematics. He became a member of the Scottish bar in 
1814. He was advocate-depute, 1822-30. His Principles 
of the Criminal Law of Scotland , pub. Edinburgh, 1832, is 
considered a standard work. In 1833, he pub. a sequel to 
the work, entitled The Practice of the Criminal Law. In 





ALISON—ALKALI. 

1834, be was appointed sheriff of Lanarkshire; in 1845, the 
students of Aberdeen elected him ‘ Lord Rector ’ of Mari- 
schal Coll.; in 1851, he received the same honor from Glas 
gow Univ , and subsequently the title of D.C.L. from the 
Univ. of Oxford. He received a baronetcy in 1852. His 
great work is The History of Europe during the French Revo¬ 
lution (10 vols. 8vo, 1839-42), a narrative of events, 1789- 
1815; a continuation, under the title of The History oj 
Europe from the Fall of Napoleon to the Accession of Louis 
Napoleon (9 vols.), was finished in 1859. He published also. 
Life of the Duke of Marlborough, The Principles of Popula¬ 
tion, etc.. Free Trade and Protection, England in 1815 and 
1845, besides contributing for many years to Blackwood's 
Magazine a series of tedious articles on tory politics. A.’s 
chief production, History, etc., is a work of immense indus¬ 
try, of very respectable accuracy, written with great anima¬ 
tion and some candor, but its style is excessively wordy, and 
even when animated is never picturesque. A. shows lack 
of insight into events or characters. Yet the work had 
great popularity, has gone through numerous editions, and 
has been translated into German, French, Arabic, and other 
languages. See his autobiography, 2 vols. 1882. 

ALISON, William Pulteney, m.d.: d. 1859, Sept.; 
elder bro. of the historian: political economist, physician, 
and prof, of the practice of medicine, in the Univ. of Edin¬ 
burgh. A pamphlet published by Dr. A., 1840, to show 
how the inadequate provision for the poor in Scotland led 
to desolating epidemics, was the principal means of bringing 
about an improved poor-law for that country. His other 
writings are— Outlines of Physiology, and Outlines of Pathol¬ 
ogy and Practice of Medicine; also, Dissertation on the 
Reclamation of Waste Lands (Edinb. 1850). 

ALISPHENOLD, a. al'i-sfe'noyd [L. ala, a wing; sphe- 
noides, the sphenoid bone]: a bone of the skull which 
in man is united to form the great wing of the sphenoid 
bone. 

ALIVE, a. a-liv' [AS. a, on; Goth, liban, to live: AS. 
on-life, alive]: endued with life; not dead; in existence; 
sprightly; active; easily impressed. 

ALIWAL, dl-e-wdl': village near the s. bank of the Sut¬ 
lej; not far from the town of Loodianah, lat. 30° 57' n., long. 
75 3 36' e.; scene of a fierce conflict between the British and 
Sikh forces, 1846, Jan. 28. The latter having crossed the 
river for the purpose of foraging, or otherwise obtaining 
supplies, had threatened Loodianah, when they were at¬ 
tacked by Sir Harry Smith, defeated, and driven back with 
great slaughter. The victory of A. is said by military critics 
to have been ‘ without a fault.’ 

ALIZARINE, n. d-liz’a-rin [alizari , anc. name for the 
plant madder]; a coloring principle in madder. See 
Madder, also prepared artificially from coal tar (q.v.). 

ALKAHEST, n. dl'ka-hest: see Alcahest; Alchemy. 

ALKALI, n. al'kd-li, or -U plu. Alkalies, -Hz or liz [Ar. 
alqali, the salt of ashes—from al, the; qali or kali, the glass* 
wort, a species of Salicornia, from which soda was first oh 


ALKALIES— ALKALIMETER. 

tained]: a substance,such as soda or potash, which neutralizes 
the action of an acid, and changes vegetable blues into green, 
and yellows into brown. Alkaline, a. dl'kd-Un, having 
the properties of an alkali; the Alkaline earths, are 
lime , magnesia, baryta , and strontia. Al'kalin'ity, n. 
-i-ti, the quality wdiich constitutes an a'kali. Alkaliza¬ 
tion, n. dl'kdl-i-zd'shun, the making a body to have the 
properties of an alkali. Alkalizable, a. dl'kd-liz'dt-bl, that 
may be changed into an alkali. Alkalescent, a. dl ka¬ 
les ent, tending to be, or slightly alkaline. Alkalescence, 
n. dlkd-les'ens, also Alkalescency, n. -si, the tendency 
to become possessed of the properties of an alkali. Alkal- 
ify, v. dl-kdl'ifi, to convert into an alkali; to become 
alkaline. Alkal'ifying, imp. Alkalified, pp. al-kal'i - 
fid. Al'kalifi'able, a. -fi'd-bl, capable of being con¬ 
verted into an alkali. Alkaligenous, a. dl kd-lij'e-nus 
[alkali; Gr. genndo, I generate]: producing alkali. Alka- 
limeter, n. dl'kd-lim'e-ter [alkali; Gr. meiron, a measure]: 
an instrument used in testing the strength of alkalies. Al'- 
kalim'etry, n. -tri, the art of finding the strength of al¬ 
kalies. Alkaloid, n. dl'kd-loyd [alkali; Gr. eidos, form, 
resemblance]; a substance having alkaline properties in a 
slight decree; the alkaline principle of a vegetable. 

ALKALIES (see Alkali). The A. proper are three in 
number—potassium, sodium, and ammonium hydrates. 
The first two are metallic hydrates, the last, a compound of 
nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, is a gas, and called the 
volatile alkali. Potash, being largely present in the ashes of 
plants, is called the vegetable alkali; and soda, predominat¬ 
ing in the mineral kingdom, is designated the mineral alkali 
The alkaline earths, as they are called—lime, magnesia, 
baryta, and strontia—are distinguished from the former by 
their carbonates not being soluble in water. The distin¬ 
guishing property of A. is that of turning vegetable blues 
.green, and vegetable yellows reddish-brown. Blues red¬ 
dened by an acid are restored by an alkali. The A. have 
great affinity for acids, and combine with them, forming 
salts, in which the peculiar qualities of both alkali and acid 
are generally destroyed; hence they are said to neutralize 
one another. In a pure state, alkalies are extremely caustic 
and act as corrosive poisons. Combined with carbonic acid, 
especially as bi-carbonates, they are used to correct acidity 
in the stomach; but injudicious and continued use of them 
is attended with great evil. 

ALKALIMETER, dl'kdil-im'e-ter (see Alkali). Com¬ 
mercial potash and soda always contain greater or less 
quantities of foreign substances, such as sulphate of potash, 
common salt, silicates, oxide of iron, water, etc., which 
diminish the percentage of real alkali in a given weight. 
It is important, then, for the manufacturer to have some 
simple and ready means of determining the proportion of 
pure carbonate of potash or soda contained in any sample, 
that he may be able to judge of its value. Ordinary chemi¬ 
cal analysis takes too much time. The A. serves this pur¬ 
pose. It consists of a graduated glass tube, filled with dL 






ALKALOIDS. 

luted sulphuric acid, and containing as much absolute sub 
phuric acid as would neutralize a given weight, say 100 
grains, of carbonate of potash. One hundred grains of the 
article to be judged of is then dissolved in water, and as 
much acid is gradually added to it from the tube as to neu¬ 
tralize the solution, that is, take up all the alkali. The ap¬ 
plication of colored tests determines when the neutralization 
is complete. The purer the article, the more of the acid 
will be required; and if the tube, which is divided into 100 
degrees, has been emptied to the 80°, the impure article con¬ 
tains 80 per cent, of pure carbonate of potash. 

This method of determining the strength of alkalies is 
called the alkalimetry 'process; but the instrument is not 
confined in its use to the estimation of the strength of 
alkaline substances. It is likewise employed in the determi¬ 
nation of the strength of acids, such as sulphuric acid, hy¬ 
drochloric acid, nitric acid, and acetic acid (vinegar). For 
this end, the graduated instrument is charged with a solu¬ 
tion of an alkali of known strength, such as a given weight 
of crystallized carbonate of soda (washing soda), dissolved in 
water, and according to the number of divisions of the 
liquid poured from the A., the strength of the acid into 
which the alkaline liquid has been decanted, is calculated. 
The latter application of this instrument is called acidimetry. 
Again, the same graduated glass tube has been recently em¬ 
ployed in many other ways, such as the determination of 
the strength of a solution of silver, by charging the instru¬ 
ment with a known or standard solution of common salt; 
and for this purpose it is used largely by the assayers to 
the Royal Mint, and other metallurgic chemists. This mode 
of analysis is every day becoming of more and more im¬ 
portance, and in fact, has given rise to a new department of 
analytical chemistry, which has been designated volumetric 
analysis (q.v.). 

ALKALOIDS, dl'kd-loydz (see Alkali): a class of sub¬ 
stances discovered by modern chemistry. They re divided 
into two classes —natural and artificial. The natural A. 
are found in plants and animals, and are often designated 
organic bases. Those obtained from plants are likewise 
called vegeto-alkalies. They are composed essentially of 
carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen* besides which, the greater 
number contain oxygen. The A. have generally an energetic 
action on the animal system, and hence are frequently em¬ 
ployed in small doses as medicine; while in comparatively 
large doses they are powerful poisons. They have, although 
in low degree, the characteristic alkaline xwoperties on vege¬ 
table colors, etc.; have generally a bitter, acrid taste; and 
form the active principles of the plants in which they are 
found. Such are morphia, codeine, and narcotine, found 
in opium; quinine, and cinchonine, in cinchona bark; 
strychnine, in nux-vomica; hyoscyamine, in henbane; 
nicotine, in tobacco; piperine, in black pepper; caffeine or 
theine, in coffee and tea, etc. 

The animal A. are few in number, the more important 
being sarcine, found in the flesh of vertcbrata; andjkrea- 
tine and kreatinine, two of the constituents of the juice of v 


ALKANET. 

flesh. The artificial A. are those organic bases which are 
not found in any known plant or animal, but of which 
chemists in later researches have contrived to form a large 
number. As the artificial A. do not differ essentially from 
the natural A. in composition, structure, or properties, it is 
confidently believed that the day is not distant when all of 
the A. will be prepared artificially; indeed, recently severs! 
of the natural A. have been manufactured on the small 
scale without the intervention of the living plant or animal. 
For instance, urea can be formed from the simplest forn of 
dead organic nitrogenous matter. 

ALKANET, n. dl'kd-net(Anchusa), [Ar. alkanah, a reed]: 
a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Boraginece, 
having a 5-partite calyx, a funnel shaped or salver-shaped 
corolla, with five scales closing its mouth, five stamens, an 
obtuse stigma, and ovate achasnia, which are surrounded at 
the base by a plaited tumid ring. The species are herbaceous 
plants, rough with stiff; hairs, and having lanceolate or elon- 
gato-ovate leaves, and spike like, bracteated, lateral and 
terminal racemes of flowers, which very much resemble 
those of the species of Myosotis, or Forget-me-not.—The 
Common A. ( A . offiidnalis) grows in dry and sandy places, 
and by waysides in the middle and n. of Europe. It is lmo 
and a very doubtful native in Britain. The flowers are of 
a deep purple color. The roots, leaves, and flowers were 
formerly used in medicine as an emollient, cooling, and 
soothing application.—The Evergreen A. (A. semperm- 
rens) is also a native of Europe, and a doubtful native of 

Britain, although not uncommon in situa¬ 
tions to which it may have es aped from 
gardens, being often cultivated for 
the sake of its beautiful blue flowers, 
which appear early in the season, and for 
its leaves, which retain a pleasing ver¬ 
dure all winter. It is a plant of humble 
growth, rising only a few inches above 
the ground.—A number of other species 
are occasionally seen in flower-borders.— 
A. tine to via, to which the name A. or Al- 
kanna (Arab. Al-chenncli) more strictly 
belongs, is a native of the Levant and of 
the s. of Europe, extending as far n. as 
Hungary. The root is sold under the 
name of A. or Alkannaroot; it is some¬ 
times cultivated in England; but the 
greater part is imported from the Levant 
or the s. of France. It appears in com¬ 
merce in pieces of the thickness of a quill 
or of the finger, the rind blackish exter¬ 
nally, but internally of a beautiful dark- 
red color, and adhering rather loosely to 
the whitish heart. It contains chiefly a 
Aikanet (Anchusa resinous red coloring matter, called Al 
officinalis). kanna Red, Anchusic Acid , or Anchusine 

The color which it yields is very beautiful, alt hough not very 
durable. It is readily soluble in oils, and is therefore in very 









ALKANNA—ALL. 

general use among perfumers for coloring oils, soaps, po¬ 
mades, lip-salves, etc. It is extensively used for coloring 
spurious port-wine. It also enters into compositions for 
rubbing and giving color to furniture. Its solutions in oils 
and alcohol have almost a carmine red color, although to 
water it gives only a brownish hue. It combines with 
alkalies forming blue solutions; with chloride of tin, it be¬ 
comes of a carmine red; with acetate of lead, blue; with 
sulphate of iron, dark violet; with alum, purple; and with 
acetate of alumina, violet.— Virginian A., the Hoary 
Puccoon or Alkanet of the U. S., with other species o*f 
Lithospermum, yields a red dye. 

ALKANNA, dl-kdn’nd ( Al-henna ): name given to a 
coloring-matter prepared from the leaves of Lawsonia 
inermis, and used by oriental ladies to give a red color to 
their nails. See Henna. 

ALKARSIN, n. dl'kdr-sin [Ar.]: mixture of cacodyl 
(q.v.) As 2 (CH 3 ) 4 , with oxidized products, a spontaneously 
inflammable liquid, obtained by heating white arsenic with 
acetate of potash, whose fumes are fearfully offensive, and 
a deadly poison. 

ALKERMES, n. dl-ker'mez [Ar. al, kermes, reddish grains 
of certain oaks]: a confection whose principal ingredient is 
the kermes berries; a compound cordial. 

ALKMAAR, dlk-mdr': old town in the province of N. 
Holland, Netherlands; on the Helder canal, 20 m. n.n.w. 
of Amsterdam. It is well built, has very clean streets, and 
is intersected by broad canals. The ancient bulwarks have 
been turned into promenades. It has a Gothic town-house; 
the church of St. Lawrence dates from the 15th c. A. has 
manufactures of sail-cloth, sea-salt, soap, vinegar, and 
leather, and trade in cattle, grain, butter, and especially 
cheese—of w T hich A. exports enormous quantities. A. held 
out against the Duke of Alba, who besieged it in 1573. 
Here, 1799, Oct. 18, the Duke of York signed a not very 
honorable capitulation, after his Russo-Britisk army had 
been twice defeated by the French general Brune. Pop. 
13,000. 

ALKORAN, n.: see Alcoran —but the spelling with k 
should be preferred. Al'koran ic, a. pertaining to. Al'- 
koran'ist, n. one who. 

ALL, a. awl [AS. eall: Goth, alls: Icel. allr —from a or 
ei, aye, ever]: the whole; every one: N. the whole; the 
entire thing. 

ALL, ad.: when used as the first part of a compound, all 
generally denotes wholly , completely , or perfectly —as, All- 
abhorred, detested by all. All-admiring, wholly ad¬ 
miring. All amorous, wholly in love. All-bearing, 
bearing everything; bearing perfectly. All-changing, 
perpetually changing. All conquering, subduing every¬ 
thing. All-disgraced, completely disgraced. All- 
dreaded, dreaded of all. All-essential, altogether 
essential; without which wholly worthless. All-seeing, 
seeing everything; wholly seeing. All along, continu¬ 
ally; regularly. It is all one. or All’s one, it makes 
little or no difference. All that, collection of similar 


ALLA BREVE—ALLAHABAD. 

things or occurrences; et csetera. All in all, everything. 
All-fools’-day, the first of April. All-fours, a game at 
cards; moving on the legs and arms. All-hail, a phrase 
of salutation expressive of a wish for health. All-mu l, 
name of a plant, so named from its supposed medicinal 
properties; the Valerian officinalis. Old. 'Vale nandceee; 
also the name of the Slack y s pains'tris, Ord. Labidtce. All- 
merciful, of perfect mercy. All-Hallow day, n. [AS. 
halgian, too keep holy]: All Saints’-day, 1st November. 
All-Hallow^-tide, n. the time near to 1st November. 
All-Saints’-day, 1st day of November. All Souls’-day, 
2d of November. Allspice, n. Jamaica pepper or pimento 
—which see. 

ALLA BREVE, dl'la brer or al'ld bra-vd, in Music. In 
old music, the breve || 0|| as the longest note, was equivalent 
to our semi-breve, o > the longest note commonly used in 
modern music. Consequently, the minims anciently used 
were equivalent to our crotchets. Music written with four 
minims in a bar is signed Alla Breve , which implies that the 
four minims must be sung as four crotchets. The difference 
between the two styles of writing is merely formal. Othei 
signs for A. B. time are—f, 2, or C, or Alla Capella. 

ALLAH, n. dl'la [compounded of the article, al and 
ilah —i.e., ‘the worthy to be adored’]: the Arabic name of 
the one God, to whose worship Mohammed pledged his 
followers; and the word has passed into all languages 
wherever the name of Islam has been heard. The notions 
of the character of this God given by Mohammed in the 
Koran bear traces of Jewish and Christian influence, and 
are much superior to the national superstitions and 
impassioned fancies of the orientals in general. Above all 
other things, Mohammed inculcated the unity of God in the 
strictest sense, in opposition not only to idolatry, but also in 
some points to the belief of the Jews and Christians, as is 
seen in the following formula or creed: ‘ There is no God 
but the God (Allah). This only true, great, and highest 
God has his existence of himself,"is eternal, not begotten , and 
begets not, suffices for himself, fills the universe with his 
infinity, is the centre in whom all things unite, manifest and 
concealed, Lord of the corporeal and spiritual worlds, 
creator and ruler, almighty, all-wise, all-good, merciful, and 
his decrees are irrevocable.’ Mohammed has ventured on 
very bold illustrations of these attributes for popular repre¬ 
sentation, as in the passage of the Koran where he says: ‘ If 
all the trees on earth were pens, and if there were seven 
oceans full of ink, they would not suffice to describe the 
wonders of the Almighty.’ The different attributes of God, 
divided under his 99 names, and connected together in a 
certain order in a litany, form the rosary of the Moham¬ 
medans, which concludes with the name A., as the 100th, 
including in itself all the former epithets. 

ALLAHABAD, alia ha-bad' : a British dist. in the 
n.w. Provinces of India, between lat. 24° 49', 25° 44'; long. 
81° 14', 82° 26'; 85 m. in length by 50 in breath; 2,883 sq. m. 
The surface is in general level, with a slope toward the s.e. 






ALLAHABAD. 

The principal rivers are the Ganges (flowing partly within 
A., and partly dividing it from Oude and Mirzapore), and 
its great affluent the Jumna, which joins it at the city of A. 
The district is well watered, and vegetation is luxuriant. 
The native agriculture at the end of the last century was 
singularly rude and deficient, hut the British residents have 
done much for its improvement. The principal products 
are cotton and salt; and there is a brisk transit-trade by the 
Jumna in cotton, indigo, and sugar. Pop. (1891) 1,549,000, 
almost wholly Hindus; the Mohammedans being about 
200.000. The district is mainly agricultural, very little 
tillable land being left uncultivated. 

The ‘ Division ’ of Allahabad comprehends the districts 
of Cawnpore, Futtebpur, Banda, Humeerpore, Jaunpur, and 
A It is bounded n. by Oude and Agra, e. by Behar, s. by 
Gundwana, and w. by Malwa. Its length is about 270 m. 
breadth, 120; 13,746 sq. m.; pop. 5,754,855. It comprises 
one of the most populous and productive territories in India. 

ALLAHABAD [‘city of God’]: seat of the government 
of the n w. Provinces of British India, occupies the fork 
of the Ganges and Jumna, lat. 25° 26' n., long. 81° 85' e., 
thus forming the lowest extremity of the extensive region 
which, as lyiug between those natural boundaries, is 
distinguished as the Doab , or the country of Two Rivers — 
an analogous term to the Punjab, or the country of Five 
Rivers. The situation of A., at the confluence of the holy 
streams of India, besides giving the city its sacred appella¬ 
tion, has rendered it a much frequented place of pilgrimage 
for the purposes of ablution, some of the devotees sinking 
themselves with weights to rise no more. In point of ap¬ 
pearance, A. w r as scarcely worthy of its character and 
renown. Except a few ancient monuments of costly, 
elaborate, and tasteful workmanship, the native part of the 
city consists of mean houses and narrow streets. As in the 
towns generally of India, the European quarter, on the 
whole, is vastly superior. Its nucleus appears to have been 
the native fort, which, on the e. and s., rises directly from 
the banks of both rivers, while towards the land its artificial 
defenses, of great strength in themselves, are not commanded 
from the neighborhood by any higher ground. This citadel, 
described by Heber as having been at one time ‘ a very noble 
castle,’ has lost much of its romance by having had its lofty 
towers pruned down to bastions and cavaliers. The Euro 
peans of the garrison occupy well-constructed barracks. 
Beyond the fort are the cantonments for the native troops. 
In connection with these are numerous villas and bungalows, 
few other spots in India having such handsome buildings of 
this kind; and these showy retreats are rendered still more 
attractive by avenues of trees which wind between them 
and connect them with the fort, the city, and several of the 
circumjacent localities. 

The summer of 1857 brought disaster to A. On June 6 
the insurrection, which had begun at Meerut. May 10, ex¬ 
tended to A. Though the Europeans continued to hold the 
fort, yet the mutineers were, for some days, undisputed 
masters of all beyond; and between the ravages of the 


aLLAMANDA—ALLAN. 

marauders and the fire of the garrison, the city soon became 
little better than a heap of blackened ruins. In the history 
of this fearful outbreak, A. must be ‘a magic word’ to 
every English ear, as the spot where the fiery Neill entered 
on his brief career of glory. It was here, also, that Lord 
Canning, after the close of the mutiny, distributed 
£3,000,000 in presents to the chiefs who had remained loyal. 
But although situated thus in the heart of the outbreak, 
and feeling its disastrous effects, the city possesses natural 
advantages that have allowed it to recover. Its position at 
the confluence of the holy rivers, which has so long made 
it a centre of superstitious reverence and worship, now 
renders it naturally a centre of commerce and civiliza¬ 
tion, and has been fully appreciated by government. It 
commands the navigation both of the Ganges and of the 
Jumna. It is on the direct water-route between Calcutta 
and the Upper Provinces; and is a main station, not only on 
the Grand Trunk road, but also on the East Indian rail¬ 
way. New buildings, many of them with great architectural 
merits, have accordingly sprung up with rapidity since 
1857; the most noteworthy buildings being still, however, 
the Great Mosque and the Sultaun Khossor’s Caravanserai— 
a fine cloistered quadrangle. The fort is of red stone, and 
is approacheiT by a very handsome gate: it contains the 
palace or residency, and the Gada pillar or Club of Bhin 
Sen, in the Chalee Satoom Temple, which is said to com¬ 
municate with Benares by a subterranean passage, through 
which flows a third holy river, the Sereswali, visible only 
to the eye of faith. A. contains a college, hospital, theatres, 
bazaars, etc. So many poor pilgrims throng the city, 
especially at the time of the Great Pair, which is held once 
every twelve years, that instead of Allahabad, the natives 
call it ‘Fakirabad,’ or City of Beggars. The cotton, sugar, 
and indigo produce of the fertile district of A. is brought 
in large quantities into the city, to be transported thence to 
Calcutta and elsewhere. Steamers sail to Calcutta and 
barges to Delhi A. is distant from Calcutta, by land, 
49G m.; by water, 808 m. in the rainy season; by water, 
985 m. in the dry season. From Delhi it is distant 386 m ; 
and from Bombay by the Jubbulpore branch of the East 
Indian railway, 840 m. Pop. (1891) 175,246; (1901) 172,032. 

ALLAMANDA, al-la-man'da: genus of plants of the 
natural order Apocyna-cea, (q.v.), distinguished by a 5 
parted calyx without glands, a funnel-shaped corolla with 
its limb campanulate, and the fruit a prickly capsule. A. 
cathartica, a native of the West Indies, is a shrub with 
whorled or opposite oblong leaves, and large yellow flowers 
on many-flowered footstalks. It has violently emetic and 
purgative properties; but in small doses, an infusion of the 
leaves is esteemed a valuable cathartic medicine, especially 
in the cure of painter’s colic. All the species are natives of 
the tropical parts of America. 

. ALLAN, David: 1744-96; b. Alloa: distinguished Scot¬ 
tish painter of domestic subjects, in which he was the fore¬ 
runner of Wilkie. In 1773. his Origin of Painting (en- 





ALLAN. 

graved by Cunego) gained the gold* medal given by the 
Academy of St. Luke for the best historical composition. 
Of his other pictures executed at Home, the best known are 
four humorous pieces illustrating the Carnival, engraved by 
Paul Sandby. His later works were chiefly humorous, and 
illustrative of Scottish domestic life. His illustrations of 
Allan Ramsay’s Gentle Shepherd, though very popular, are 
of no great merit. A. died at Edinburgh. 

ALLAN, Sir William: 1782-1850; b. Edinburgh: dis¬ 
tinguished Scottish historical painter. Among his fellow- 
students and friends in the School of Design connected with 
the Royal Institution were David Wilkie, "John Burnet, and 
others who afterwards rose to eminence. He subsequently 
studied for some time at the Royal Academy of London. 
In 1805 he went to Russia, where the influence of his relative, 
Sir Alexander Crichton, the imperial family physician, soon 
procured him employment. In the Russian capital, he 
spent several years, making occasional tours to the south of 
Russia, the Crimea, Turkey, and Circassia, where he made 
numerous sketches, some of which supplied the materials of 
his best known works. In 1814, he returned to Edinburgh, 
and soon afterwards established his reputation by the ex¬ 
hibition of his Circassian Captives, a large picture, dis¬ 
tinguished by the picturesqueness of the subject and the 
elaborate fidelity and spirit of its treatment. The purchase 
of two of his pictures by the Grand Duke Nicholas, after¬ 
wards emperor, when on a visit to Edinburgh, promoted 
the sale of his works. In 1826, he was elected an Associate 
of the London Acad.; in 1835, an Academician. In 1838, 
on the death of Mr. George Watson, the Royal Scottish 
Acad, elected him its president, and on the death of Sir 
David Wilkie, in 1841, he was appointed Limner to Her 
Majesty for Scotland, and was knighted. At intervals, he 
made excursions into the continent, visiting Spain and 
Morocco in 1834, St. Petersburg in 1841, and Germany and 
Belgium in 1847. At St. Petersburg, he received a com¬ 
mission from the emperor to paint a large picture of Peter 
the Great Teaching Shipbuilding to his Subjects, exhibited 
at London in 1845, and now in the imperial Winter Palace 
at St. Petersburg. For some time before his death he had 
been diligently working at a great picture of Bruce at 
Bannockburn. He died in his painting-room, to which his 
bed had been removed, 1850, Feb. 22. The great merits of 
A. as a painter are conscientious fidelity, skill in composi¬ 
tion, and dramatic force. The impulse contributed by him 
to historical painting, especially of national subjects, entitles 
him to a very high place in Scottish art. Among his chief 
works, many of which are well known through engravings, 
axe—John Knox Admonishing Queen Mary, 1823; Queen 
Mary Signing Her Abdication, 1824; Death of the Regent 
Moray, 1825; Polish Exiles, 1834; The Slave-market at 
Constantinople, 1837; Battle of Prestonpans,’ 1842; Water¬ 
loo, two pictures, from the French and English posi¬ 
tions, the first of which was bought by the Duke of 
Wellington. 


ALLAN, BRIDGE OF—ALLARD 

ALLAN, BRIDGE OF, -al-lan: a beautiful village in 
Scotland, consisting chiefly of lodging houses; within the 
shelter of a spur of the Ochils, 3 in. from Stirling, on the 
road from Stirling to Perth. It is on the banks of the 
Allan, which, like the heights behind the place, are richly 
wooded. It owes its prosperity partly to its mineral (saline) 
wells, and partly to its sheltered situation and mild climate, 
which render it a favorite resort of invalids, especially in 
spring and autumn. There are excellent hotels, and 
abundance of good lodgings. Pop. (1881) 3,005. 

ALLANTOIC, a. al'an-toik [Gr. alias, a sausage; allan - 
tos, of a sausage—so named from the shape of the 
allantois]: name of an acid found in the liquor of the 
allantois —a membrane enveloping the foetus. Allan- 
toidea, n. plu. dl'dn-toy'de-d [Gr. eidos, resemblance]: 
the group of vertebrata comprising reptiles, birds, and 
mammals, in which the foetus has an allantois. Allan- 
toin, n. dl Idn-td'm, a substance found in the allantoic - 
liquor of the cow, and obtained artificially by oxidizing 
uric acid. 

ALLANTOIS, dl-dn'toys: a delicate membranous bag, 
which makes its appearance in the eggs of birds during in¬ 
cubation, and is a provision chiefly for the aeration of the 
blood of the embryo or. chick. It sprouts from the lower 
part of the intestine of the chick, and rapidly enlarges so as 
almost completely to inclose it, liniug nearly the whole ex¬ 
tent of the membrana putaminis —the double membrane 
which is immediately within the egg-shell. It is covered 
with a network of arteries and veins, corresponding to the 
umbilical artery and vein of Mammalia; and the aeration of 
the blood is accomplished by the air which enters through 
the pores of the shell; but as the lungs become capable of 
their function the circulation in the A. diminishes, and its 
footstalk contracts, and at last divides, leaving only a liga¬ 
mentous remnant. The A. is never developed in the eggs 
of Fishes and Amphibians, hence these are called Anallan- 
toid Vertebrates; while Reptiles, Birds, and Mammalia, in 
Which it is present, are called Allantoid. In the Mammalia 
it is superseded at an early period of foetal life by other 
contrivances, but continues to exist in the lower animals for 
receiving the urinary secretion through the urachus, a pur¬ 
pose which it serves in birds and reptiles likewise. In the 
human species it disappears very early, only a minute 
vesicle remaining. 

ALLARD, d-ldr ', generalissimo of the army of Lahore, 
and previously adjutant to Marshal Brune under Napoleon: 
1783-1839. After the murder of Marshal Brune (q.v.) A. 
left France (1815), intending to emigrate to America, but 
changed his plan, entered into the service of Abbas-Mirza of 
Persia, and afterwards went to Lahore (1820), where he en¬ 
gaged in the service of Runjeet Singh (q.v.), by whom he 
was made generalissimo, and whose forces he organized and 
trained in the European modes of warfare. Having married 
a native of Lahore, he identified himself with the interests 
his adopted country, but could not entirely forget 







Allantois 

Aloe 


PLATE 8. 



Allantois.—Fetal Membranes 
of a Mammal: E, Embryo; M, 
its middle layer or mesoderm; H, 
Gut-cavity lined by inner layer 
or endoderm; U.V., Umbilical 
vesicle; al, Allantois, with allan 
toic cavity. AL.C.; am, Amnion, 
with amniotic cavity, A.(J.; am, 
represents the united inner por¬ 
tion of double folds, the outer 
limbs of which form the sub- 
zonal membrane (not lettered) 
under pc, the zona pellucida. 
(From Turner.) 



Pike-headed Alligator (Alligator Indus.') 



Almond \Amygdalus communis). 















ALLAY—ALLEGHENY. 

France. Tlie July revolution brought him back to Paris, 
where he, was received with distinction, and was made 
French charge d’affaires in Lahore. lie presented to the 
Royal Library of Paris a valuable collection of coins, and 
returned to Lahore (1836), leaving his wife and children in 
Paris. In the subsequent battles of Runjeet Singh with the 
Afghans A. repeatedly distinguished himself. He d. at 
Peskawur. His remains were, according to his own wish, 
buried with military honors at Lahore. 

ALLAY, v. dl-ld' [OE. allegge; AS. alecgan , to laydown, 
to mitigate: OF. alleger; It. alleggidre; L. allemdre, to 
lighten, to mitigate— lit., to lay or put down]: to set at rest; 
to make quiet; to make less in pgin or grief. Allay ing, 
imp. Allayed, pp. dl-ldd' . Allayment, n. dl-ld!merit, 
state of rest after disturbance. Allayer, n. one who or 
that which.— Syn. of‘allay’: to suppress; tranquillize; al¬ 
leviate; check; quiet; calm; soothe; subdue; destroy; com, 
pose; repress; assuage. 

ALLEGE, v. dl-lej' [F. alleguer , to produce reasons—from 
L. allegdre, to send one to another with a commission or 
charge—from L. ad, to; lego, I send, I intrust toj: to adduce 
reasons in support of an argument; to plead as an excuse; to 
affirm; to declare. Alleg'ing, imp. Alleged, pp. dl-lejd!. 
Allegeable, a. dl-lej'd-bl, capable of being alleged. Al- 
leg'er, n. one who. Allegation, n. dl'le-ga shim, some¬ 
thing offered as a plea or an excuse; an affirmation; an 
assertion.— Syn. of ‘allege’: to adduce; assign; advance; 
cite; quote; affirm; assert; declare; produce; maintain. 

ALLEGHANIES, or Alleghenies, or Alleganies, 
dl-e-ganiz: name perhaps originally limited to the mountain- 
cradle of the Allegheny river, but often extended to the 
whole chain, otherwise called the Appalachians (q.v.). 

ALLEGHENY: city in Allegheny co., Penn.; at 
confluence of the Allegheny and the Ohio rivers; on the 
Pennsylvania, the Pittsburg Fort Wayne and Chicago, and 
the Pittsburg and Western railroads; directly opposite Pitts¬ 
burg, with which it is connected by several bridges. It 
has a frontage of 2| m. on the right bank of the Allegheny 
river and of 4 m. on the right bank of the Ohio, and has 
an average elevation of 776 ft. above sea level. The city 
is really a suburb of Pittsburg, though it has a separate 
municipal organization. It is tastefully laid out, has a 
beautiful public park, is lighted by gas and electricity, 
owns a water-works plant that cost |l,000,000, is equipped 
with adequate street-railways, and has a paid lire dept. 
Its private buildings include many costly residences of 
Pittsburg business men, and its public ones, the Carnegie 
Music Hall and Library (dedicated 1890, Feb. 13), Phipps’s 
Conservatory, Western Theol. Seminary (Presb.), Alle¬ 
gheny Theol. Institute (Ref. Presb.), United Presb. Theol. 
Seminary, U. S. Arsenal, Home for the Friendless, House 
of Industry, Orphan Asylum, and the Western State Peni¬ 
tentiary. The city has an exceptional location for trade 
and shipping purposes, as, in addition to its railroad com¬ 
munications, it has large water-route facilities by means of 


ALLEGHENY COLLEGE. 

the Allegheny, Monongahela, Mississippi, Missouri, and 
the Ohio rivers, thus being in direct touch with a vast sec¬ 
tion of country. The location and proximity to Pittsburg 
have made it an important manufacturing city, though it 
is industrially, as well as residentially, a convenient place 
for the overflow of the activities of the larger city. In 
1900 the various manufacturing industries comprised 893 
establishments, $50,122,503 capital, and 20,804 hands; paid 
$10,352,502 for wages, and $29,478,781 for materials; and 
received $54,136,907 for products. The principal manu¬ 
factures in their order were: malt liquors, planing-mill 
products, paints, foundry and machine-shop products, 
carriages and wagons, architectural and ornamental iron¬ 
work, leather, soap and candles, and cigars and cigarettes. 
The net public debt (1902) was $5,302,621, the assessed 
valuatiou of taxable property $85,513,125, and the city 
tax rate $1.35 per $100. There were 4 national banks 
(cap. $900,000), 2 savings-banks (cap. $200,000, surplus 
$70,000), 1 private savings-bank, 1 loan and trust co., 
and 4 weekly publications, 1 semi-monthly and 1 monthly. 
Pop. (1880) 78,680; (1900) 129,896, 

ALLEGHENY COLLEGE: educational institution 
under Meth. Episc. control at Meadville, Penn.; opened 
1815, and chartered 1816, under the care of the Presb. 
Church. It was built up by the exertions of the first 
pres., Timothy Alden, d.d., who secured much aid from 
New England, and acquired for the college the private 
libraries of Ex-Gov. Winthrop, of Mass., and of Isaiah 
Thomas, and the large collection of Dr. Bentley, of Salem, 
Mass. Dr. Alden retired 1831, and the college languished 
until 1833, when it was transferred to the Meth. Episc. 
Church. It has developed into a prosperous institution. 
Women are admitted to the full course. The college 
library numbers 15,000 vols. In 1894 it nad 20 profs, and 
instructors, 119 students in the preparatory dept., 118 in 
the collegiate dept., 72 post-graduates; total 309. There 
were also 455 students (less 21 duplicated in calculations} 
in affiliated institutions, subdivided as follows: Conservatory 
of Music 246, Business College 209, aggregating 764. The 
value of the college grounds and buildings (1889) was 
$70,000. In 1897 the productive funds amounted to 
$150,000, and the total income, including tuition or in¬ 
cidental charges to $ 15 , 000 . 


ALLEGHENY RIVER—ALLEGIANCE. 

ALLEGHENY RIVER: rising in the n. part of Penn., 
unites with the Monongahela at Pittsburg to form the 
Ohio. Though it Hows through a hilly country, yet it is 
navigable for nearly 200 m. above Pittsburg, whence by 
the Ohio and the Mississippi, the navigation extends to the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

ALLEGIANCE, n. al-le'jans [F. cdlegeance —from mid. 
L. allegiaritia, an oath of homage or fealty—from L. ad , 
to; mid. L. litgantia, the duty of a subject to his lord— 
from litus, a man owing services to his lord (see Liege):) 
the obligation of a citizen to his government or of a sub¬ 
ject to his sovereign: in the middle ages, an oath of hom¬ 
age or fealty taken by a vassal to the feudatory lord. 
Violation of A. is the highest legal offense .—Natural or im¬ 
plied-A. is due from every native or naturalized citizen to 
the community to which he belongs. Independently of 
any express promise, every man, by availing himself of 
the benefits which society affords, comes under an implied 
obligation both to uphold and to defend it. Express A. is 
that obligation which arises from an expressed promise, 
or oath of A. The old English oath of A. corresponded in 
the case of the sovereign, as absolute superior of all tne 
lands in England, to the oath of fealty which, by the 
feudal law, all vassals were required to take to subject 
superiors through more than 600 years. This oath has 
been modified to exclude the seeming obligation of non- 
resistance. From the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the 
present time, the oath of A. has been required from all 
public functionaries before entering on their offices, and 
by all professional persons before being permitted to prac¬ 
tice.—See Abjure. By the Jaw of England, and agree¬ 
ably to the spirit of the constitution, a usurper in undis¬ 
puted possession of the crown, or king de facto, is entitled 
to A., because he then represents, not the sovereign whom 
he has dispossessed, but the general will, in which the 
ultimate sovereignty of England resides. 

In the United States, A. is the tie which binds the citizen 
to the govt, in return for the protection which the govt, 
affords him, and in recognition of the moral bond involved 
in the social organism. The A. of a citizen to the national 
govt, is paramount to his A. to his particular state. A. is 
either natural, acquired, or local. Natural A. is due from 
all natives of the.United States; acquired A. is due on the 
part of a naturalized citizen (see Naturalization); local 
A. is due from an alien while resident in the United States, 
in return for protection by the govt. The question whether 
a citizen can, by mere expatriation, divest himself abso¬ 
lutely of his American A. has never yet been decided, but 
it is generally understood that for commercial purposes he 
may thus acquire the rights of a citizen of another country, 
and the place of domicile determines the character of a 
party as to trade. The right of a citizen to change his A., 
acting under due forms of law, was declared by law of 
congress (1868) to be a natural right, and indispensable to 
liberty. European govts, have, in recent years, largely 
acceded to this principle. 


ALLEGORY. 

Allegiance , is in its legal sense, the duty to a superior 
authority—a matter of principle and conduct. Loyalty is 
earnest and faithful devotion under a high obligation—a 
matter of sentiment as well as of principle and conduct. 
Fealty is fidelity to a bond or obligation assumed. 

ALLEGORY, n. al'le-gor'i [F. allegorie —from Gr. alle- 
goria, a figure of speech in which the sense is different from 
the apparent one—from alios, another, different; agoreuo, I 
harangue]: speech or language which involves a sense 
different from the apparent one; a continued metaphor; 
figurative speech; language that has another meaning than 
the literal one—the Jews compared to a vine in the 80th 
Psalm is an allegory. Allegorize, v. alle-gd-riz' , to form 
into an allegory; to use figurative speech. Al'legori'zing, 
imp. Al legorized', -rlzd', pp. Allegoric, a. al'le- 
gor'ik, or Al'legor'ical, a. -i-kdl, figurative; in the 
manner of an allegory. Al'legor'ically, ad. -li. Al'- 
legor'icalness, n. Al'legorist', n. one who. 

ALLEGORY: a figure of rhetoric, signifying properly 
the embodiment of a train of thought in a visible form, by 
means of sensible images, having some resemblance or an¬ 
alogy to the thoughts. A., therefore, is one of the Tropes 
(q.v.), for it involves a transfer of meaning. It differs from 
metaphor chiefly in extent; metaphor is confined to a single 
expression, or at most to a sentence; A. is carried through 
the whole representation. It is not abstract ideas alone that 
are adapted to allegorical treatment; not only may virtue 
and vice, for instance, be personified and treated allegori¬ 
cally, but real persons may be represented by allegorical per. 
sons. 

A. has been in use from the earliest ages. Oriental people 
are specially fond of it. As examples from antiquity may 
be cited the comparison of Israel to a vine in Psalm lxxx.; 
the beautiful passage in Plato’s Phcedrus, where the soul is 
compared to a charioteer drawn by two horses, one white 
and one black ; the description of Fame in the 4th Book of 
the AEneid. Bunyan’s Pilgrim's Progress is perhaps the 
most fully carried out A. of modern times.—A. is not con. 
fined to language, but is carried into painting and sculpture, 
and also into scenic representation—as in the ballet and 
pantomime; the consideration of it is, therefore, of impor. 
tance in the fine arts generally. 

Allegorical Interpretation is that kind of interpreta. 
tion by which the literal significance of a passage is eithei 
transcended or set aside, and a more spiritual and profound 
or at least more recondite meaning elicited than is shown in 
the form or letter. The common mistake, that it originated 
with the Alexandrine school, is refuted by the fact that it is 
found in the writings of the older Hindus. From the scholars 
of Alexandria, however, it was adopted by the Jews of 
Palestine, of whom a particular sect, the Essenes, made 
abundant use of it. The apostle Paul himself allegorizes, or 
at least spiritually interprets the history of the free-born 
Isaac and the slave-born Ishmael (Gal. iv., 24). Allegorical 
interpretation, however, with reference to the Old Testa- 
Vol. 1 — 17 


ALLEGRO—ALLEN. 

ment, was most extensively employed by Philo Judaeus, a 
philosophical Jew of Alexandria, and a contemporary of 
Jesus Christ. His waitings stimulated the allegorizing ten¬ 
dencies of the Alexandrine school of Christian theologians, 
the most famous of whom are Clemens Alexandrinus and 
Origen. The latter went so far as to say that ‘ the Scriptures 
are of little use to those who understand them as they are 
written.’ As a specimen of his method of biblical interpre¬ 
tation, we may adduce the following: he maintained that 
the Mosaic account of the Garden of Eden was allegorical; 
that Paradise only symbolized a high primeval spirituality; 
that the fall consisted in the loss of such through spiritual 
and not material temptation; and that the expulsion from 
the Garden lay in the soul’s being driven out of its region of 
original purity. The Neo-platonists were at first averse to 
allegorizing, but gradually acquired a relish for it from the 
Jews and Christians, and applied it to the ancient myths. 

ALLEGRO, ad. al-le'grd [It. allegro , brisk—from L. 
aldcer, brisk, lively: F. leger, light, nimble]: in music, a 
term denoting merrily; cheerfully; the fourth of the five 
principal degrees of movement, implying that the piece is 
to be performed in a quick or lively style. A., like all the 
other degrees of movement, is often modified by other terms; 
such as A. non tanto, A. ma non troppo, A. moderato, maes¬ 
toso, giusto, commodo, vivace, assai, di molto, con trio, etc.: 
N. a brisk movement. As a substantive, A. is used as the 
name of a whole piece of music, or a movement of a sym¬ 
phony, sonata, or quartet. Allegretto, ad. al'le-gret'td, 
a movement not so quick as allegro. 

ALLELUIAH, n. al'le-lo'yd: see Halleluiah. 

ALLEMANDE, dl-le-mdnd': a dance invented by tho 
French in the time of Louis XIV., which again became 
popular at the Parisian theatres during the reign of the first 
emperor. It has a slow waltz kind of tempo, and consists 
of three steps (pasrWarches) made in a sliding manner, back¬ 
wards and forwards, but seldom waltzing or turning round. 
The whole charm of the dance lies in the graceful manner 
of entwining and detaching the arms in the different, steps. 
Both the dance and the music are said to have originated in 
Alsace; and thus the introduction of the A. at the court of 
Versailles was a sort of artistic way of symbolizing the in¬ 
corporation of the newly-acquired German provinces. 

ALLEN, aVlen, Alexander Viets Griswold, d.d.: b. 
Otis, Mass., 1841, May 4. He graduated at Kenyon Coll. 
1862, and at Andover Theol. Seminary 1865, and was or¬ 
dained a priest in the Prot. Episc. Church in that year. 
He became rector of St. John’s Church, Lawrence, Mass.. 
1865, and prof, of eccles. hist, in the Episc. Divinity 
School, Cambridge, Mass., 1867. He published The Greek 
Theology , and The Renaissance of the Nineteenth Century 
(1884); and The Continuity of Christian Thought, a Study 
of Modern Theology in the Light of its History (1884); both 
interesting in the dept, of theol. criticism. 


ALLEN. 

^ ALLEN, Ebenezer: revolutionary officer: 1743, Oct. 

1803, Mar. 20; b. Northampton, Mass. He removed 
to Vermont 1771, settling first in Poultney, afterward in 
1 inmouth; and was lieut. in a regt. of Green Mountain 
Boys during the dispute with N. Y. concerning the N. H. 
grants. He was a delegate to the conventions dealing with 
this subject 1776-7. He was a capt. in a battalion of 
rangers 1777, and did good service at the battle of Ben¬ 
nington; took Mt. Defiance by assault the following 
month, cut off the Brit, retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, 
making many prisoners; and was promoted major. 

ALLEN, Elizabeth (Chase) (Akers): poetical writer; 
early pen-name, Florence Percy: b. Strong, Me., 1832, 
Oct. 9. She began to write when quite young, contrib¬ 
uting largely to magazines and weekly papers, and 
published a volume of poems, Forest Buds (1855). An¬ 
other volume of poems (Boston 1866) contained the famil¬ 
iar song Rock Me to Sleep, Mother, whose authorship has 
been claimed by several other writers. Mrs. A.’s claim, 
however, was fully demonstrated. She has been twice 
married—first to the sculptor, Benjamin Paul Akers (d. 
1861), afterward (1865) to E. M. Allen, of New York. 

ALLEN, Ethan: 1739-89: b. Salisbury, Conn., but, 
with his four brothers, removed early to Vermont, where he 
received his limited education. He became conspicuous in 
the colonial troubles between New York, New Hampshire, 
and Vermont concerning the dominion of the latter, and was 
sent by the settlers to Albany, as an agent, and afterwards 
commanded a force which successfully resisted the aggres¬ 
sions of the New York colonists. The outbreak of the 
revolutionary struggle put an end to local troubles, and the 
occupation of Ticonderoga becoming a military necessity, 
A. called together about 300 ‘ Green Mountain Boys,’ and, 
1775, May 10, captured the place by surprise. In Allen’s 
command was the afterwards notorious Benedict Arnold. 
Arousing the commander at Ticonderoga, Delaplace, from 
his bed, A. demanded his surrender, ‘ in the name of the 
great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.’ The place was 
given up without a struggle, and its fall was followed by 
that of Crown Point, the entire northern region being thus 
gained from the English. A. afterwards joined the force 
under the command of Gen. Schuyler, and was employed in 
secret missions of importance both by him and by Mont¬ 
gomery. In an attack on Montreal, 1775, Sept., he was cap¬ 
tured, and was sent to England, and confined in prisons 
there, and at Halifax and New York until the spring of 
1778, when he was released by exchange. The severity of 
the treatment which he had received while in the hands of 
the British had undermined his health, and he returned to 
Vermont, after visiting Washington at his headquarters, and 
tendering his services whenever they should be needed. A. 
was a man of great force of character, an original thinker; 
and had he been educated, might have made his mark as an 
author. As it was, lie wrote tlm first work bv an American 
in opposition to the Christian religion, entitled Theology; or, 
the Oracles of Reason. He was twice married, and, dying 


ALLEN. 

suddenly at Colchester, Vt., left a widow and seven chil¬ 
dren. 

ALLEN, Grant; naturalist and author: b. Kingston, 
Can., 1848, Feb. 24. He was educated at Merton Coll., 
Oxford Univ., and graduated a b. 1870, with high honors. 
He became prof, of logic and philosophy in Queen’s Coll., 
Spanish Town, Jamaica, 1873, and was principal of the 
institution 1874-77. He subsequently, in England, en¬ 
gaged in literary and scientific work. He was a frequent 
contributor to reviews and magazines, of graceful essays, 
chiefly in nat. history, with occasional excursions into 
history and social and political economy. Among his 
published works, most of which have been republished in 
the United States are: Physiological yEsthetics; The Color 
Sense; Anglo-Saxon Britain; Vignettes Jrom Nature; The 
Evolutionist at Large; Flowers ancl their Pedigrees; Charles 
Darwin (biography); and 4 novels: Philistia; For Mamie's 
Sake; Babylon; and In All Shades. He died 1899, Oct. 25. 

ALLEN, Joel Asaph, naturalist: b. Springfield, Mass., 
1838, July 19. He studied at Wilbraham Acad , and Law¬ 
rence Scientific School, of Harvard, and was with Prof* 
Louis Agassiz 1865, on an expedition to Brazil. His dept* 
was zoology, and 1869-73 he was engaged in investigations 
in this line in Fla., and in the Rocky Mountains. In 1870, 
he was appointed asst! in ornithology in the Museum of 
Comp. Zoology at Cambridge, and received the Humboldt 
scholarship, 1871. He was made curator of the dept, of 
mammals and birds in the Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist., New 
York 1885, which position he still holds. He is a member 
of many scientific societies, and author of numerous mono¬ 
graphs and articles on zoological subjects. 

ALLEN, James Lane: author: b Fayette Co., Ky., 1848, 

Mar. 3-. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. He graduated 

at Bethany College 1867; was principal of the high school at 
Waukegan, Ill., 1868-70; studied law at Omaha, and was 
admitted to the bar 1870, having published his first book 
while a law student, Allen's Handbook of the Nebraska Code. 
He removed to Chicago 1872, and there practiced law till 
literature led him to abandon it altogether. His wiitings 
are strikingly original, and the delicacy and strength of 
their style have attracted wide attention. They comprise 
The Exodus of the Children of Ham; Aunt Vmey’s Story; 
The Horseshoe Bend; Marse Breck and Miss Mary; The 
Blue-grass Region of Kentucky (1892); John Gray (1893); 
A Kentucky Cardinal (1894); its sequel, Aftermath (1896); 
A Summer in Arcady (1896); The Choir Invisible (1897). 
In an analysis of American literature, written for The Book¬ 
man, 1896, Nov., Mr. A. directs attention to the types of 
literature found in the United States, and thus enumerates 
them: the only negro literature in the world; a beautiful 
creole literature; the literature of the Anglo-Saxon moun¬ 
taineers; the New World literature of the middle-clasij 
New England life; the literature of the Western plains. 



ALLEN. 

ALLEN, Robert: about 1815-1886, Aug. 6; b. Ohio. 
He graduated at West Point 1836, and served in the Semi¬ 
nole war as 2d lieut. He fought through the Mexican war, 
and was made brevet major. Afterward he was chief 
quartermaster of depts. in the west; and supt. of sup¬ 
plies and transportation in the Miss, valley, 1861-65. He 
was made brev. lieut.col. and brig.gen. 1864, July 4. He 
fitted out Sherman's expedition to Chattanooga; and the 
expeditions into Ky., Va., and N. C. He was chief quar¬ 
termaster of the Pacific div. 1866-69, senior asst, in the 
quartermaster-gen.’s office in Washington, D. C., 1869, and 
retired 1878. 

ALLEN, Solomon; preacher and revolutionary officer: 
1751, Feb. 23—1821, Jan. 28; b. Northampton, Mass.; bro. 
of the Rev. Thomas A. and of Moses A. He entered the 
revolutionary army as a private, was lieut. in command of 
the guard that took Maj. Andre to West Point, aud rose to be 
maj. He aided in suppressing Shays’s rebellion 1786-7. He 
was converted at the age of 40, and 10 years later began mis¬ 
sionary w'ork in western N. Y., which he continued until 
his death, achieving high reputation for zeal and devoted¬ 
ness in his new calling. 

ALLEN, William, statesman: 1806-1879, July 11: b. 
Edenton, N. C. His early life was passed in the south, 
mostly in Lynchburg, Va , whence he travelled on foot to 
Chillicothe, O., 1822, where he had two years’ instruction 
in the local academy. He studied law, passed at the bar, 
was successful in his practice, and was elected to the 23d 
congress as a democrat. In 1836 he was elected to the 
U. S. senate from Ohio, and re-elected 1843. In 1848, 
through loyalty to Gen. Cass, to whom he had promised 
his support, he refused the nomination for the presidency. 
From that time he was not active in politics till 1873, 
when he was elected democratic gov. of Ohio. He was 
an advocate of the ‘ greenback ’ theory of finance, and was 
defeated by Rutherford B. Hayes on that issue for re- 
election. He was familiarly called in congress the ‘ Ohio 
gong,’ from his remarkable power of voice. 

ALLEN, William, d.d.: author and Congl. minister: 
1784, Jan. 2—1868, July 16; b. Pittsfield, Mass.; son of 
Thomas A., of Pittsfield, who was chaplain in the revo¬ 
lutionary war; and nephew of Moses A,, who was pastor 
at Midway, Ga., 1777, and chaplain to’the Georgia brigade. 
He graduated at Harvard 1802, began to preach 1804; and 
served in western N. Y. for a time, when he was elected a 
regent and an asst, librarian of Harvard. In 1810 he suc¬ 
ceeded his father as pastor of the First Church, Pittsfield. 
In 1817 he was made pres, of Dartmouth Coll., and was 
pres, of Bowdoin Coll. 1820-39. Thereafter he was en¬ 
gaged in literary work. He published the American Bio¬ 
graphical and Historical Dictionary (1809), which went 
through several revisions; Junius Unmasked (1828); Psalms 
and Hymns (1835); Memoirs of Dr. Eleaser Wheelock and 
of Dr. John Codman (1853); Poems of Nazareth and the 
Cross (1866); Sacred Songs (1867); also a supplement to 


ALLEN—ALLENTOWN. 

Webster's Dictionary , containing 10,000 words not in other 
dictionaries; and several other works. 

ALLEN, William Henry: 1784, Oct. 21—1813, Aug. 
15; b. Providence, R. I. He was appointed midshipman 
in the navy 1800; was 3d lieut. of the Chesapeake in her 
fight with the Leopard , 1807; and 1st lieut. of the United 
States, distinguishing himself in her action with the Mace¬ 
donian 1812. He was promoted master commandant 1813, 
and, with the Argus, fought the British brig Pelican, 1813, 
Aug. 14, when he lost his vessel and was mortally wound¬ 
ed. He was one of the officers who charged Capt. James 
Barron with neglect of duty in regard to the capture of 
the Chesapeake. 

ALLEN, William Henry: college pres.: 1808, Mar. 
22—1882, Aug. 29; b. Manchester (formerly Readfield), 
Me. He graduated at Bowdoin Coll. 1833, and for three 
years taught Latin and Greek in Cazenovia, N. Y. He 
was principal of the Augusta (Me.) high school 1836; and 
prof, of nat. philos. and chemistry in Dickinson Coll., 
Carlisle, Penn., 1836-46. He then took the chair of philos. 
and English literature; and was acting pres. 1847-8. He 
was pres, of Girard Coll. 1850-62, pres, of Pennsylvania 
Coll., Gettysburg. 1865-67, and again pres, of Girard Coll. 
1867-82, rendering service of great value. He was made 
pres, of the Amer. Bible Sac. 1872. 

ALLEN, William Howard: naval officer: 1790, July 
8—1822, Nov. 9; b. Hudson, N. Y. He was appointed 
midshipman in the navy 1808, Jan. 1; promoted lieut. 1813, 
July 24. He took command of the Argus, in her fight 
with the Pelican, after her commander, William H. A., 
was mortally wounded, and the 1st officer disabled. He 
was killed in a boat-fight with pirates, off the island of 
Cuba, whiie trying to board one of their vessels. He was, 
at the time, in command of theU.S. sloop of war Alligator. 

ALLEN, BOG OF, -al’en: general name applied to a 
congeries of morasses e. of the Shannon, in King’s county 
and Kildare, Ireland, comprising in all about 238 500 Eng. 
acres. The strips of arable land which intersect this bog 
are occasionally watered by rivers which have their sources 
in the contiguous fens, such as the Barrow, Boyne, and 
Brosna; the Grand canal also passes through it. The aver¬ 
age elevation of the morasses is 250 ft. above the sea-level. 
They approach to within 17 miles of Dublin on the e., and 
almost to the Shannon on the w. The depth of the peat 
found in them is about 25 ft. 

ALLENTOWN: a city, cap. of Lehigh co., Penn.; on 
elevated ground, on the w. bank of the Lehigh river, 51 m. 
from Philadelphia, and 36 from Reading. The Lehigh Val¬ 
ley is rich in iron ore and anthracite, and extensive mining 
has brought A. to a position of importance. Its settlement 
was in 1750, when the first house was built by William Al¬ 
len, on land received by grant from William Penn. It was 
originally called Northampton, the name being changed in 
1858 in honor of its founder and first settlei. The city is 
well laid out, with wide streets, is lighted by gas and elec- 


ALLEVIATE—A LLIACEOUS. 

tricity, has many attractive public buildings and several 
high-grade educatioual institutions; and is noted for its 
extensive iron works. A large proportion of the popula¬ 
tion is ‘ Pennsylvania Dutch/ so-called, speaking a lan¬ 
guage of various native dialects with an admixture 
ot ±mglish. in iyoU we various manufacturing industries 
comprised 491 establishments, $11,990,971 capital, 8,447 
hands; paid $3,150,970 wages, and $9,846,047 for mate¬ 
rials; and received $10,947,722 for products. The net city 
debt (1902; was $347,042; value of city property $507,178; 
assessed valuation $21,941,175; and city tax rate $3.79 per 
$1,000. There were (1892) 2 national banks (cap. $700,000), 
and 1 trust and safe deposit co. (cap. $125,000); and 3 
daily, 6 weekly, 1 semi-monthly, 4 monthly, and 1 quar¬ 
terly publications. Pop. (1890) 25,228; (1900) 35,410. 

ALLEVIATE, v. at-ie'm-at [mid. L. allevidtus, made 
light, mitigated—from ad, levis, light (see Allay)] to make 
light; to make easier; to lessen, as pain, sorrow. Alle'- 
via'ting, imp. Alle'via'ted, pp. Alle'via'tion, n. 
-shun, the act of lessening or making more endurable. 
Alle'via'tive, a. - d'tiv , that lessens or palliates.— Syn. of 
‘alleviate’: to appease; allay; relieve; pacify; mitigate; 
soothe; assuage; lessen; diminish; soften; abate; nullify. 

ALLEY, n. dl'li [F. allee , a passage—from aUer, to go ; 
OF. a'ee, a gallery]: a narrow walk or passage. Blind 
Alley, a lane or narrow street that has no exit or through 
passage; a cul de sac. 

ALLEYN, alien, Edward: 1566-1626: a distinguished 
actor, contemporary and friend of Shakespeare; known prin¬ 
cipally as the munificent and pious founder of Dulwich Col¬ 
lege (q.v.). The building of the college was begun 1613; 
and in 1619 the institution obtained the royal charter, after 
some obstruction on the part of Lord Bacon, who wished the 
king to apply part of the grant to the foundation of two lec¬ 
tureships at Oxford and Cambridge. A. himself took up 
his quarters in the college as master, living with his wife as 
a pensioner on equal terms with the sharers of his bounty. 
He also founded numerous almshouses in London. 

ALL HALLOW: see All Saints’ Day. 

ALL I A, al'li-d: small stream which fell into the Tiber, 
11 m. n. of Rome; the scene of the defeat of the Roman 
army by the Gauls under Brennus, B.c. 387, or 390. Im¬ 
mediately afterward Rome was taken, plundered, and 
burned. 

ALLIACEOUS, a. dlli-a'shus [L. allium. Garlic]: pert, 
to the garlic or onion tribe. A. Plants are those of the 
genus Allium (q.v,), or others nearly allied to it. The term 
is generally employed to denote not only the possession of 
certain botanical characters, but also of a certain smell and 
taste, of which examples are readily found in the onion, 
leek, garlic, and other familiar species of Allium. These 
plants contain free phosphoric acid and a sulphuretted oil, 
which is partly dissipated in boiling or roasting. The A. 
flavor is, however, found also, although in comparatively 
rare instances, in plants of entirely different botanical affini¬ 
ties—for example, in Alliaria officinalis, of the natural order 


ALLIANCE—ALLIER. 

Oruciferce (see Alliaria), in the young shoots of Cedrela 
angustifolia, a tropical American tree of the natural order 
Cedrelaceae, allied to mahogany; and in certain species of 
Dysoxylon and Hartighsea, of the kindred order MeliacecB, 
the fruit of which is used instead of garlic by the mount¬ 
aineers of Java. 

ALLIANCE, n. al-li'ans [F. alliance, union: L. ad, ligo, 
I bind]: union formed by marriage; a treaty or union be¬ 
tween nations; a union for any purpose. Allied, al-lid', 
pp. of Ally, which see; connected by marriage, interest, 
or friendship. Allies': see Ally.—Syn. of ‘alliance’: 
league; confederacy; connection; affinity; coalition. See 
Treaty: Holy Alliance: Triple Alliance. 

ALLIANCE: city, in Stark co., 0.; on the Mahoning 
river, and on the Cleveland and Pittsburg, the Pittsburg 
Youngstown and Ashtabula, the Lake Erie Alliance and 
Southern, and the Pittsburg Fort Wayne and Chicago 
railroads; 56 m. s.s.e. of Cleveland. It is in a rich agri¬ 
cultural region; has good public schools, numerous 
churches, national and other banks; an electric street rail¬ 
way; and 2 daily, 2 weekly, and 4 monthly publications. 
It is noted for its manufactures, which include engines, 
boilers, steel castings, pumps, steam hammers, steam 
cranes, and other heavy machinery. Extensive mines of 
coal are near the city. Pop. (1890) 7,607; (1900) 8,974. 

ALLIARIA, dl-li-dr'i-a: genus of plants of the natural 
order Cruciferce (q. v.), closely allied to Sisymbrium and Ery¬ 
simum, but differing from both in having the stalks of the 
seeds flat and winged. The best known species is A. offici¬ 
nalis {Erysimum A. of Linnaeus, and ranked by some botan¬ 
ists in the genus Sisymbrium), known by the popular names 
of Sauce-alone and Jack-by-the-Hedge; a biennial, re¬ 
markable for its strong alliaceous odor. It is common 
in Europe and used sometimes as a pot-herb. 

ALLIBONE, al'li-bdn, Samuel Austin, ll.d.: bibliog¬ 
rapher: 1816, Apr. 17—1889, Sep. 2; b. Philadelphia. 
He is best known by his Critical Dictionary of English 
Literature (3 vols. 1858-71), Supp. 2 vols. edited by 
J. F. Kirk (1891). The studies for the structure of 
this important work were made by A. during his leisure, 
while actively engaged in mercantile business. It is re¬ 
markable for erudition and minute investigation. A. edited 
the publications for the American Sunday-school Union 
for several years; contributed to the North American Re¬ 
view and other periodicals; and published Poetical Quota¬ 
tions from Chaucer to Tennyson (1873); Prose Quotations 
from Socrates to Macaulay (1875); and Great Authors of 
All Ages (1879). In 1879 he became head librarian of the 
Lenox Library, New York, and held the office till his death. 

ALLICE, or Allis: see Shad. 

ALLIER, al'U-d: a river in France, a tributary of the 
Loire; has its source in the water-shed of the e. of the 
dept, of Lozere; flows n. through Haute-Loire, Puy-de- 
Dome, and Allier; and after a course of more than 200 m., 


ALLIER—ALLIGATOR. 

falls into the Loire below the town of Nevers. It is nav¬ 
igable for a considerable portion of its length. 

ALLIER; a dept, in the centre of France, 2,810 sq. m. 
It is a hilly district, especially in the s., sloping down to¬ 
ward the river Loire in the n., and is partly woody, but 
generally well cultivated, producing the usual kinds of 
grain, with wine and oil. It is also rich in minerals, espe¬ 
cially iron, coal,antimony, manganese, and marble. Thera 
is some manufacturing industry in cotton, wool, linen, car¬ 
pets, pottery, and glass; but the majority of the popula¬ 
tion is engaged in agriculture. Mineral springs are found 
at Vichy, Neris, and Bourbon-rArchambault. The chief 
town is Moulins. Other important places are Montlu<;on, 
La Palisse, Gannat. At Chantelle-le-Chateau are the ex¬ 
tensive ruins of King Pepin’s castle. Pop. (1891) 424,382. 

ALLIGATION, n. dl'li-gd'shiin [L. alligationem, a bind¬ 
ing or tying to—from alligare , to bind together—from ad, 
ligo, I bind]: a, rule in arithmetic for finding the value or 
price of any mixture. It is used for solving such questions 
as the following; 3 lbs. of sugar at 6 cents are mixed with 
5 lbs. at 10 cents; what is the price of a pound of the 
mixture? or: In what proportion must sugar at 6 cents be 
mixed with sugar at 10 cents, to produce a mixture at 8£ 

cents ? The solution of the first is 3 x 10 = 8| cents. 

3 —|— 5 

In the second, the proportional number for one ingredient 
is the difference between the price of the other and that of 
the mixture; the number for the cheap sugar is therefore 
1|, and for the dear, 2^, which are as 3:5, so that there 
must be 3 lbs. at 6 cents for every 5 lbs. at 10 cents. If 
there are more than two ingredients, the problem becomes 
indeterminate; that is, it admits of a variety of answers. 
Thus: Of three metals, whose specific gravities are 10, 15, 
and 16, it is required to compose an alloy whose specific 
gravity shall be 14. The conditions will be answered by 
mixing them in any of the following proportions: 1, 2, 1; 
2, 2, 3; 6, 2, 11, etc. 

ALLIGATOR, n. al'li-gd'ter [Sp. el-lagarto, the lizard: L. 
lacerta: Port. allagarto\ : a genus of saurian reptiles of 'the 
family of the Crocodilidce , and still regarded by some natur¬ 
alists as a mere sub-genus of Crocodilus ; although it has 
recently been proposed to constitute a family or sub-family 
of Alligatoridce, and to divide it into the genera Jacare, 
Alligator , and Caiman. The alligators differ from the true 
crocodiles in the shorter and flatter head, the existence of cavi¬ 
ties or pits in the upper jaw, into which (and not into mere 
notches between the teeth, as in the crocodiles) the long fourth 
teeth of the under jaw are received, and the much less 
webbed feet. In consequence of the different manner in 
which pro^vision is made in the upper jaw for the reception 
of the longest teeth of the lower, the head of the alligators 
is broader and the snout more obtuse than in the crocodiles. 
Their habits are less perfectly aquatic; they frequent swamps 
and marshes, and may be seen basking on the dry ground 
during the day, in the heat of the sun. They are most 



ALLIGATOR APPLE—ALLIGATOR-GAR. 

active during the night, and then make a loud bellowing. 
They have great strength in their tails, with which the 
larger ones can easily upset a light canoe. They feed 
chiefly on fish, but do not object to other animal food. The 
females lay their eggs, 20-60 in number, in the mud, and 
leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun, but keep 
watch over the spot, and show much affection for their 
young ones, many of which, however, fall a prey to the 
old males, and to vultures and fishes. There are several 
species, varying from two to twenty ft. and upwards in 
length. Perhaps the most fierce and dangerous is that found 
in the southern parts of the United States, as far up the 
Mississippi as the Red river, A. Lucius. The snout is a 
little turned up; and its resemblance to that of a pike has 
led to the specific name Lucius. In cold weather these ani¬ 
mals bury themselves in the mud, and become so torpid, 



Alligator. 


that they may be cut to pieces without showing signs of 
sensibility; but a few hours of bright sunshine are enough 
to revive them. Like the other species, they are so pro¬ 
tected by their mailed plates, that they are not easily killed, 
except by a shot or blow over the eyes. A very strong kind 
of leather is prepared from tlie skin, wdiich is used for 
making saddles. It is said that a considerable quantity of 
oil can be extracted from an A., which is transparent and 
burns well. The alligators of 8. Amcr. are there very often 
called Caymans , probably an Indian name, and some of them 
bear the name of Tacare , particularly A. sclerops , also dis¬ 
tinguished as the Spectacled Cayman, on account of a promi¬ 
nent bony rim surrounding the orbit of each eye. This 
species appears to be widely distributed over tropical Amer¬ 
ica, and attains a great size. Alligators are not known to 
exist in any quarter of the world except America, in which, 
however, true crocodiles are also found. But among the 
fossils of the s. of England are remains of a true A. (A. Han - 
toniensis) in the Hordle beds. The flesh of alligators is eaten 
by Indians and negroes. It has a musky flavor.—The name 
is supposed to be a corruption of the Portuguese lagarto , 
lizard. Cuvier adopted it as a scientific name. 

ALLIGATOR APPLE; see Custard Apple. 

ALLIGATOR FISH: Teliost fish, family Agonidce , 
armed with bony plates; 20 small species, chiefly arctic. 
One occurs south to Cape Cod. 

ALLIGATOR-GAR, -gar (Lepidosteus tristcechus ): Ganoid 
fish, 10 feet long; 111. to Cuba. See Ganoid. 












ALLIGATORIDJS—ALLITERATION. 

ALLIGATORIILE, al-li-ga-tor'i-de: family of Saurians^ 
ord. Grocodilia; often classed as a sub-fam. ( AUigatorince ) 
of Crocodilidte. The distinction between the two families 
is drawn as follows by Prof. Huxley: A. have head short 
and broad; teeth very unequal, the 1st and 4th of the 
under jaw biting into pits in the upper jaw; premaxillo- 
maxillary suture straight or convex forward; mandibular 
symphysis not extending beyond the 5th tooth, the splenial 
element not entering it; cervical scutes distinct from the 
tergal. In the Crocodilidce the head is longer; teeth un¬ 
equal; 1st mandibular tooth biting into a fossa, the 4th 
into a groove, at the side of the upper jaw; premaxillo- 
maxillary suture straight or convex backward; mandibular 
symphysis not extending beyond 8th tooth, and not involv 
ing the splenial elements. Of living A. all are confined to 
America. Till lately it was supposed that no Crocodilidae 
were to be found in the new world; but a species of Croc¬ 
odile, Grocodilus Americanus, has been discovered in Fla. 

ALLIGATOR-PEAR : see Avocado Pear. 

AL LIGATOR-TUR TLE: one of the names of the 
snapping-turtle ( Chelydra serpentina)', also the familiar 
name of Macrochelys lacertina, another fresh-water turtle, 
an American species found from the Gulf of Mexico n. to 
Wis.; esteemed for food. Specimens often weigh 60 lbs. 

ALL1S10N, n. al-lizh'un [L. allisio —from allidere , to 
dash against]: a striking or dashing against with violence. 

ALLISON, al'll-son, William B.: lawyer and states¬ 
man: b. Perry, O., 1829, Mar. 2; of Irish ancestry. He re¬ 
ceived the ordinary school education, supplemented by 
tuition at Allegheny College, Meadville, Penn., and then 
entered Western Reserve College, Hudson, O., and on his 
graduation studied law. Being admitted to the bar. he 
entered upon a professional career in his native state, 1852, 
but in 1857 removed to Dubuque, Iowa. He was elected 
to the 38th congress as a republican and re-elected to the 
three following congresses. In 1873 he was elected U. S. 
senator, and has since held the seat by re-elections. The 
Bland-Allison Act—Bland Silver Bill—w r as so called be¬ 
cause he introduced it in 1877. He has been noted more for 
practical, hard work in fulfilling the duties of his position 
than for oratory, and is highly regarded for his wise service 
on important committees. His public speeches in his own 
state have been influential in shaping political action. In 
1892 he was a delegate to the Int. Monetary Conference. 

ALLITERATE, v. dl-ld'er-at [L. aliiteratus, having the 
same letter]: to commence two or more consecutive words 
with the same letter, or with the same or nearly the same 
sound: said of the speaker or writer as well as of the 
alliterating words themselves. Alliteral, a. dl-liter-al, 
pertaining to the practice of commencing two or more 
words in immediate succession with the same letter. 

ALLITERATION, n. al-lit'er-d'ahun [F. alliteration 
from L. ad, litera, a letter]: the frequent repetition of a letter 
usually an initial) or sound in successive words,—generally- 
in poetry. Alliterative, a. -a'tiv, pertaining to. In Old 


ALLITERATION. 

German, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian poetry, A. took 
the place of rhyme. This kind of verse, in its strict form, 
required that in the two short lines forming a couplet, three 
words should begin with the same letter, two in the first 
line or hemistich, and one in the second, as in the following 
couplet of Anglo Saxon poetry: 

iCirum /oldan 

Frea, almihtig.— Ccedmon. 

A. has not quite disappeared from Icelandic poetry to this 
day. Alliterative poems continued to be written in English 
after it had assumed its modern form; the most remarkable is 
Pierce Plowman, a poem of the 14th c., of which the follow* 
ing is a specimen, the two hemistichs being written in 
one line: 

Me rcy hight that maid, | a meek thing withal, 

A full benign burd, | and buxom of speech. 

Even after the introduction of rhyme, A. continued to be 
largely used as an embellishment of poetry, and is so, though 
to a less extent, to this day: 

The fair breeze blew, the white /oam/lew. 

The/urrow /ollowed free. — Coleridge. 

Besides the Gothic, there are other nations widely separated 
from each other, among whom the essential distinction of 
verse is A.; the Finns, for instance, and the Tamuls in the 
s. of India. 

But A. is not confined to verse; the charm that lies in it 
exercises great influence on human speech generally, as may 
be seen in many current phrases and proverbs in all 
languages: Ex., ‘life and limb,’ ‘house and home,’ ‘wide 
wears, tight tears,’ etc. It often constitutes part of the 
point and piquancy of witty writing. This application of 
A. is felicitously exemplified by Sidney Smith, when, con¬ 
trasting the conditions of a dignitary of the English Church 
and of a poor curate, he speaks of them as ‘ the Right 
Revereud Dives in the palace, and Lazarus-in-orders at the 
gate, doctored by dogs and comforted with crumbs.’ 

In the early part of the 17th c., the fashion of hunting 
after alliterations was carried to an absurd excess; even from 
the pulpit, the chosen people of God were addressed as 
‘ the chickens of the church, the sparrows of the spirit, and 
the sweet swallows of salvation.’ Ane New-year Gift, or 
address, presented to Mary Queen of Scots by the poet 
Alexander Scott, concludes with a stanza running thus: 

Fresh, fulgent, flourist, fragrant flower formose, 

Lantern to love, of ladies lamp and lot, 

Cherry maist chaste, chief carbuncle and chose, etc. 

In the following piece of elaborate trifling, given (but with¬ 
out naming the author) in H. Southgate’s Many Thoughts on 
Many Things, Alliteration is combined with Acrosticism: 

A n Austrian army, awfully arrayed, 

B oldly by battery besieged Belgrade; 

C ossack commanders cannonading come, 

D ealing destruction’s devastating doom; 

E very endeavor engineers essay 
F or fame, for fortune, forming furious fray. 

G aunt gunners grapple, giving gashes good; 

H eaves high his head heroic hardihood; 


ALLIUM—ALLOA. 

I braham, Islam, Ismael, imps in ill, 

J ostle John Jarovliiz, Jem, Joe. Jack, Jill; 

K ick kindling Kutusoff. king’s kinsmen kill 
L abor low levels loftiest, longest lines; 

M en march ’mid moles, ’mid mounds, ’mid murd’rous mines. 
N ow nightfall’s near, now needful nature nods, 

O pposed, opposing, overcoming odds. 

P oor peasants, partly purchased, partly pressed, 

Q uite quaking, * Quarter! quarter!’ quickly quest. 

R eason returns, recalls redundant rage, 

S aves sinking soldiers, softens signiors sage. 

T ruce, Turkey, truce! truce, treach’rous Tartar train 1 
U nwise, unjust, unmerciful Ukraine, 

V anish, vile vengeance! vanish, victory vain 1 

W isdom wails war—wails warring words. What were 
X erxes, Xantippe, Ximenes, Xavier? 

Y et Yassy’s youth, ye yield your youthful yest. 

Z ealously, zanies, zealously, zeal's zest. 

ALLIUM, al'li-um: genus of plants of the natural order 
Liliacece (q.v.), containing a large number of species, peren¬ 
nial—more rarely biennial—herbaceous plants, more or less 
decidedly bulbous-rooted, natives chiefly of the temperate 
and colder regions of the northern hemisphere. The flowers 
are umbellate, inclosed in a spathe, and the umbel often 
bears also small bulbs with its flowers. The perianth is of 
six spreading pieces, resembling petals, having the stamens 
inserted in their base. The fruit is a triangular capsule, 
and the seeds are angular. The leaves are generally nar¬ 
row, although in some species, as A. ursinum, they are 
rather broad, and in a considerable number they are 
rounded and fistulose. Garlic (q.v.), Onion (q.v.), Leek 
( q.v.), Shallot (q.v.), Chive (q.v.), and Rocambole (q.v.), 
are species of this genus in common cultivation. The first 
four are cultivated in the gardens of India, as well as of 
Europe, with A. tuberosum; and the hill-people of India 
eat the bulbs of A. leptopbyllum , and dry the leaves, and 
preserve them as a condiment. Six native species occur in e. 
N. America; the Wild Leek (A. tricoccum), leaves dying 
before flowers develop; w. New England, w. and Alle- 
ghanies: Wild Onion (A. cernuum), scape angular, umbel 
drooping; w. New York, w. and s.: A. stellatum, similar, 
but scape round, leaves flat; w. and n.w.: Wild Garlic 
(A. Cana,dense), leaves linear and flattish: . A. striatum , 
leaves striate on the back; s. and w.: Chives (A. Schw- 
noprasum ), leaves awl-shaped, hollow; Great Lakes and n., 
also Europe: and Field Garlic (A. vineale), round hollow 
leaves, channelled above, an imported troublesome per¬ 
ennial, to be extirpated only by rooting out the bulbs per- 
severingly, when the leaves begin to appear in spring. 

ALLOA, al'lo-a: seaport town in Clackmannanshire, 
Scotland, is situated on the left bank of the Forth, where 
the river widens into its estuary, 7 m. (by road) below Stir¬ 
ling. Pop. about 12,000. It is a town of considerable 
antiquity, and is an active centre of trade and manu¬ 
factures. The principal articles manufactured are whisky 
and ale, the latter of which is highly esteemed. There are 
extensive glass, iron, and brick works, and ship building 
yards. Copper utensils, shawls, and blankets, leather, 
tobacco, and snuff are manufactured, and much coal ia 


ALLOCATE—ALLODIUM. 

regularly exported from the pits in the immediate neighbor¬ 
hood of the town. Coal is a chief item in the coasting 
trade, besides which there is a considerable foreign trade, 
chiefly outwards. The 1,087 vessels that entered the port in 
1880 had a tonnage of 140,719 tons. The harbor is good, 
with 16 ft. of water at neap, and 22 at spring tides; it is 
furnished with a dry-dock. There is a steam-ferry across 
the Forth, connecting by a short junction line with the 
Scottish Central railway. It is also connected with that 
line, and with the Edinburgh and Northern railway, by 
the Stirling and Dunfermline branch. There is regular 
steam-communication by the river with Edinburgh and 
Stirling. In the neighborhood is Alloa Tower, 89 ft. high, 
supposed to have been built in the 13th c , once the resi¬ 
dence of the Erskines, and at different times of Scottish 
princes. 

ALLOCATE, v. dl'lo-kdt [mid. L. allbcdtus, placed to, 
allotted—from L. ad, locks, a place]: to place to; to give 
each one his share or part; to set apart for any purpose; to 
distribute. Al locating, imp. Al'loca'ted, pp. Al¬ 
location, n. dl! 7 d-lid!shun, the act of setting apart for; the 
assigning a place for. Allocatur, n. dl'lo-kd'ter [L. it is 
allowed]: in law, a word indicating the amount allowed, in 
the taxation of a bill of costs, by the proper officer of court. 
—Syn. of ‘ allocate ’: to allot; assign; appoint; distribute; 
destine; apportion. 

ALLOCHROITE, n. dl-lbk'ro It [Gr. alios, different; 
chrdid, color]: a fine-grained, massive variety of iron-garnet, 
exhibiting a variety of colors when melted with phosphate 
of soda before the blow-pipe. 

ALLOCUTION, n. dl'ld-ku' shun [L. allocutionem, a 
speaking to, an address—from ad, loculus, spoken]: a formal 
address written or spoken: specially the address delivered 
by the pope at the College of Cardinals on any ecclesiastical 
or political circumstance, it corresponds in some measure 
to the official explanations which constitutional ministers 
give when questions are asked in parliament, or to the politi¬ 
cal messages of an emperor. The Roman see makes abun¬ 
dant use of this method of address, when it desires to guard 
a principle which it is compelled to give up in a particular 
case, or to reserve a claim for the' future which has no 
chance of recognition in the present. 

ALLODIUM, n. dl-lodi-um [mid. L. allddidlis— from 
allodium, land held without a superior; Dan. odd, a patri¬ 
monial estate: Icel. odal, a homestead, goods abandoned]; 
land held in absolute possession without a feudal superior; 
unconditional free tenure: Allodial, a. dl-lo'di al, free of 
rent; independent. Allodial Tenure, in Law, is the 
free and absolute right of property in land, independent of 
any burden of homage or fidelity to a superior. When the 
principal landholders of England submitted to the yoke of 
military tenure, and surrendered their lands into the hands 
of the Conqueror at the council of Sarum, feudality, the 
previous existence or non existence of which has been a sub¬ 
ject of much discussion, was formally recognized, and it 


ALLON—ALLONGE. 

henceforth became a fundamental maxim in the law of real 
property, that ‘ the king is the universal lord and original 
proprietor of all the lands in his kingdom, and that no 
man doth or can possess any part of it, but what has medi¬ 
ately or immediately been derived as a gift from him, to be 
held upon feudal services’ (Blackstone, vol. ii. p. 51, Kerr’s 
edition). This maxim, though, as Blackstone remarks, it 
was even at first little more than a fiction, was not peculiar 
to. England, but prevailed wherever the feudal system ob¬ 
tained, and still forms what may be called the starting-point 
in all feudal tenures of land. Even where subinfeudations 
have prevailed to the greatest extent, every title is traceable, 
in the last instance, to the paramount and universal superi¬ 
ority of the crown. See Feudal System. The surrendei 
of lands in England being the result of political measures, 
was one universal national act, and, consequently, allodial 
tenures at once ceased to exist; but in many other countries 
it was accomplished by private arrangements between the 
allodial proprietors and the prince, the former being anxious 
to exchange their nominal independence for the greater 
security enjoyed by the vassals of the sovereign; the latter 
being willing to receive them as dependents, for the sake 
either of their personal services in war, or latterly, for the 
equivalents of these services in money or the produce of the 
lands. In such countries, feudality, though general, was 
not universal; and allodial tenures conseouently continued 
together with those originating with the crown. The 
only examples of allodial tenures extant in Great Britain 
are the Udal rights in the islands of Orkney and Shetland, 
formerly Danish. In Scotland all property and superi¬ 
orities belonging to the crown itself, and all churches, 
church-yards, manses, and glebes, the right to which does 
not flow from the crown, are regarded as allodial; and 
the term in a wider sense, as opposed to feudal generally, 
is sometimes used with reference to movable property. 

ALLON, Henry, d.d. : English Congl. minister: 1818, 
Oct. 13—1892. Apr. 16; b. Welton, Yorkshire, 1818, Oct. 
13; graduated at Chesthum Coll. 1843. He became co¬ 
pastor of Union Chapel, Islington, London, 1844, and from 
1852 was sole pastor. He was chairman of the Congl. 
Union 1864-5, and again 1881. From 1865 for 22 years 
he was editor of the British Quarterly Review. He also 
contributed to the Contemporary and other reviews; wrote 
Memoir of the Rev. J. Sherman (1863); compiled the Con¬ 
gregational Psalmist (extensively used in the churches), 
and wrote The Vision of God (1876), a volume of sermons. 
He was highly esteemed as a preacher and pastor, and 
with notable zeal and taste he promoted church music in 
the Nonconformist churches. A new church was erected 
for him at Islington 1877, costing nearly $250,000. He 
received the degree of d.d. from Yale Coll. 1871, and from 
the Univ. of St. Andrews 1885. 

ALLONGE, d-lonf, Auguste: French artist; b. Paris. 
He was pupil of Cogniet, and has achieved reputation for 
his excellent charcoal drawings, being known as one of 
the ‘kings of charcoal.’ He published Charcoal Drawing. 


ALLOPATHY—ALLOTMENT OF LAND 

ALLOPATHY, n. al-ldp'd-thl [Gr. alios, another; 
pathos, disease]: that mode of medical practice which con¬ 
sists in the use of drugs to produce in the body a condi¬ 
tion opposite to the disease to be cured; the ordinary 
method of medical practice whose practitioners, however, 
do not acknowledge the term. It is opposed to Homeop¬ 
athy, hdm'$-dp'd-thl (q.v.), which attempts to cure dis¬ 
ease by medicine which, in a state of health, "would have 
produced a similar disease. Allopathic, a. dl'Id-path'Ik, 
pertaining to allopathy. Al'lopath'ically, ad. 4i. 
Allop'athist, n. one who practices allopathy. 

ALLOPHANE, n. al'lo-fdn [Gr. alios, different; phaino, 
I appear]: a mineral, hydrated aluminium subsilicate; oc¬ 
curs in cavities and veins as a translucent amorphous in¬ 
crustation, sometimes pulverulent; generally of pale blue 
color. 

ALLOPHYLIAN, a. dl'lo-fU'i-dn [Gr. allophulos, of an¬ 
other tribe, foreign—from alios, another; phule , a race, a 
tribe]: a term employed to designate a primitive race or 
language existing among other races of the same stock, as 
the Basque, race and language, in the Spanish and French 
Pyrenees; the vast mass of living languages which cannot 
be classified under the Aryan and Semitic families; sporadic 
or scattered. See Ethnology. 

ALLORI, dUlore, Cristofano: painter: 1577, Oct. 17 
—1621; b. Florence, Italy; son of Alessandro A. He was 
noted as a colorist, and for delicacy and technical finish. 
He excelled in portraiture. His finest work is Judith and 
Holofernes, in the Pitti palace. 

ALLOT, v. dUot' [L. ad; Icel. hlutr, lot: OF. allottr, 
to divide or part (see Lot)]: to distribute by lot; to assign 
to; to divide and parcel out; to apportion. Allot'ter, n. 
one who. Allot ting, imp. Allot ted, pp. Allot¬ 
ment, n. that which has been parcelled out; a share; the 
part assigned. Allottery, n. al-lot'er-i, in OE., that which 
has been granted or assigned in a distribution. 

ALLOTMENT OF LAND: in Great Britain, a legal 
term signifying the allowance of land too inconsiderable 
fora formal conveyance, and without prejudice to the title. 
This system was resorted to after 1830, when the agricul¬ 
tural laborers in many counties—owing to the use of 
threshing-machines and other improvements which they 
dreaded w T ould lower their wages—rose in insurrection. 
Voluntary societies were established to promote the A. of 
L.; and the system brought a measure of relief. The use 
of the spade in cultivation is insisted on, and the plow 
prohibited, and there are other conditions of the occu¬ 
pancy (see Spade-Husbandry). The latest returns (but 
not recent) showed 242,000 allotments, averaging a quarter 
of an acre. 


ALLOTROPY. 

ALLOTROPY, n. al-lbt'rd-pi, or Allot'ropism, n. 
-plzm [Gr. alios, another; trope, a conversion or change]: 
inc^em., term denoting the quality in certain elements 
subsisting in various forms, each of which, though con¬ 
taining no extraneous substance, possesses different prop¬ 
erties from the others. Allotjiope, one of the forms in 
which an element having this quality subsists. Allo¬ 
tropic, a. allb-trop'ik, designating such a condition exist¬ 
ing in more than one molecular condition, and with differ¬ 
ent physical characteristics; as carbon in the three forms 
of diamond, graphite, and charcoal. Allotropy de¬ 
notes the quality of the various conditions in which 
a single element can be obtained, known as its allotropic, 
modiucations, and though as yet only a few elementary 
substances have been observed to exhibit such modifications, 
yet it is generally believed that every element is capable of 
existing in several allotropic forms. Phosphorus affords an 
excellent illustration of this doctrine. In ordinary circum¬ 
stances, and when freshly prepared, phosphorus is a pale, 
yellow solid, of the consistence and aspect of wax, and to 
some extent flexible and translucent. It requires to be placed 
in a vessel with water to keep it from taking fire spontane¬ 
ously. At any ordinary natural temperature it appears 
luminous, and evolves an alliaceous odor when exposed to 
air, owing to a slow process of combustion taking place; and 
when warmed to 140° F., it bursts into flame, and burns 
vividly. Common phosphorus is soluble in alcohol, ether, 
the fixed and volatile oils, and especially in bisulphuret of 
carbon, 100 parts of which, when warm, dissolve 20 parts of 
phosphorus. But the same element, when dried and kept 
for some days, with little or no access of air, at a temper¬ 
ature ranging from 446° to 482° F., passes, weight for 
weight—without addition or subtraction of matter—into a 
reddish substance, which is known to chemists as amorphous 
phosphorus. The color of this new variety is scarlet, 
brownish red, or even blackish red; and it exists as a powder 
or cake, which does not evolve any odor, or readily take 
fire, and therefore needs not to be preserved under water. 
When heated to 140°, and even to a temperature a little 
short of 482°, it refuses to burn; and, in fact, it is questionable 
if phosphorus in this condition will take fire at all; though 
at 482°, and above, the red variety passes back again to the 
ordinary or yellow phosphorus, and then bursts into flame. 
Moreover, amorphous phosphorus is insoluble in alcohol, 
ether, the fixed and volatile oils, and even in bisulphuret of 
carbon. Probably the most striking difference between 
these two forms of the same substance is, that ordinary 
phosphorus is a deadly poison, as is too often evidenced in 
the death of children from sucking the ends of lucifer- 
matches; while the red or amorphous phosphorus is not 
known to be poisonous at all.—Besides the two varieties 
already mentioned, which are best known, there are black 
phosphorus, white phosphorus, and scaly phosphorus. The 
only manner of accounting for the difference of properties 


ALLOW. 

evinced by ordinary and red phosphorus, is to refer the 
to molecular change due to heat during the passage of the 
ordinary into the red variety. It is an observed fact that 
such absorption or disappearance of heat does then take 
place; while, when the red phosphorus is heated till it passes 
back to the ordinary kind, a very rapid disengagement of 
heat occurs. 

Sulphur furnishes another example of A. In the ordinary 
condition of roll sulphur, it is a pale yellow, brittle, 
crystalline solid; insipid to taste, odorless when cold, and 
evolving a peculiar odor when heated or rubbed. It 
dissolves in small quantity in turpentine and the fixed oils,and 
to the extent of 35 per cent, in bisulphuret of carbon. When 
common sulphur is heated to 232 , it fuses, and forms a 
thin, yellow, limpid liquid like olive-oil; at 480° it passes 
into a thick, dark brown, viscid liquid, resembling in 
consistence ordinary treacle; and if, at this stage, it be 
poured into water, the sulphur forms itself into a thread-like 
mass or net work, possessing great elasticity, like india- 
rubber, not at all brittle, and so soft that it can be molded 
by the fingers into casts and seals. Again, this elastic form 
of sulphur is not soluble in turpentine and the fixed oils, or 
even in bisulphuret of carbon. There are also other 
allotropic forms of sulphur. 

Oxygen may be taken as a third illustration of the same 
doctrine. In the ordinary form in which oxygen exists in 
the atmosphere and elsewhere, it is a gas w T ith no odor, no 
bleaching properties, and no disinfectant powers. To a 
certain extent, it oxidizes metals, etc.; but comparatively, it 
may be regarded as a feeble oxidizing agent. By several 
processes—namely, the introduction of a heated glass rod 
into a jar containing ordinary air and a little ether; or the 
presence of clean-scraped sticks of phosphorus in a glass 
vessel with a confined portion of air; or the passage of 
electric discharges through or round a glass tube or bottle 
with air—the oxygen of the atmospheric air is transformed 
into an allotropic form called ozone. In the latter condition, 
oxygen possesses a very strong and peculiar odor, long 
known as the electrical odor; has great bleaching powers, 
and is regarded as the agent in the air which bleaches 
clothes spread out on grass; and possesses such powerful 
disinfecting properties, that tainted meat introduced into 
ozonized air has the disagreeable odor destroyed, and 
smells fresh w^hen taken out. Ozone is doubtless*the great 
natural agent which removes many deleterious gases and 
vapors, and destroys infectious matter floating in or diffused 
through the air. *See Ozone. 

ALLOW, v. dl-low' [F. allouer , to allow, to assign—from 
L. ad, locare, to place or to let, see note—lit , to place 
to]: to admit; to grant: to permit; to own; to deduct. 
Allowing, imp. Allowed, pp. dl-lowd ', in OE., priv¬ 
ileged. Allowable, a. dl-low'all, that may be permitted; 
not improper or unlawful. Allow ably, ad. -bid. Allow¬ 
ableness, n. dl-low'a-bl-nes, lawfulness; fitness. Allow¬ 
ance, n. dl-low'dm, the act of allowing; permission; a 
settled rate; a salary; in OE., approval. " Note—Allow, v 


ALLOWANCES—ALLOY. 

[OF. alouer or allouer , to approve: mid. I, adlauddre, to 
apportion to—from L. ad, lauddre , to praise]: In OE., 
means, to praise; to approve of highly: this sense of the 
word is common in old authors, and is much earlier in use 
than the former; the senses, however, are not always easily 
distinguished, and constantly run into each other.— Syn. of 
‘allow’: to permit; suffer; tolerate; grant; bestow; afford; 
concede; in OE, to justify;—of ‘allowance’: stipend; sal 
ary; wages; hire; pay. 

ALLOWANCES, Officers’: settled rates, or sums, 
besides the recognized pay, granted in the British army—and 
to various degrees in the armies of other countries—to 
military officers, for special duties, or under certain specified 
circumstances. In the U. S. army and navy, certain 
additions to the pay of officers are given by law; and these 
are set forth in the army and navy regulations, and in the 
U. S. revised statutes. These include fuel, quarters, rations, 
forage, mileage when travelling under orders, and not 
furnished with transportation by the quartermaster’s depart¬ 
ment, and other additions to pay, in money or kind, as 
stipulated. Officers of the army and of volunteers assigned 
to duty which requires them to be mounted, are, during the 
time they are employed on such duty, entitled to receive the 
pay, emoluments and A. of cavalry officers of the same 
grade respectively. See Pay: Pension. —The daily food 
served out at the public expense, which is called a ration 
by soldiers, is more usually known to sailors as an allowance. 
See Ration. 

ALLOWAY KIRK, al'lowd-: an old ruined church in 
the parish of Ayr. near the mouth of the Doon, celebrated 
in Burns’s Tam o’ Shanter. At very short distances from 
it are the cottage in which the poet was born, the monu¬ 
ment erected to his memory in 1S23, and ‘ the Auld Brig o’ 
Doon,’ over which Tam o’ Shanter made his escape. 

ALLOXAN, n. dl-lok'sdn [made up of syllables in all- 
antoin and 0 x 2 die acid]: an oxidation product of uric acid. 
Alloxantin, n. dl-lok'san-tin, a body formed by the reduc¬ 
tion of alloxan. 

ALLOY, v. dl-loy' [F. aloi; It. Vega, standard, quality: 
L. ad, lex , the law or rule: Sp. ley, the proportion of silver 
found in ore]: to mix metals for coin according to rule or 
law; to mix any metal with another, generally with one less 
valuable; to reduce or lessen by mixture: N. a baser metal 
mixed with a finer; a mixture of two or more metals; a 
mixture of a metal with mercury is called an amalgam, evil 
mixed with good. Alloy’ing, imp. Alloyed, pp. di-loyd . 
Alloyage, n. dl-loy'aj, the act of mixing metals; a mixture 
of different metals. 

ALLOY, in Chemistry: a mixture # of two or more 
metals, either natural or produced artificially by melting 
them together. The A ., or mixture, has often different prop¬ 
erties from the component metals, and bears a distinct 
name. Thus, bell metal is an A. of copper and tin; tom- 
bak, of copper and zinc; brass, of copper, with a larger pro¬ 
portion of zinc, etc. Alloys are generally harder than the 


ALLOY. 

metals that compose them, and this is the motive for alloy¬ 
ing the precious metals. Both gold and silver, when pure, 
are very soft, and easily worn away by use; and therefore 
a certain proportion of copper is added, to give these metals 
the requisite hardness. In this case the word * alloy’ signi¬ 
fies the inferior metal added, and not the mixture. For 
coin, the proportion of copper to be added is fixed by law 
(see the following article), and differs in different states. It 
has been found by experiment that of A. gives the greatest 
durability. This is exactly the proportion in British gold 
coin, a pound troy of the metal containing 11 parts gold and 
1 part copper. The A. in British silver coin is somewhat 
less, being 18 dwt. in the pound instead of 20 dwt. For 
convenience in reckoning, the standard of the coinage in 
France, and other countries that adopt its monetary system, 
as well as in the United States, is made T 9 ff pure metal and 
X x 7 A., usually stated 900 (in 1,000) parts fine. British gold 
and silver standards similarly stated would be 917 and 925 
respectively. Gold is sometimes alloyed with silver, or with 
a mixture of silver and copper. The color of gold and silver 
is affected by the nature and amount of the A. A strong 
A. of copper makes gold red; silver, green; and a still 
stronger of silver, a bright yellow. A compound of mer¬ 
cury with another metal is an Amalgam (q.v.). 

Alloys seldom possess the density which theory or calcu¬ 
lation from the specific gravity of their constituents would 
indicate. Thus, many alloys possess a greater density than 
the mean density of their constituents, while others have a 
less density. The increase in density of the A. indicates 
that the metals have contracted; in other words, that the 
metallic molecules have approached each other more closely; 
while the decrease in density denotes a separation of the 
molecules to greater distances from each other. 


<< 

<< 


ALLOYS 

which exhibit a greater density 
than the mean density of the 
metals composing them. 

Gold and Zinc. 

“ “ Tin. 

“ “ Bismuth. 

“ Antimony. 

“ Cobalt. 

“ Zinc. 

“ Tin. 

“ Bismuth. 

“ Antimony. 

“ Zinc. 

" Tin. 

“ Palladium. 

“ Bismuth. 

“ Antimony. 
Platinum and Molybdenum. 
Palladium “ Bismuth. 


Silver 


Copper 


Lead 


ALLOYS 

which exhibit a less density than 
the mean density of the metals 
composing them. 


Gold 

and 

Silver. 

it 

a 

Iron. 

it 

it 

Lead. 

ft 

it 

Copper. 

tt 

a 

Iridium. 

a 

a 

Nickel. 

Silver 

ft 

Copper. 

Iron 

<t 

Bismuth. 

if 

it 

Antimony. 

it 

ft 

Lead. 

Tin 

it 

Lead. 

ft 

ti 

Palladium. 

a 

a 

Antimony. 

Nickel 

if 

Silver. 

Zinc 

a 

Antimony. 


The strength of cohesion of an A. is generally greater than 
that of the mean cohesion of the metals contained therein, 
or even than that of the most cohesive of its constituents. 




ALLOY. 

Thus, the breaking weight of a bar of copper or tin (mean¬ 
ing the longitudinal strain that it can bear) is very much 
iower than the breaking weight of a bar composed of an A, 
of tin and copper. The following tables represent the 

COHESION OF METALS. 

Bar, one inch square, 
breaks with 


Barbary Copper. 22,570 

Japan “ 20,272 

English Block Tin. 6 650 

“ “ “ . 5*322 

Banca Tin. 3,679 

Malacca Tin. 3,211 

Bismuth. 3^008 

Zinc. 2,689 

Antimony. 1,060 

Lead. 885 


When any two of the above metals combine together, thej 
generally—though not always—yield an A. which is much 
stronger than we should expect; thus the 


COHESION OF ALLOYS. 

Bar, one inch square, 
yields with 
lbs. 

10 parts of Copper and 1 part of Tin . 32,093 

8 

ii 

u 1 it 

i t 

. .. 36,088 

6 

i i 

« 1 It 

it 

.... 44,071 

4 

ft 

it 1 (( 

ti 

.... 35,739 

2 

ft 

tt J tt 

ii 

.... 1,017 

1 

a 

tt 1 “ 

ii 

725 

4 

tf 

English Tin and 1 “ 

Lead. . 

. 10,607 

4 

if 

Banca “ “ 1 “ 

Antimony. 

.... 13,480 

4 

if 

it if it | ii 

Bismuth .. 

.... 16,692 

4 

ft 

English Tin “ 1 “ 

Zinc. 

.... 10,258 

4 

ft 

»< << << <t 

Antimony. 

.... 11,323 


The power of conducting electrical currents is not so 
great in an A. as the mean conducting power of its com¬ 
ponents. 

The composition of the more commonly occurring and 
commercially important alloys, is as follows: Plumber’s 
solder, 1 tin and 2 lead; soft solder, 2 tin and 1 lead; com¬ 
mon pewter, 4 tin and 1 lead; gun-metal, 9 copper and 1 
tin; bronze, 9 copper and 1 tin and zinc; cymbals and Chi¬ 
nese gongs, 4 copper and 1 tin; bell-metal, 3 copper and 1 
tin; speculum metal, 2 copper and 1 tin; pot-metal or cock- 
metal, 2 copper and 1 lead; gilding-metal, 16 copper and 1 
to 1£ zinc; Mannheim gold—pinchbeck or bath-metal, 16 
copper and 4 zinc; Bristol brass, for soldering, 16 copper 
and 6 zinc; ordinary brass, for casting, 16 copper and 8 zinc; 
Muntz sheathing-metal, 16 copper and 10| zinc; spelter sol¬ 
der, for copper and iron, 16 copper and 12 zinc; spelter sol¬ 
der, for brass-work, 16 copper and 16 zinc; Mosaic gold, 16 
copper and 16^ zinc; hardest silver solder, 4 silver and 1 cop¬ 
per; hard silver solder, 3 silver and 1 copper; soft silver sol¬ 
der, % silver and 1 copper; German silver, 100 copper, 60 























ALLOY— ALL-SAINTS’-DAY. 

zinc, and 40 nickel; type-metal, ordinary, 15 lead, 4 anti¬ 
mony, and 1 tin, or 14 lead, 5 antimony, and 1 tin—small 
types, 4 lead and 1 antimony—large types, 6 lead and 1 an¬ 
timony; stereotype metal. 48 lead, 6 antimony, and 1 tin; 
Britannia metal, 50 tin, 4 antimony, 4 bismuth, and 1 cop¬ 
per; Babbitt-metal, 83 tin, 17 copper and antimony. 

ALLOY, or Allay, in Law: the inferior metal mixed 
with gold and silver in the coinage. The standard for both 
gold and silver coins of the United States is prescribed by 
statute to be such that of 1,000 parts by weight, 900 shall be 
of pure metal and 100 of A. The A. of the silver coins must 
be copper; that of the gold coins of copper, or of copper and 
silver, but the silver must in no case exceed one-tenth of the 
whole A. 

In Britain, gold and silver to be converted into sovereigns, 
half-sovereigns, shillings, and the other current silver coins, 
must be of the true standard, or of sterling quality, as it is 
called; and by the statute 25 Edward III. c. 13, all the coin of 
the kingdom must be made of such sterling metal. By the 56 
Geo. III. c. 68, gold coin—with certain exceptions recited in 
the act—is declared to be the only legal tender for payments, 
and that such gold coin shall be of the weight and fineness pre¬ 
scribed by the indenture with the Master of the Mint; and 
according to the standard thus indicated, the pound troy of 
gold, consisting of 22 carats—or twenty-fourth parts—fine, 
and two of A., is divided into forty-four guineas and a half, 
of the present value of twenty-one shillings each. In the 
case of silver, the pound troy is declared by the same act— 
extended by a recent statute, the 12th and the 13th Yict. 
c. 41—to consist of eleven ounces two pennyweights of fine 
silver, and eighteen pennyweights of A., and in weight to be 
divided into sixty six shillings. The regulation of the coin¬ 
age forms part of the prerogative of the crown, although 
parliament also exercises a control over it; indeed, since the 
Revolution, the coinage has been chiefly regulated by the 
authority of parliament. See Coinage and Mint. 

ALL SAINTS’ BAY: in the province of Bahia, Brazil: 
12°—13° s. lat., 38—39° w. long. It forms a superb natu¬ 
ral harbor, in which the navies of the whole world might 
anchor. Its length from n. to s. is 37 m.; its breadth from 
e. to w. 27. It contains several islands, the largest of 
which, Itaparica, is 18 m. long, and 3 broad. The entrance 
to the bay is easy. The town of Bahia (q.v.) lies just within 
it, on the right hand. 

ALL-SAINTS’-DAY: in old English, All-Hallows, All- 
Hallowmas, or simply Hollowmas; a festival of the Rom. 
Cath ; Church, introduced because of the impossibility of 
keeping a separate day for every saint As early as the 
4th c , on the cessation of the persecution of the Christians, 
the Sunday after Easter was appointed by the Greek Church 
for commemorating the martyrs generally; and in the 
Church of Rome a similar festival was introduced about 
610, when the old heathen Pantheon (the present Rotunda, 
or Santa Maria dei Martiri) was consecrated, March 13, to 
Mary and all the Martyrs. But the real festival of All 


ALL SOULS’ COLLEGE—ALL-SOULS’-DAY. 

Saints was first regularly instituted by Gregory IV., in 835 
and appointed to be celebrated Nov. 1. It was admitted 
into England about 870. Tbe choice of the day was doubt' 
less determined by the fact, that Nov. 1, or rather the eve of 
night preceding it, was one of the four great festivals 
(Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, and Nov. 1) of the heathen nations 
of the North; for it was the policy of the church to supplant 
heathen by Christian observances. See Beltane and Hal^ 
low-eve. 

ALL SOULS’ COLLEGE, Oxford: founded 1437 by 
Henry Chichele, sometime Fellow of New College, and 
successively Bishop of St. Davids and Abp. of Canterbury, 
for a warden, 4o fellows, 2 chaplains, and clerks. However, 
by an ordinance framed by the commissioners appoin f ed 
under the statute 17 and 18 Viet. c. 81, ten of the fello tv- 
ships have been suppressed in order to the endowment of two 
professorships, to be called ‘ the Chichele Professorship of 
International Law and Diplomacy,’ and ‘ the Chichele Pro¬ 
fessorship of Modern History.’ The remaining fellowships 
are open to all. irrespective of birth (date or place), position, 
or profession, provided only the candidates have passed all 
the examinations required for B.A., and have obtained either 
some prize or scholarship open to general competition, or a 
‘ first-class’ place in one of the public examinations of the 
university. The candidates must be examined also in Juris¬ 
prudence and Modern History. The patronage includes 19 
benefices, in Kent, Oxford, Essex, Gloucester, Berks, Bucks, 
Herts, Northampton, Salop, Surrey, and Wilts, of an an 
nual value of £7,925. In 1882, this college had 110 
members on its books. 

ALL SOULS’-DAY: a festival of the Rom. Cath. Church, 
which falls on Nov. 2. The object of it is, by prayers and 
almsgiving to alleviate the sufferings of the souls in purga¬ 
tory. It was instituted in the monastery of Clugny, 993, 
and the following is the account given of its origin: A 
pilgrim returning from the Holy Land, was compelled by a 
storm to land on a roclvy island somewhere between Sicily 
and Thessalonica. Here he found a hermit, who told him 
that among the cliffs of the islands was situated the open¬ 
ing into the under world, through which huge flames 
ascended, and the groans and cries of souls tormented 
by evil angels were audible. The hermit had also 
frequently heard the complaints and imprecations of the 
devils, at the number of souls that were torn from them 
by the prayers and alms of the pious; they w r ere especially 
enraged, he said, against the abbot and monks of Clugny. 
The pilgrim on his arrival acquainted Odilo, Abbot of 
Clugny, with what had come to his knowledge, and the 
abbot thereupon appointed the day after All Saints to be 
kept in his monastery as an annual festival for ‘All Souls.’ 
The observance was quickly adopted by the whole Roman 
Catholic world. By another account, the scene of the inci¬ 
dent is transferred to Sicily, and the institution to the 
year 998. 

In some parts of the w. of England it is still ‘ the custom 


ALLSPICE—ALLSTON. 

for the village children to go round to all their neighbor* 
souling, as they call it—collecting small contributions, and 
singing the following verses, taken down from two of the 
children themselves: 

Soul! soul! for a soul-cake; 

Pray, good mistress, for a soul-cake. 

One for Peter, two for Paul, 

Three for Them who made us all. 

Soul! soul! for an apple or two: 

If you’ve got no apples, pears will do. 

Up with your kettle, and down with your pan; 

Give me a good big one, and I’ll be gone. 

The soul-cake referred to in the verses is a sort of bun, 
which until lately, it was an almost general custom for peo¬ 
ple to make, and to give to one another on Nov. 2.’— Notes 
and Queries, First Series, vol. 4. 

ALLSPICE, n. awl'spis [ all and spice]: name frequently 
given to the kind of spice called Pimenta (q.v.) or Jamaica 
pepper, the fruit of Eugenia pimenta and E. acris; ord. 
Myrtacece. The name originated in its being supposed to 
combine the flavor of different spices, particularly cinnamon, 
nutmeg, and cloves.—The name Carolina A., or American 
A., is given to the aromatic bark of Calycanthus florid us (see 
Calycanthtjs), which is employed in the United States 
rarely instead of cinnamon.—The berries of Benzoin 
odoriferum, natural order Lauracece , are said to have been 
used for A. in the same country during the war with Great 
Britain. 

ALLSTON, awl'stbn, Washington; one of the best 
known of the painters and poets of America, 1779-1843, 
July 8; b. at Georgetown, S. C.: He at first studied medi¬ 
cine, but through his acquaintance with the painter Mal- 
bone, turned to art. Going to London, he became a 
friend of his countryman West, then pres, of the Academy. 
In 1804 he went to Rome, where he lived for some years in 
the closest intimacy with J. Vanderlyn, Thorwaldsen, and 
Coleridge. After a short stay in America, to which he re¬ 
turned in 1809, he once more visited England in 1811, when 
he gained the 200-guinea prize of the British Institution. In 
1817 he went to Paris with Leslie, and the year after re¬ 
turned to America In 1819 he was elected an Associate of 
the Royal Acad, of London. He now permanently fixed 
his residence at Cambridgeport, near Boston, where he 
lived, cultivating his art and the muses till his death. His 
pictures are very numerous. The subjects are mostly taken 
from Scripture, such as Jacob’s Dream, Elijah in the Wilder¬ 
ness, Saul and the Witch of Endor, The Deliverance of 
Peter out of Prison, etc. The style of A. is noble, his ideas 
are imaginative, and many of his paintings evince a true 
poetic spirit. In coloring he comes nearer the old masters 
than most modern painters do. Among his printed works 
the most remarkable is the poem, The Sylphs of the Seasons 
(Lond., 1813), and the art novel, Monaldi (Boston, 1842). 
His Lectures on Art appeared posthumously (1850). 


ALLUDE—ALLYGURH. 

ALLUDE, v. dl-lod' [L. alludere, to play or sport with*, 
to laugh at—from ad, ludo, I play— lit., to play or sport at]: 
to refer to something not particularly mentioned; to hint 
at. Alluding, imp. Alluded, pp. Allusion, n. 
dl-lo'zhun, a reference to something not mentioned particu¬ 
larly; a hint. Allusive, a. dl-ldsiv [L. al/u'sus, played or 
sported with]: having reference to something but vaguely 
noticed before. Allu'sively, ad. -li. —Syn. of ‘allude’: 
to refer; hint; suggest; intimate. 

ALLURE, v. al-lor' [L. ad, to; F. leurre, a bait: Ger. 
ludern, to entice (see Lure)]: to entice by a bait; to tempt 
by the offer of something good; to entice, in a good or bad 
sense. Alluring, imp.: Adj. enticing. Allured, pp. 
di-lord'. Allurement, n. dl-lor'merit, some real or sup¬ 
posed good that attracts; temptation; enticement to pleasure. 
Allu'rer, n. one who. Allu'ringly, ad. -li. — Syn. of 
‘allure’: to entice; tempt; seduce; decoy; attract. 

ALLUSION, ALLUSIVE: see under Allude. 

ALLUVION, dl-lo vi-on: a legal term, signifying land 
gained from the sea by the washing up of sand and earth 
so as to make it terra firma. The right of property thus 
arising is regulated as follows. It is a part of the legal defi¬ 
nition of A. that the addition should be so gradual that no 
one can detect the exact amount added at each moment of 
time. The owner of the bank thus increased by A. is en¬ 
titled to the addition. But in case of sudden increase, as by 
a freshet, or other immediate exercise of power by a river 
or stream, if soil is taken from one man’s estate and carried 
to that of another, the property belongs to the first owner. 
Such a movement of land is termed avulsion. 

ALLUVIUM, n. dl-lo'vi-iim, Alluvia, plu. dllo'vi-d [L. 
alluvium —from ad Idvo or luo, I wash: F. alluvion ]: term 
originally applied to deposits supposed to have been formed 
subsequently to the Flood, while Diluvium (q.v.) included 
its products. In modern geological classification, these 
two terms, in this sense, have been abolished, as their con¬ 
nection with the Deluge is denied. The diluvial and alluvial 
deposits are included under the Pleistocene formation (q.v.). 
The name is now given to those deposits of mud, soil, sand, 
gravel, etc., which are brought down by streams and rivers 
and spread over lower lands; also Alluvion. Alluvial, 
a. al lo'vi-dl, deposited or laid down by means of water. See 
Delta: Denudation. 

ALLY, v. dl-li' [F. altier, to mix: OF. alier, to bind to— 
from a, to; Her, to bind—from L. alligdre, to bind to—from 
ad, ligo, I bind]: to bind to something; to unite, as families 
by marriage; to bind together in friendship, as states with 
states: N. one that is allied; a confederate. Allies, n. 
plu. di-Hz', countries or persons united by treaty or agree¬ 
ment; confederates. Ally'ing, imp. Allied, pp . al-lld'. 
Alliance, n. dl-li'dns, union; confederacy; association. 

ALLYGURH, dl-i-gur': a fort in the dist. of the same 
name in India; lat. 27° 56' n., long. 78 8 e., on the route 
between Agra and Delhi, being 55 m. from the former, and 


ALLYL—ALMADEN. 

74 from the latter. Partly to this commanding situation, and 
partly to the strength derived from its surrounding marshes, 
it owes any importance that it possesses. It was stunned by 
the British in 1803, being then the principal depot of the 
French party in the Doab—an exploit of sufficient conse¬ 
quence to be commemorated by a medal in 1851. But within 
six years after 1851, A. became the arena of a still more des¬ 
perate struggle. Ten days after the outbreak at Meerut, the 
native troops in garrison mutinied. Fortunately, the Euro 
peans escaped with comparatively little sacrifice of life. 
But the temporary loss of the place almost cut off the com¬ 
munications between the s.e. and the n.w. 

The dist. of Allygurh (or Aligarh), in the n.w. Prov¬ 
inces, has 1,955 sq. m.; pop. (1891) 1,043.202. 

ALLYL, n. dl'il [L. allium, garlic]: an alcohol radical, 
C 3 H 5 , obtained principally as sulphide from garlic. Its 
combinations have very offensive odor. Allyl sul¬ 
phide is the oil of garlic. The first compound discovered, 
was iodide of A., which was obtained by Berthelot 
discovered was iodide of A., which was obtained by Berthelot 
and De Luca in 1854; two years later, they isolated A.; and 
shortly afterwards, Wertheim demonstrated its existence in 
the oils of mustard and garlic. See Garlic, Oil op. 

ALMA, al'md: a river in the Crimea, rising at the foot 
of the Tchadir Dagh, and flowing westward into the Bay of 
Kalamita, about half way between Eupatoria and Sebastopol. 
On the steep banks of this stream, through the channel 
of which the British troops waded amid a shower of bul¬ 
lets, a brilliant victory was won on ihe 20th M: Sept., 1854, 
by the allied armies of Britain and Franc*}, under Lord 
Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud, over the Russian army 
commanded by Prince Menschikoff. 

AL'MACJIS: a suite of assembly-rooms in King street, St. 
James’s, London; built in 1765 by Almack, a tavern-keeper, 
who, it is said, was originally a poor Scottish Highlander, 
named M’Call. As a preparatory step to rising into impor* 
tance in London, he inverted the syllables of his name. 
They are now generally called Willis's Looms, from the 
name of the present proprietor. The name of A is chiefly 
associated with the balls that have, since the opening of 
the rooms, been held there under the management of a com¬ 
mittee of ladies of high rank; and has become synonymous 
with aristocratic exclusiveness. The rooms are also much 
used for dinners and concerts. 

ALMADA, dl-md'da: town of Portugal, province of Es- 
tremadura, on the s. bank of the Tagus, opposite Lisbon, 
and distant from it less than 2 m. There is frequent steam 
communication with Lisbon. A. is built upon a height, 
from the summit of which, above the town, there is a mag¬ 
nificent view of Lisbon and the Tagus. A. has a strong 
castle on a rock. The surrounding country is well culti¬ 
vated. A. has long been celebrated for its figs. Near it is 
the gold mine of Adissa. Pop. 5,500. 

ALMADEN, or Almaden Del Azogue, dl-ma-den' del 
d-tho'gd: town in Spain, 50 m. s.w. of Ciudad Real; the 
Cisapona Cetobrix of the Romans. It is situated in the cham 


ALMA GEST—ALMAGRO. 

of the Sierra Morena. Pop. 8,000. It is famous for its ex¬ 
ceedingly rich quicksilver mines, producing annually about 
2,000,000 lbs. These mines were worked by the ancient 
Iberians; afterwards by the Romans. They were rented 
by the Fuggers of Augsburg in the 16th c., but were taken 
under the care of the Spanish government in 1645. Some 
years since, the firm of Rothschild undertook the working 
of these mines. There is a school of mines in the place. 

ALMAGEST, dl'md-jest: name given by the Arabs to the 
great work of Ptolemy the astronomer (q.v.). 

ALMAGRO, dl-md'grd: town of New Castile, Spain, prov¬ 
ince of Ciudad Real, 13 m. e.s.e. from Ciudad Real. It is 
on a high arid plain, but is very well built, with wide paved 
streets, a fine square, and a public walk lined with trees. 
Its most noteworthy building is an old church of beautiful 
architecture. It is a place of greater activity than most 
Spanish towns, and its whole appearance indicates pros¬ 
perity. Brandy, soap, and earthenware are manufactured, 
and lace-making gives employment to about 8,000 women in 
A. and the neighboring villages. The surrounding country 
is celebrated for its mules. There are two great annual 
fairs, at which mules and lace are sold. Pop. about 14,000. 

ALMAGRO, dl-rnd'gro, Diego d’: 1475-1538: a Spanish 
conquistador —i.e , adventurer—in the conquest of South 
America, a foundling, who derived his name from the town 
near which he was found. With many other adventurers, 
he went, as was common in those days, to seek his fortune 
in the new world which Columbus had opened. There he 
amassed wealth by plunder, and became one of the most 
prominent persons in the new colony of Darien, when 
he was persuaded to join Pizarro in his attack on Peru. 
The undertaking had astonishing success. He was now ap¬ 
pointed, in the absence of Pizarro, who had returned to 
Spain with rich presents, governor of the conquered country, 
and received permission from the Spanish court to conquer 
for himself a special province s. of the territory subdued by 
Pizarro. In 1534, therefore, he marched on Chili, pene¬ 
trated deeply into the land, and returned in 1536, just when 
the Peruviai had flown to arms under their young Inca, 
Mungo Capa , and shut up the Spaniards in Cuzco and 
Lima. As these towns lay s. of Pizarro’s district, they were 
claimed by A. He dispersed the Peruvian army before 
Cuzco, and advanced with his forces against Lima, hoping 
to make himself sole master of the country. But the crafty 
Pizarro contrived, by means of a truce, to gain time for 
collecting his forces. In a desperate engagement near Cuzco, 
1538, April 6, A. was defeated and taken prisoner. He was 
condemned to death; and on the 26tli of the same month, he 
was strangled in prison, and his corpse beheaded in the 
market-place of Cuzco. His son, Diego d’A.. gathering to¬ 
gether several hundred of his father’s followers, stormed 
the palace of Pizarro, whom be assassinated (1541); he then 
proclaimed himself captain-general of Peru; but the friends 
of the murdered governor resisting his claims, Baca de Castro 
was sent out from Spain, as supreme arbiter, to quell all 


ALMALEE—AL-MAMUN. 

disturbances. Diego was now requested to submit; and 
on his refusing, was attacked by the troops of Baca, when 
the bloodiest battle took place that had ever been known in 
America (1542). Diego, having been defeated and taken 
prisoner, was put to death with forty of his companions. 

ALMALEE, or Almali, al-ma-Ve' : large town of Asiatic 
Turkey, in the vilayet of Konia. It is situated on the river 
Myra, about 25 m. from the sea, and is frequented by 
European merchants from Smyrna, etc., who purchase the 
various products of the place. A. has numerous mills 
propelled by water, tan yards, dye-works, and factories. 
The inhabitants are very industrious, and everywhere may 
be seen indications of their prosperit} r —in the clean and 
comfortable houses, neat apparel, excellent roads, fences, 
bridges, etc. A. is built in a picturesque valley at the edge 
of a large plateau, 5,000 ft. above the sea, and is embosomed 
in gardens, which, with the minarets and lofty poplars 
interspersed through the town, give it a striking appearance. 
Pop. said to be 12,000. 

ALMA-MATER, al'md-md'ter [L. fostering mother]: a 
name applied by one to the university or college at which 
he has studied. The word Alma (nourishing, sustaining, or 
kind) was applied by the Latin authors to such of the deities 
as were friendly to men—Ceres, Venus, etc., and also to the 
earth, the light, the day, wine, and the soil. 

AL-MAMUN, or Al-Mamoun, dl-md-mon, Abul-Abbas- 
Abdallah: 786-833; a renowned caliph of the Abbasides 
(q.v.), son of Harun Al-Rasehid. Harun was succeeded 
by his son Amin as caliph of Bagdad. A1 Mamun was 
dissatisfied with his treatment, and a struggle arose between 
the brothers which lasted for five years. Amin was slain, 
and was succeeded by Al-Mamun, 813, Oct. 4. The early 
years of his reign were disturbed by factions and revolts, 
but by his energetic and prudent measures, he succeeded in 
bringing about a period of peace. He now devoted himself 
to the cultivation of science and literature throughout his 
empire, and made Bagdad the centre of learning and intel¬ 
ligence. He founded a college at Khorassan, and built ob¬ 
servatories at Bagdad and Kassiun (now Damascus), and he 
succeeded in determining the inclination of the ecliptic, had 
a degree of the meridian measured on the plain of Shinar, 
and constructed accurate astronomical tables. He had many 
books translated into Arabic, from the Greek, Persian, and 
other languages, and drew about him learned men of all 
creeds. His liberalism ended in his conversion to the faith 
of the Motasali, who recognized the free-will of man, and 
denied the eternity of the Koran. In the latter years of 
his reign he was involved in hostilities with the Greek em¬ 
peror Theophilus, and in revolts in various parts of the 
Arabian empire He died near Tarsus, and was succeeded 
by his brother Motassem. He was the author of Inquiries 
into the Koran , and other books. 


ALMANAC. 

ALMANAC, n. dl'ma-nak [a supposed corrupted form ot 
AS. all-moon-heed, or allmonaght, a rude tracing or repre¬ 
sentation, of the course of the moon: Sp.—from Ar. almanac, 
a calendar: prov. Ar. al-mandkh, climate or temperature: 
Note.— Brachet says, mid. L. almanachus —from Gr. 
almendcha, was used in the fourth century by Eusebius for 
an almanac. The text gives the most probable origin]: A 
book or table containing a calendar of the civil divisions of 
the year, the times of the various astronomical phenomena, 
the time of sun-rising and setting, the changes of the moon, 
the tides, and other useful or entertaining information, 
Till a comparatively modern date, this additional matter 
consisted of astrological predictions and analogous absurdi¬ 
ties; it now embraces, in the best almanacs, a wide variety 
of useful notes and information, chronological, statistical, 
political, agricultural, etc.—The Alexandrian Greeks had 
almanacs. The time at which they first appeared in Europe 
is not precisely known. The oldest of which copies (in 
manuscript) still exist, are of the 14th c.; there are specimens 
in the libraries of the British Museum and of Corpus Christi 
College, Cambridge. The earliest European A. worthy of 
notice was compiled by the celebrated astronomer Purbach, 
and appeared between the years 1450 and 1461; but the first 
printed A. was that composed by his pupil, Regiomontanus, 
for the thirty years 1475-1506, for which he received a 
munificent donation from Mathias Corvinus, king of 
Hungary. Bernard de Granolachs, of Barcelona, commenced 
the publication of an A. in 1487; the printer Engel, of Vienna, 
in 1491; and Stoffler, of Tubingen, in 1524. Copies of these 
are now very rare. In 1533 Rabelais published, at Lyons, 
his A. for that year, and renewed the publication in 1535, 
48, and 50. The fame and popularity of the celebrated 
astrologer, Nostradamus, who prophesied minutely the 
death of Henry II. of France, the execution of Charles I. of 
England, the great fire of London, the Restoration, etc., 
gave such an impulse to the publication of predictions, that, 
in 1579, Henry III. of France prohibited the insertion of 
any political prophecies in almanacs—a prohibition renewed 
by Louis XIII. in 1628. Before this, in the reign of 
Charles IX., a royal ordonnance required every A. to be 
stamped with the approval of the diocesan bishop 

Prophetic almanacs still circulate to an incredible exten 
in France in the rural districts, and among the uneducated 
The most popular of all these is the Almanack Liegeois, a 
venerable remnant of superstition. It was first published at 
Liege—according to the invariable title-page which takes no 
note of time—in 1636, by one Matthieu Laensbergh, whose 
existence, however, at any time seems very problematical 
The Almanack Liegeois is a most convenient one for those 
who are unable to read, for by certain symbols attached to 
certain dates, the most unlettered persons can follow its 
instructions: thus the rude representation of a phial an¬ 
nounces the proper phase of the moon under which a 
draught of medicine should be taken; a pill box designates 
the planet most propitious for pills; a pair of scissors points 
-out the proper period for cutting hair, a lancet for letting 


ALMANAC. 

blood. Of course, amid innumerable predictions, some 
may naturally be expected to come to pass. So in 1774, 
this A. predicted that in the April of that year a royal 
favorite would play her last part. Mine. Dubarry took 
the prediction to herself, and repeatedly exclaimed: ‘ I wish 
this villainous month of April were over.’ In May Louis 
XV. died, and Mme. Dubarry’s last part was really played; 
the credit of old Mattkieu was established more firmly 
than ever. In 1852, a number of commissioners, appoint¬ 
ed by the minister of police, having examined between 
7,000 and 8,000 of the national cliapbooks, which included 
a great number of almanacs, pronounced them deleterious, 
and their circulation was forcibly checked. 

In England, so far was any restraint from being put 
upon the publication of prophetic almanacs or ‘Prognosti¬ 
cations,’ as they were usually called, that the royal letters- 
patent gave a monopoly of the trade to the two universities 
and the Stationers’ Company, under whose patronage, and 
with the imprimatur of the Abp. cl Canterbury, such 
productions as Moore's A. and Poor Robin's A. flourished 
vigorously; although ‘ it would be difficult to find, in so 
smal i a compass, an equal quantity of ignorance, profligacy, 
and imposture, as was condensed in these publications.’ 
The memory of Partridge, long employed as the prophet of 
the Stationers’ Company, is preserved in the lively diatribe 
of Swift, writing under the name of Bickerstaff. In 1775 
a decision of the Court of Common Pleas abolished the 
monopoly of the Stationers’Company; however, it was 
not until the publication (1828) of the British A. by the 
Soc. for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, that the eyes 
of the English public became opened to the deleterious 
nature of the almanacs in vogue. The British A. is itself 
now published by the Stationers’ Company. Whitaker's 
Almanack is a valuable compendium. 

In Scotland, the earliest almanacs seem to have been 
produced about the beginning of the 16th c. About 1677 
the Almanacs, or ‘ Prognostications ’ published at Aber¬ 
deen had an annual circulation of 50,000 copies. In 1683, 
appeared Edinburgh's True Almanack , or a New Prognosti¬ 
cation, The Edinburgh A. made gradual improvement; 
and since 1837 it has been published as Oliver and Boyd's 
New Edinburgh A., and now contains more than 1,000 
pages; giving complete an amount of information on all 
public matters, especially for N. Britain. Of equal value 
for Ireland is Thom's Irish Almanack. 

Of important national almanacs are the French Alma¬ 
nack Imperial, begun 1679; the Belgian Royal A.; and the 
Prussian Royal A. The Almanack de Gotha, begun 1763, 
has a cosmopolitan character: see Gotha, Almanac de. 

The most important astronomical A. in Britain is the 
Nautical A., first published with the authority of govt. 
1767; and appearing in a new series 1834. The French 
Connoissance des Temps, begun 1679 by Picard, and now 
published under the authority of the Bureau des Longi¬ 
tudes, is in plan similar to the Nautical A., but with a 
larger number of original memoirs, many of great value. 


ALMANDINE—ALMAS. 

Equally celebrated is the Berlin Ephemeris, long under 
the superintendence of Prof. Encke. Another kind of A., 
very numerous in Germany, France, and Britain, belongs 
rather to the class of Annuals, in the interest of parties, 
political or religious, or for advertising purposes. 

Bradford’s press, Philadelphia, is believed to have issued 
the first common A. in the United States, 1687. Frank¬ 
lin’s Poor Richard’s A., begun 1732, and continued by him 
about 25 years, had wide reputation for wise and "witty 
sayings. The American A.; and Repository of Useful 
Knowledge (Boston, 1828-61) was continued tw r o years, 
1863-4, as The National A. Yol. 1. of the American 
Nautical A., begun by Charles Henry Davis, U. S. navy, 
appeared 1853. A very valuable work was begun 1878 by 
A. R. Spofford, librarian of congress, with the t\i\e Amer¬ 
ican A. and Treasury of Facts, Statistical, Financial, and 
Political. The Whig began the series of political alma¬ 
nacs, now continued in the Tribune A. Several great 
journals, most religious denominations, and many trades 
and professions, issue almanacs (or year-books) of great 
utility for general information or in their special depart¬ 
ments. The almanacs of patent-medicine dealers are nu¬ 
merous and conspicuous. 

Almanac is also the term applied by antiquaries to 
calendars found carved, usually on staves, but also on tab¬ 
lets of w r ood, scabbards of swords, handles of hatchets, 
etc. The inscribed characters are sometimes the Runic— 
hence the name of runstaffs, Scipiones Runici —and some¬ 
times the Gothic. The saints’days are denoted by sym¬ 
bols, as a pair of shoes for St. Crispin’s Day. These prim¬ 
itive almanacs were in use among the Scandinavian people. 

ALMANDINE, n .al'man-din' [Alabanda, a city of Ca- 
riaj: a lapidary’s term for the violet or violet-red varieties 
of spinel, ruby, etc.; the precious or oriental garnet. 

ALMANSA, al-man'sa: town of Murcia, Spain, prov. of 
Albacete; 43 m. e. by s. from Albacete; on the Madrid and 
Alicante railway. It is on a wide plain, which is irrigated, 
and very fertile. A. has manufactures. Pop. 8,736.— 
Near A. the French, under the Duke of Berwick, gained 
a victory, 1707, in the war of the Spanish succession. 

ALMANSUR, dl-man-sur' , or, with his full name, Abu- 
Jafer -Abdallah - ben - Mohammed - el - Mansur [al - mansur 
‘ helped by God’]: the second caliph of the house of the 
Abbasides" (q.v.): reigned 754-775. Warfare, treachery, 
and murder were his steps to the throne, and his whole 
rule was cruel; nevertheless he was a liberal patron of 
learning. He especially persecuted the Christians in 
Syria and Egypt. In war against external foes, he had 
but little success. He removed the seat of the caliphate 
from Kufa to Bagdad, which he built at immense cost, 
raising the money by oppressive taxation. He introduced 
the pernicious custom of making his freed slaves, mostly 
foreigners, rulers of provinces. A died in his 63d year. 

ALMAS, dl-mdsh': town of the Austrian empire, in Hun¬ 
gary, 16 m. w. from Maria Theresiopol. The inhabitants 


ALMA-TADEMA—ALMEIDA. 

are almost all Roman Catholics. Pop. (1893) 8,193.—Almas 
is the name of many small towns and villages in Hungary. 

ALMA-TADEMA, &Vmd-ta-dd'md, Lawrence: Dutch 
and English artist; b. Dronryp, Netherlands, 1836, Jan. 8. 
Looking first to the profession of medicine, he turned to 
fine art 1852, studying at the Antwerp Acad, and after¬ 
ward under Baron Henry Leys. In 1873 he made Eng¬ 
land his residence, and was naturalized as a British sub¬ 
ject. His works are mostly classical in theme; and his 
early study of the art and aichaeology of Rome, Greece, 
and Egypt, prepared him for faithful treatment of his 
subjects, which he elaborates with great care in composi¬ 
tion and drawing, as well as with high finish and chaste 
beauty oi coloring. Among his paintings are— Entrance 
to a Roman Theatre (1866); Tarquinius Superbus (1867); 
A Roman Amateur (1868); Pyrrhic Dance (1869); The Vin¬ 
tage (1870); A Roman Emperor { 1871); The Mummy (1872); 
A Picture Gallery (1874); After the Dance (1876); The Sea¬ 
sons (1877); A Sculptor's Model (1879); The Way to the 
Temple (1883); The Emperor Hadrian Visiting a British 
Pottery (1884); lhe Women of Amphissa (1887). In 1876 
he produced a notable trio of pictures, Architecture , Sculp¬ 
ture , and Painting. An exhibition of his works was given 
1883. In portraits he has excelled, though giving 
less time to this branch of art. He was elected associate 
Royal Artist 1876, and to full membership 1879; and he 
has received decorations from the principal European gov¬ 
ernments. Some of his best works are owned in the 
United States, belonging to private or public collections, 
and examples are seen occasionally in the art stores of the 
principa cities. They are quiet in character, and this, to¬ 
gether with the fine drawing, drapery, and modelling, is 
in the spirit of sculpture. Their repose, truth, and har¬ 
mony are a desirable offset to the frantic force or void im¬ 
pressionism of many recent artists. Knighted 1899. 

ALMAZORA, al-ma-tho'ra: town of Valencia, Spain, 
prov. of Castellon, 4 m. s. by e. from Castellon de la 
Plana, in a plain on the left bank of the Mijares, 3 m. 
from its mouth. It has some wide and well paved streets 
and squares. Linen and woolen fabrics and paper are 
manufactured. The surrounding country is fertile, produc¬ 
ing wheat, barley, maize, oil, oranges, etc. Pop. 5,850. 

ALMEIDA, dl-ma' e-da: one of the strongest fortified 
places in Portugal; on the river Coa, on the Spanish fron¬ 
tier, prov. of Beira. In 1762 it was captured by the Span¬ 
iards, who soon afterward surrendered it. In 1810 it 
capitulated to the French under Massena. Pop. 10,125. 

ALMEIDA, Don Francesco d’: a famous Portuguese 
warrior, in the latter part of the 15th and the beginning of 
the 16th c.; seventh son of the Count of Abrantes. At an 
early period he distinguished himself in the wars with the 
Moors, but especially at the conquest of Granada, 1492. In 
1505, his sovereign, Emmanuel I, in consideration of his 
great abilities, appointed him viceroy of the Portuguese 
possessions in the East Indies. March 25 he set sail 


ALMERIA. 

from Lisbon with a fleet of 36 vessels, containing 1,500 
man, many of whom were noblemen, and all of good 
family. July 22, he reached Quiloa, on the Mozambique 
coast, where he was soon involved in a quarrel with 
the king of that city, the result of which was that A. 
deprived him of his crown, built a fortress to overawe the 
inhabitants, and, proceeding to Zanzibar, destroyed the 
town of Mombaza. He then sailed for the Indies, asserting 
everywhere the superiority of the Portuguese flag. At 
Cananor, Cochin, Coulan, Ceylon, and Sumatra, he either 
built fortresses, to protect the factories and commercial 
interests of his nation, or established new factories. With 
the king of Malacca, a commercial treaty was formed about 
the same time. His son, Lorenzo, carried on several 
expeditions as his father’s lieutenant, visited Ceylon, and 
discovered the Maidive Islands and Madagascar. The 
chief design of A. was to make the Portuguese sole masters of 
the Indian seas, and by blockading the Persian and Arabian 
gulfs, to exclude the Egyptians and Venetians from 
commerce with the East. To frustrate his endeavors, the 
Egyptian sultan fitted out, by the help of the Venetians, a 
large fleet, which, under the command of the Persian, Mir- 
Hakim (or H ossein, according to others), was sent to the 
assistance of the king of Calicut. In the port of Chaul, 
young Lorenzo was attacked in very disadvantageous 
circumstances by Mir-Hakim. He fought with astonishing 
bravery; his ships had nearly made their escape out to the 
open sea, when his own ship was separated from the others, 
and struck upon a rock; one chance shot carried off one of 
his legs, and another, tearing away a part of his side, killed 
him. His father speedily took measures to revenge the 
death of his son upon the hated Mussulmans, when Alfonso 
d’Albuquerque appeared on the scene (1507), having been 
sent out by the Portuguese government to supersede A., 
whom it' had begun to distrust, on account of his brilliant 
successes. The latter refused to recognize Albuquerque as 
viceroy, and for some months kept him prisoner at Cochin. 
He now sailed along the coasts, burning and plundering 
various seaports, amongst others Goa, and at length utterly 
destroyed the Egyptian fleet at Diu. From this fierce and 
avenging expedition, he returned to Cochin, resigned his 
office into the hands of his successor, and set out on his 
homeward voyage, 1508, Nov. 13, but was slain in an 
obscure affray with the savages at Cape Saldanha, in the s. 
of Africa, where his men had landed. He was a man of 
stern, vigorous, and yet impulsive character, capable of 
severe retaliation of injuries, but not destitute of clemency 
and generosity. 

ALMERIA, al-md-re'd [Arab. Al-Meryah , ‘the conspicu¬ 
ous’] : anciently Murgis, or Portus Magnus: chief town in 
the Spanish prov. of the same name, at the mouth of the 
river Almeria. It has a well-defended harbor, a cathedral, 
besides 26 churches and monasteries, and a grammar-school. 
In the time of the Moors, it was, next to Granada, the richest 
and most important town in the kingdom, and flourished 
alike in arts, industry, and oommerce, being the ‘ great port,' 
Vol. 1 — 18 


ALMIGHTY—ALMOKANNA. 

of traffic with Italy and the East. At one time it was as ter 
rible a nest of pirates as Algiers itself, under the Moorish 
chief Ibn Mayman, when even Granada, according to the 
proverb, was merely its 5 farm/ Now it lias only a few un¬ 
important manufactures, though it still keeps up consider¬ 
able trade in cochineal, red silk, lead, grapes, and especially 
wine. The cotton-tree has been planted in the environs of 
A. by English merchants. Pop. (ltfUOj a/,3^6. 

ALMIGHTY, a. awl-mit'i [all and mighty: AS. eal 
mihtig ]: possessing all power; omnipotent; N. the om 
nipotent God. Almight'ily, ad. -i-li. Almight'iness, n 

ALMODOVAR DEL CAMPO, dl-mo-dovar del kdm'pd: 
town of New Castile, Spain, province of Ciudad Real, 22 m. 
s. w. from Ciudad Real. It stands on the summit of a ridge, 
near the Vega, a branch of the Guadiana. The streets are 
passably clean, but ill paved. There are ruins of an ancient 
castle. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture, 
and the only manufactures are domestic. Pop. 10,300. 

ALMOHADES, al'mo-hddz: name of a dynasty that 
ruled in Africa and Spain during the 12th and 18th c. 
The word is Arabic, and signifies Unitarians. It was 
taken as a term of distinction; for the A. considered them 
selves the only Mohammedans who worshipped God prop¬ 
erly. The founder of this sect, which at first was religious 
rather than political, was called Mohammed Ibn-Toumert, a 
native of the Atlas region. He was a man of a bold and 
subtle intellect and extremely ambitious. He had travelled 
much, and acquired manifold knowledge and experience. 
His first measures were extremely prudent. He commenced 
preaching with great zeal the reformation of all abuses, af¬ 
fecting himself an austere and unselfish life. He went 
about covered with rags, prohibiting wine, music, and all 
pleasures. At first, his denunciations were generally held 
in contempt; but at length his partisans became so numer¬ 
ous that Ali, king of Morocco, was compelled to take 
measures against him. It was, however, too late. The 
Arabs and Berbers flocked to his standard; and at the end 
of a few years he was master of the provinces of Fez, Mo¬ 
rocco, Tkrnzen, Oran, and Tunis. Mohammed imposed on 
his disciples new ceremonies, and composed for their benefit 
a special treatise, entitled On the Unity of God. The A. ex 
tended their conquests into Spain, subjugating Andalusia, 
Granada, Valencia, and a part of Aragon, and Portugal as 
tar as the Ebro and Tagus. Mohammed was succeeded in 
his authority by Abdelmoumen, who had formerly been his 
lieutenant. Under him and his descendants, Jussuf and 
Jacob, the dynasty of the A. continued to flourish in great 
splendor. But in 1212 they were completely defeated by 
the. Spaniards in the famous battle of Tolosa, the result of 
which was a general revolt of the Christian provinces under 
their sway. 'The power of the A. was destroyed in Spain 
in 1257, and in Africa in 1269. 

ALMOKANNA, or Mokenna: see Mohammedan Sects: 
Hakim-ben-Allah. 


ALMOND. 

ALMOND, n. a'mund [F. amande; Sp. almendra, aft 
almond—from Gr. amugdalon: L. amygdala ]: a genus of 
the natural order Rosacea (q.v.), sub-order Amygdalece or 
Drupacea, consisting of trees or shrubs, distinguished by 
the coarsely-furrowed and wrinkled shell (endocarp or puta- 
men) of the drupe, and by the young leaves being condupli- 
cate, or having their sides folded together. According to 
the greater number of botanists, it includes the Peach 
(q.v.), constituted by some into a distinct genus, Persica , in 
which the drupe has a fleshy covering (sarcocarp), wdiereas, 
in the species to which the name A. is commonly given, this 



Almond (Amygdalus communis). 


part is a dry fibrous husk, which shrivels as the fruit ripens, 
and finally opens of its own accord. The common A. tree 
(.Amygdalus communis ) is very similar to the peach-tree, and 
is distinguished from it principally, besides the difference of 
the fruit, by the fine glandulous serratures of the leaves, the 
stalk of which equals, or even exceeds, in length the breadth 
of the blade. It is a tree about 20-30 ft. high, a native of 
the East, and of Africa, but has now become completely 
wild in the whole south of Europe. Even in the more 
northern parts of Germany and of Britain it is planted for 
the sake of its beautiful flowers, which are produced in 
great abundance, and resemble those of the peach in form 
and often in color, although generally paler and sometimes 
white. The blossoms appear before the leaves, and are very 
ornamental in shrubberies in March and April; and even 















ALMOND. 

when frost destroys the germ o f the fruit,the brilliancy of the 
flower is not impaired. The wood is used by cabinet-male 
ers; but the A. is valued principally for the kernel of its 
fruit, known as Almonds, forming an important article of 

commerce and largely cul 
tivated in s. Europe and sim¬ 
ilar climates. It has been 
cultivated from early times. 
In the first half of the 16th 
c. it was introduced into 
England, but, except in the 
s. part, is not valuable for 
fruit. In the U. S. more 
than 600,000 A. trees, in ad¬ 
dition to those producing 
fruit for home use, were in 
bearing 1890. The hard¬ 
shell A. is hardy well n., 
but the thin shell, which is 
the A. of commerce, though 
very successful in Cal., sel¬ 
dom thrivese. of Ihe Rocky 
Mountains. The A. is propagated best by budding (q.v.) 
upon seedling A. stocks, but peach, and even apricot, 
stocks are sometimes used. Sweet Almonds contain a 
large quantity oi a very eland, fixed oil, emulsion, gum, 
and mucilage sugar, are of a very agreeable taste, and very 
nutritious, and are used in the dessert, in confectionery, and 
medicinally in an emulsion, which forms a pleasant, cool¬ 
ing, diluent drink. Bitter Almonds contain the same 
substances, and, in addition, a substance called amygdalin , 
from which is obtained a peculiar volatile oil. (For the oils 
derived from almonds, see the following articles.)—The 
muddy water of the Nile is clarified by rubbing bitter 
almonds on the sides of the water-vessels, in the same way 
in which the nuts of the Strychnos potatorum (see Clearing 
Nut) are used in India. The principal varieties of A. in 
cultivation are—the common sweet A., with thick, hard shell; 
the brittle-shelled, with a very thin, almost leathery brittle 
Shell, and sweet kernels; the bitter A., with thick, hard 
shell (sometimes also with a brittle shell), and bitter 
kernels; the large fruited, with large flowers of a whit¬ 
ish rose-color, and very large, sweet fruit; the small- 
fruited; with very small, sweet fruit; and the peach A., 
with a slightly succulent blackish sarcocarp (see above), yel¬ 
low shell, and sweet kernels. The sarcocarp is, in the dif¬ 
ferent varieties, more or less dry, or somewhat fleshy and 
juicy, so that some authors have disputed even the specific 
distinction between the A. and the peach. In commerce, 
the long almonds of Malaga, known as Jordan almonds, and 
the broad almonds of Valencia, are most valued. Large 
quantities of almonds are annually imported into Britain 
and America from France, Spain, Italy, and the Levant. 
Bitter almonds are brought chiefly from Mogadore.—The 
Dwarf A. {A. nana ) is very similar to the common A., ex¬ 
cept that it is a low shrub, seldom more than 2 or 3 ft. in 



ALMONDS. 

height. Its fruit is also similar, but much smaller. It is 
common iu the plains of the s. of Russia, and is fre¬ 
quently planted as an ornamental shrub in the U.S., flower¬ 
ing freely in March and April, but not producing fruit. It 
is very beautiful when covered with its pink flowers in 
spring, and deserves to be more frequently planted than it 
is. A sheltered but sunny situation is favorable to it.— 
Other species, little known, but very similar to these, are 
found in the East, and one on arid hills in Mexico. 

Almonds, u. plu., two glands situated on each side of the 
mouth near the base of the tongue; the tonsils. 

ADMONDS, Fixed Oil of: a fixed greasy oil exuding 
from almonds under pressure. Either bitter or sweet 
almonds may be employed: but the former are generally 
used, as they are cheaper than the sweet almonds, and the 
expressed cake is valuable in the preparation of the essen¬ 
tial oil. One cwt. of the almonds generally yields 48 
to 52 lbs. of the fixed oil. When first obtained it possesses 
a turbid or milky appearance; but when allowed to stand 
at rest the impurities settle, and a clear, light, yellow oil re¬ 
mains above. It has the specific gravity of 920, and solidi¬ 
fies when reduced to —13° F. It has no odor, and to the 
taste is truly oleaginous and bland. The fixed oil of A. is 
used in medicine, and possesses a mild laxative property 
when administered in large doses. It is often given to 
newly-born infants, mixed with syrup of violets or syrup of 
roses. It is beneficial, also, in allaying troublesome coughs, 
when administered with confection of roses and syrup of 
poppies. 

ALMONDS, Volatile Oil, or Essential Oil of: 
product from the cake which is left after the expression of 
the fixed oil from bitter A. The cake contains, among 
other matters, a portion of two substances, called, respec¬ 
tively, amygdalin, and emulsin or synaptase. When the 
cake is bruised and made into a paste with water, the synap¬ 
tase acts as a ferment upon the amygdalin, and 1 atom of 
the latter resolves itself into 2 atoms of volatile oil of bitter 
A., 1 atom hydrocyanic (prussic) acid, 1 atom of grape- 
sugar, 2 atoms formic acid, and 7 atoms of water. This 
paste is pjaced in a retort and allowed to stand for 24 
hours, when heat is cautiously applied, and distillation car¬ 
ried on. The volatile oil rises in vapor, and passes over 
into the receiver, accompanied by much water, and con¬ 
taminated with a considerable amount of prussic acid. The 
oil is not originally present in the bitter A.; in fact, the lat¬ 
ter do not contain a trace of the oil ready formed, so that 
the oil is purely the product of the fermentation of amyg¬ 
dalin, 100 parts of which yield 47 of crude oil. Commercial 
oil of bitter A. has a golden yellow color, but may be puri¬ 
fied so as to be almost colorless. The crude oil is very poi¬ 
sonous, owing to the prussic acid dissolved therein, and 
many fatal cases have occurred from the wilful, accidental, 
and careless use of the oil. It is unfortunate that the manu¬ 
facturers of the volatile oil should not subject the crude oil 
to the action of lime and an iron salt, and then re-distil, 


ALMONER—ALMORA. 

when the prussic acid would be left fixed by the lime and 
iron, and the pure volatile oil be alone obtained in the re* 
ceiver. As so procured, the pure oil is not a dangerous poison. 
The oil has an agreeable odor, an acrid, bitter taste, and 
burns with a smoky white flame. It is heavier than water, 
being of the density of 1083; is soluble in water to the ex¬ 
tent °of 1 part in 30 parts of water, and is very soluble in 
alcohol and ether. Heated to 356 F., it boils, and distils 
over unaltered; and, exposed to the air, it is gradually oxi¬ 
dized into benzoic acid. The oil is called by the chemist 
benzoic aldehyde, C 7 H 6 0. In medicine the volatile oil is 
used in place of prussic acid, but is very variable in 
strength, being sometimes four times the strength of medici¬ 
nal prussic acid. The dose is a quarter of a drop to a drop 
and a half in an emulsion. The cook and confectioner em¬ 
ploy the oil for flavoring custards, etc., and the perfumer 
uses it for scenting toilet-soap, etc. 

ALMONER, n dl'mon-er [mid. L. almonarlus, an al¬ 
moner: Ger. almosen, alms: F. aumonier —from OF. almos- 
nier , the officer for dispensing alms—from Gr. eleemos'une, 
pity, alms]: a person appointed by a king or queen, or a 
monastery, to dispense their alms or charity to the poor. 
Almonry, n. al inon-ri, the residence of the almoner; the 
house where alms are given. An A. originally was that 
member of a religious order who had the distribution of the 
money and other things set apart for alms, which, by canon¬ 
ical law, was to amount to at least a tenth of the revenues 
of the establishment. Afterwards those ecclesiastics also 
received this name who were appointed by princes to the 
same office in their households. The Grand A. of France 
was one of the principal officers of the court and of the 
kingdom, usually a cardinal, and, in right of his office, 
commander of all tire orders, and also chief director of the 
great hospital for the blind. Queens, princes, and princesses 
had also their almoners, and bishops "were usually appointed 
to this office. In England the office of Hereditary Grand 
A. is now a sinecure, his only duty being to distribute the 
coronation medals among the assembled spectators. The 
Lord High A., usually a bishop, distributes twice a year 
the queen’s bounty, which consists in giving a silver penny 
each to as many poor persons as the queen is years of age. 

ALMORA, di-mo rd: principal town of the British dist. 
of Kumaon (q v.), India; 87 m. n. from Bareilly, on the 
crest of a mountain ridge, 5,337 ft. above the sea, on the 
head waters of the Kosila, a branch of the Ramgunga. It 
consists chiefly of one street, three-quarters of a mile long. 
The houses have a ground story of stone; the upper stories 
are of wood, covered with a sloping roof of heavy gray 
slate, on which small stacks of hay are sometimes erected. 
The ground story is generally whitewashed and tricked out 
with grotesque paintings. Detached houses, both of Euro¬ 
peans and Brahmans, are scattered along the face of the 
mountain below the town. A. is a British military station, 
the lines of the regular troops and Fort Moira being close td 


ALMORAVIDES.—ALMUNECAR. 

the town. Since it came under British sway it has been 
rapidly increasing in prosperity. Pop. 8,000. 

ALMORAVIDES, dl-mo rd-vidz ['The Moravides’], or 
Morabethun: an Arab dynasty that ruled in Africa 
and Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries. The 
name A., commonly given to this dynasty by Western 
writers, is a corruption of the Arabic word Al-morabeth, 
‘the champion of religion.’ This sect took its rise about 
1050 among the Arab and Berber tribes which dwelt on the 
slopes of the Atlas range facing the Atlantic, and was 
founded by a Moslem teacher called Abdalla-ben-Yasim, 
who instructed the ignorant tribes in the Mohammedan 
faith. The new proselytes soon exhibited the fruits of this 
teaching by descending from their hills, under the leader¬ 
ship of a chief named Abu-bekr, and conquering the king¬ 
dom of Fez. The adjoining kingdom of Morocco shared 
the same fate; and the victorious enthusiasts, under the 
famous Yussuf-ben-Taxfin, the cousin of Abu-bekr, next 
crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, and subdued Spain to the 
Tagus on one side, and to the Ebro on the other. But this 
extensive dominion was of too rapid growth for stability; 
and during the reign of Ali, the son of Yussuf, arose the 
sect of the Almohades (q.v.), which after a time expelled 
the A. from Africa, and in 1144 subdued their power iu 
Spain. The Almoravide princes introduced the Maravedi 
(q.v.) into Spain, and in that and the word Marabuts (q.v.) 
their name is still preserved. 

ALMOST, ad. awl'mdst [AS. ealmaest, nearly all: all and 
most ]: nearly; for the greatest part. 

ALMS, n. amz [AS. cslmesse, alms (see Almoner)]: any¬ 
thing given to the poor in charity to relieve their wants. 
Alms'-houses, houses for the reception and relief of the 
poor. Alms'-deed, an act of charity 

ALMUCANTAR, n. al-mu-kan'tar , or Almucanter, 
-Ur [Ar. al-mugantarat, the sun-dial]: in astron., small 
circle of the sphere parallel to the horizon: also an instrm 
meut for determining time and latitude, and the right as¬ 
censions and declination of stars, with less instrumental 
error than with a meridian circle. Its parts are, a tele¬ 
scope provided with horizontal wires and mounted on a 
box floating ou mercury. The float being turned round 
and the telescope pointed e. of the meridian, the time of a 
star’s rising over the wires is noted; then similarly the 
time of its descending; thus the positions of the stars being 
known, we are enabled to correct a timepiece and to deter¬ 
mine the latitude. But if the time and latitude are known, 
we can determine either the right ascensions or the de¬ 
clinations of stars. 

ALMUG. n. dl'mKg [Heb. almug ]: a tree mentioned in 
the Old Test., formerly supposed a species of Acacia, or a 
coniferous tree like the cypress; now thought to be a kind 
of sandal-wood (q.v.), the Santalum Album . See Algum. 

ALMUNECAR, dl-mbn-yd-kdr ' [Arab. Al Munnecab, the 
gorge]: seaport of Andalusia, Spain, prov. of Granada, 31 
m. s. of Granada, important in Moorish times.—Pop. 8,794. 


ALNUS—ALOE 

ALNUS: see Alder. 

ALNWICK, an'ink (town on theAlne): county town 
of Northumberland.Eng.; about 38 m. n. by w. from New¬ 
castle by rail. The streets are spacious, and the houses 
modern. A. was early a fortified town, and fragments of 
the ancient walls remain. An ancient gate, built by Hot¬ 
spur, still forms one of the entrances to the city. A. Castle, 
residence of the dukes of Northumberland, at the n. en¬ 
trance of the town, was sumptuously restored since 1854, 
and is considered one of the most magnificent baronial 
structures in England. During the middle ages it was a 
bulwark against the invasion of the Scots, who thrice be¬ 
sieged it.—Pop. about 8,000. 

ALOE, n. dl'd [Gr. and L. aloe, a bitter herb]: name of a 
bitter plant used in medicine; applied to various species 
of the genus Aloe, Ord. Lilidcece. Aloes, al'dz, the inspis¬ 
sated juice of the aloe. Aloetic, a. al'd-etik , or Al oet'- 
tCAL, a. - i-kal , of or containing aloes. 

ALOE (Aloe): genus of plants, natural order Liliacm 
(q.v.) sub-order Aloinece; distinguished by a regular cylin¬ 
drical perianth in six pieces, expanded at the mouth, and 
nectariferous at the base, the stamens hypogynous, or 
springing from beneath the germen, the ovules indefinite in 
number, the fruit a membranous three-celled capsule. The 
species are numerous, natives of warm countries, especially of 
the southern parts of Africa. About 50 m. from Cape Town 
is a mountainous tract completely covered with aloes, and 
the hills on the w. side of Socotra exhibit them in similar 
profusion. The species all have stems, but vary in height 
from a few inches to thirty feet. They have permanent 
succulent leaves. The negroes of the w. coast of Africa 
make cords and nets of the fibres of their leaves, and stock¬ 
ings are w'oven from the fibres of a species found in 
Jamaica. But aloes are valuable chiefly for their medicinal 
properties. The well-known drug called Aloes (q.v ) is the 
inspissated juice of the leaves of several almost tree-like 
species, and particularly of A. Socotrina, a native of the 
island of Socotra; A. purpurascens; A. spicata, and A. 
fruticosa, which principally yield the Cape aloes; A. lndica; 
A rubescens; A. Arabica; A. hnguceformis; A. Commelini , 
and A. vulgaris, which is found in the East and West In 
dies, in Italy, and in some of the islands of the Mediter 
ranean, being the only species which can be reckoned 
European, although it also is probably an introduced plant. 
The extract prepared from its leaves is known as Hepatic 
aloes, or as Barbadoes aloes. The bitter principle of aloes 
has been called Aloesin. It forms with oxygen several 
compounds, which possess the properties of 'acids.— 1 The 
juice of aloes was anciently used in embalming, to ^preserve 
dead bodies from putrefaction. In the East Indies it is 
employed as a varnish to prevent the attacks of insects, and 
has even been applied to bottoms of ships to protect them 
from marine worms. A beautiful violet color is obtained 
from the leaves of the Socotrine A., which does r.ot require 
any mordant to fix it. It also affords a fine transparent 


ALOES. 

color for miniature painting.—Mohammedan pilgrims sus 
pend an A. over their doors on their return from Mecca, to 
signify that they have performed the pilgrimage. 

The American A. is a totally different plant. See 
Agave. 

ALOES: a drug of great antiquity, for Dioscorides 
(a.d. 50) mentions Aloe as a substance obtained from a 
plant, with cathartic properties. 

The great demand for A. has led to 
importation from many sources, in¬ 
cluding Bombay, Arabia, Socotra, 

Madagascar, the Cape of Good 
Hope, the Levant, and the West 
Indies. The drug is the inspissated 
juice of various species of Aloe (q.v.). 

All these are characterized more or 
less by producing large, thick, fleshy 
leaves, stiff and brittle, pointed, and 
generally terminating in a strong 
spine, filled with a mucilaginous 
pulp internally, and containing in 
the proper vessels of their exterior 
portion an intensely bitter juice, 
which yields the medicinal sub¬ 
stance A. It is obtained, sometimes 
in the form of tears, by incision, 
spontaneous exudation, and inspis- 
sation upon the plant; sometimes by 
spontaneous evaporation of the juice 
which drops or exudes by pressure 
from the leaves when cut away near 
the base; sometimes by evaporating 
the same juice with the aid of heat; Aloe fruticosa: 
and lastly, by evaporating together the flower, 

the juice and a decoction of the leaves. 

Owing to the great difficulty of determining the true 
botanical source of any given sample, the following names 
are made use of in commerce to denote the various kinds of 
A. found in the market—namely, Socotrine, Clear, Cape, 
East Indian, Barbadoes, and Caballine Aloes. The most 
important are: 

1. Socotrine A. (Aloe Socotrina), so called from its 
supposed source, the island of Socotra, near the mouth of 
the Arabian Gulf. This is the most esteemed of all the 
varieties used in medical practice. Many hold that this is 
only a fine variety of East Indian A., but the characters 
given in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia —a garnet-red 
translucency in thin pieces, and almost complete solubility 
in spirit of the strength of sherry—define a particular species, 
the true Socotrine A. of pharmacologists. 

2. East Indian A. (Aloe Indica), called also Hepatic A., 
from its liver brown color, is imported into Bombay from 
Arabia and Africa, and is known in India by the name of 
Bombay A. A considerable portion is probably obtained 
from the same sources as the Socotrine A., which it 
resembles in color; and according to Dr. Pereira, ‘ the two 







PLATE 9 


Aloe 



American Aloe (Agave Americana). 





Aloe socotrina. 









ALOES WOOD. 

are sometimes brought over intermixed, the Socotrine occa¬ 
sionally forming a vein in a cask of Hepatic Aloes.’ 

3. Barbadoes A. (Aloe Barbadensis ) is prepared in the 
West Indies from A. Socotrina , and from a variety of A. 
vulgaris. Browne’s Natural History of Jamaica states that 
the largest and most succulent leaves are placed upright in 
tubs, that the juice may dribble out. This evaporated 
forms what is sold as Socotrine A.; but the common A. is 
obtained by expressing the juice out of the leaves, boiling it 
with water, evaporating and pouring it into gourds; whence 
this kind is often called gourd Aloes. It is much used for 
veterinary medicine, and thus brings a high price. 

Caballine A. ( Aloe caballina) is a very coarse kind, and is 
so called because it is considered fit only for horses. It 
contains many impurities, such as wood, sand, and charcoal, 
and evidently constitutes the lowest stratum in the ves¬ 
sels in which the better sorts are allowed to cool. It is 
now in a great measure superseded in veterinary practice by 
Barbadoes Aloes. 

All kinds of A. are remarkable for their disagreeable 
taste. The c dor is peculiar, and is more perceptible when 
the drug is breathed upon. A. is in a great measure soluble 
in water, more so in hot than cold w r ater. A. was formerly 
considered a gum-resin; but the portion which was thought 
to be of the nature of gum is now regarded as a variety of 
extractive , and to it the name of Aloesin has been given. 

Action.— When employed in small doses, A. exerts a tonic, 
and in larger doses, a cathartic action. It is considered by 
some authorities to stimulate the liver, and also to supply 
the place of deficient bile in torpidity of the intestinal canal, 
and more especially towards its lower part. As taken singly, 
and in combination with other cathartics, A. is perhaps the 
most important and the most extensively used of vegetable 
remedies of its class; but, owing to its action on the lower 
bowel, should not be used in cases of piles. 

ALOES WOOD (called also Agila Wood, Eagle Wood, 
or Agallochum): the inner part of the trunk of Aquilaria 
ovata and A. Agallochum , trees of the natural order Aqui- 
lariacece (q.v.), natives of the tropical parts of Asia, and 
supposed to be the aloes or lign aloes of the Bible. They 
are large spreading trees with simple alternate leaves. 
Aloes-wood contains a dark-colored, fragrant, resinous 
substance, and is much prized in the East as a medicine, and 
for the pleasant odor which it diffuses in burning. It has 
been prescribed in Europe in cases of gout and rheumatism 
The resinous substance is found only in the inner part of 
the trunk and branches; the younger wood is white, and 
almost scentless. A similar substance, still more esteemed, 
is obtained in the s e. of Asia and the adjacent islands, from 
the central part of the trunk of Aloexylon Agallochum , an 
upright-growing tree with simple alternate leaves, and 
terminal panicles of small flowers, of the natural order 
Irfguminosw, sub-order CmsalpiniecB. This tree abounds 
particularly on the highest mountains of Cochin-China and 
the Moluccas; a character of sacredness is attached to it, and 
it is cut with religious ceremonies. The A. W. which it 


ALOFT—ALOSE. 

yields is not only much prized in the east as a perfume, but 
many medicinal virtues are ascribed to it. The ancients 
ascribedto it similar virtues, and so valued it for these and 
its fragrance, that Herodotus says it sold at one period for 
more than its weight in gold. It was regarded almost as a 
universal medicine. Its very fragrance was supposed to 
have a beneficial influence, and it was therefore worn about 
the person As it admits of a high polish, and exhibits a 
beautiful graining, precious gems were set in it; and it was 
cut into fantastic forms and worn in head-dresses, etc. 
Lign Aloes is a corruption of Lignum Aloes (Aloes Wood). 

ALOFT, ad. a-loft' [Icel. d lopt, on high: Icel. lopt; AS. 
lyft; Ger. luft, the air (see Lift)]: on high; in the air; 
among seamen, up among the rigging. Alow, ad. d-ld' , in 
a low place; not aloft. 

ALOGI, dl'o-ji, or Alogians, a-lo'ji-anz: a branch of the 
Monarchians ; named from their denial of the existence of 
the Logos, and their rejection of the Gospel of John which 
teaches the Logos doctrine. They were found chiefly in 
Asia Minor. Epiphanius treats of them. 

ALONE, ad. d-lon' [all and one: OE. al-one] : by itself; 
quite by one’s self; singly: Adj. single; without company. 
To let alone, to suffer to rest or remain. 

ALONG, prep, d-long', or Alongst, prep, d-longst 
[AS. andlang: Ger entlang: It. lungo j: by the length; 
lengthwise; forward; in OE., owing to: Ad. forward; (used 
also for together). Alongside, by the side of, as a 
ship. Along of, in OE., owing to. 

ALONG-SHORE: near to, and parallel with, the shore. 

* Along-shore-men,’ or ‘ ’ long-shoremen,’ is a peculiar desig¬ 
nation given to some of the humbler and rougher workmen 
employed about docks and shipping. 

ALOOF, ad. d-lof [AS. a, on; lyft, the air; loof, the 
windward side of a ship; aloof, on loof—viz., out of danger- 
Dut. loef, an oar-pin]: keeping away from; at a distance 
from. To ‘ keep the loof,’ or f keep the luff,’ is a command 
given to the man at the helm. Aloof'ness, n. the state of 
keeping or being aloof. 

ALOPECU'RUS: see Foxtail. 

ALOPECY, n. dl'6'pe-si, or Al'ope'cia, n. -shi-d [Gr. 
alopex, a fox]: the fox-evil or scurf; any kind of baldness. 

ALORA, d-ld'rd: town of Andalusia, Spain, prov. of 
Malaga, 18 m. n.w. of Malaga, on an elevated site near the 
right bank of the Guadalherce. Some of the streets are 
well built, and well paved; some are very steep and 
irregular. There are ruins of an ancient Gothic castle. 
The inhabitants are mostly employed in agriculture. Soap 
and sulphate of soda are manufactured. The neighborhood 
produces much oil and excellent wine. Pop. 10,543. 

ALOSA: see Cltjpeid/E and Shad. 

ALOSE, n. d-loz' [F. alose— from L. alosa\. the shad; a 
specie-5 o!' herring 


ALOST—ALP. 

ALOST, d'lost, or Aalst, dlst [the name signifies '* to the 
east,’ and was probably given to the town because it lay 
near the e. frontier of the province]: town in Belgium, old 
cap. of the prov. of East Flanders, is situated on a tributary 
of the Scheldt, called the Dender, here converted into a 
canal. _ It is a walled city with five gates, has considerable 
trade in hops, corn, etc., and large manufactures, besides 
numerous breweries, distilleries, bleach-fields, print-works, 
copper and iron-foundries, flax and cotton mills, etc. The 
finest building in A. is the church of St. Martin, unfinished, 
but one of the grandest edifices in Belgium, and containing 
a famous painting by Bubens— St. Rock beseeching our Sav¬ 
iour to stay the Plague of A., and also the mausoleum of 
Thierry Martens, who was born here, and who introduced 
the art of printing into Belgium, 1475. A. has a town-hall 
(founded, 1200), a college, a hospital, chamber of commerce, 
academy of design, etc. Pop. (1901) 29,723. 

ALOUD, ad. d-lowd' [AS. a, on, and loud: Icel. hljod; 
Dan. lyd; Ger. laut, with sound]: a high tone of voice; 
with much noise. 

ALOW, ad.: see under Aloft. 

ALOYSIA, d-loy'si-a: genus of plants of the natural order 
Verbenacea (q v.), to which belongs a shrub, A citriodora , 
cultivated in greenhouses and apartments for the grateful 
fragrance which its leaves emit when lightly bruised. It is 
frequently named Verbena. It was formerly known to 
botanists as Verbena triphylla, and has also been referred to 
the allied genus Lippia. The leaves are in whorls of three. 
It is a native of Chili. In the Channel Islands and the s. 
of Ireland, it becomes a luxuriant shrub in the open air, 
reaching a height of 10-25 ft., with osier-like shoots. 

ALP: see under ALPINE. 

ALP, or Alb, also called the Rauhe or Swabian Alp: a 
chain of mountains above 60 m. in length, and from 12 to 
15 in breadth, between the Neckar and the Danube. It 
forms the water-shed between these two rivers and the basin 
of the Rhine, and lies almost entirely within the kingdom 
of Wiirtemberg. It is also in the vicinity of the Black 
Forest, but presents a totally different appearance, on ac¬ 
count of its being clothed with forests of hard wood instead 
of pine. It forms a table-land intersected by a few narrow 
deep valleys. The average height of the system is rather 
more than 2.000 feet. On the n., it descends to the Neckar 
in ridges of rocky cliffs, and abrupt pointed headlands; but 
on the s., it gradually slopes away to the level of the valley 
of the Danube. The scenery is often very picturesque, for 
the sharp, precipitous crags are frequently crowned with 
the strongholds, generally ruins, of the famous old German 
families, such as the Hohenzollerns, Hohenstaufens, etc. 
The geological formation of the Alp is calcareous, and 
presents a regular stratification. Caverns of a very remark¬ 
able character abound among the rocks. The valleys at the 
base of the hills are fertile, and produce abundance of wine 
and fruit, but the high table-land has an extremely poor 
and barren soil. 


ALPACA. 

ALPACA, n. al-pak'a, or Paco, pak'd [Sp. alpaca —from 
a Peruvian word]: (Auchenia Paco; see Auchenia): a 
ruminating animal of the mountainous districts of S. 
Amer., allied to the camel, hut of much smaller size, and 
having long woolly hair; a variety of the llama; a fabric or 
cioth made from its hair. The A. is of the same genus with 
the Llama (q.v.), and so closely allied to it, that many 
naturalists regard it as a variety rather than a distinct species. 
It is remarkable for the length and fineness of the wool, 
which is of a silken texture, and of an uncommonly lustrous, 
almost metallic appearance. The A. is smaller than the 
llama; the legs and breast are destitute of callosities. In 
form, it somewhat resembles the sheep, but with a longer 
neck and more elegant head. It carries its long neck erect; 
its motions are free and active, its ordinary pace a rapid 
bounding canter. The eyes are very large and beautiful. 
The wool, if regularly shorn, is supposed to grow about 6 
or 8 inches in a year; but if allowed to "emain upon the 
animal for several j 7 ears, attains a much greater length, 
sometimes even 30 inches, and frequently 20. Its color 
varies; it is often yellowish brown, sometimes gray, or ap¬ 
proaching to white; sometimes almost black. 

The A. is a native of the Andes, from the equator to 
Tierra del Fuego, but most frequent on the highest mount 



Alpaca. 

ains of Peru and Chili, almost on the borders of perpetual 
snow; congregating in flocks of one or two hundred. In a 
wild state, it is very shy and vigilant. A sentinel on some 
elevated station gives notice of the approach of danger by 
snorting to alarm the flock. Alpacas seem instinctively to 
know when a storm is coming on, and seek the most 
sheltered situation within their reach. Flocks, the property 
of the Peruvian Indians, are allowed to graze throughout 
the whole year on the elevated pastures, and are driven to the 
huts only at shearing-time. When one is separated from 
the rest, it throws itself on the ground, and neither kindness 
nor severity will induce it. to rise and advance alone. It is 
only when brought to the Indian huts very young, that they 
can be domesticated so as to live without' the companion 




















ALP-ARSLAN. 

ship of tlie flock; but then they become very hold and 
familiar. Their habits are remarkably cleanly. 

The Indians have from time immemorial made blankets 
and ponchos or cloaks of A. wool. It is not quite fifty 
years since it became an article of commerce, but its use for 
the manufacture of shawls, coat-linings, cloth for warm 
climates, umbrellas, etc., has gradually increased, and more 
than 2,000,000 lbs. are now annually imported into Britain. 
The credit of introducing and raising to its present magni¬ 
tude the Alpaca wool-manufacture in Britain is due to Sir 
Titus Salt. The importation to America also is extensive. 

Attempts have been made to introduce the A. into Europe; 
but not yet with very satisfactory results. The only consid¬ 
erable flock known to exist is in the Pyrenees. There seems 
no reason, however, to doubt that the mountains of Wales 
and Scotland are suitable for it. An attempt was made in 
1821 to introduce the A. into the United States; a fund was 
raised, and, in 1857, a cargo of them was shipped to Balti¬ 
more, but the effort to acclimatize them did not succeed. 

A. wool is straighter than that of the sheep, very strong 
in proportion to its thickness, and breaks little in combing. 
The fibre is small and very soft, pliable, and elastic.—The 
flesh of the animal is said to be very wholesome and pleas¬ 
ant food. 

ALP-ARSLAN, dlp-ar-sldn': a Persian Sultan, the second 
of the Seljukide dynasty; 1028 (or 30)—72; b. Turkestan: as¬ 
cended the throne of Khorassan 1058. after the death of his 
father Daoud, and in 10G8 he also succeeded his uncle. His 
first act was to unite the whole of his dominions in one vast 
monarchy. He next embraced Islamism, and it was on this 
occasion that he took the surname of Alp-Arslan (the Lion- 
heart), his real name being Mohammed-Lhaz ed-Dyn Abou- 
Choudja. The caliph of Bagdad gave him the title of 
Adhad-eddin (Defender of the Faith), with this extreme 
honor—that prayer should be made in his name. He had 
an excellent vizier, Nisam-al-Mulk, one of those lettered 
ornaments of early Mohammedanism. This vizier was the 
founder of all the colleges and academies in the kingdom. 
While he directed the internal administration of affairs, A. 
made war successfully. He suppressed revolts, and ex¬ 
tended the northern boundaries of his dominions. In 1067-68, 
he pursued the course of his conquests, carrying off the gates 
of the church of St. Basil at Caesarea, which were enriched 
with gold and pearls, and overthrowing the Greeks under 
Nicephorus Botoniates. In 1069, he invaded Armenia and 
Georgia, at that time Christian kingdoms. The most re¬ 
markable incident in this expedition was the blockade of the 
convent of Mariam-Nishin, situated on an island in the 
middle of a lake, and considered impregnable. An earth¬ 
quake overthrew the walls during the siege, when it imme¬ 
diately surrendered. He next proceeded against the Greeks, 
who, under their brave emperor, Roman us IV., had thrice 
driven back the Turks beyond the Euphrates. In August, 
1071, a bloody battle was fought near the fortress of Malas- 
kerd, between the towns of Van and Erzeroum. A. gained 
the victory. The Greek emperor was taken prisoner, and 


ALPENA—ALPES. 

only obtained bis liberty by a ransom of £1,000,000, and an 
annual tribute of £160,000. Rather more than a year after 
this (1072, Dec. 15), A. perished at Berzem in Turkestan by 
the poniard of Jussuf Cothuol, whom he had insulted. He 
was buried at Merve, in the tomb of his ancestors. 

ALPENA, al-pena: town,cap. of Alpenaco., Mich.; in 
the n.e. part of the state, on Thunder Bay (Lake Hu¬ 
ron), at the mouth of Thunder Bay river; and on the De¬ 
troit Bay City and A. railroad; 250 m. n.w. of Detroit. It 
is near an important lumbering and farming region, and 
having a fine harbor, does large business iu lumber prod¬ 
ucts. It has excellent graded schools; eight churches; 3 
weekly newspapers; one paper printed every evening ex¬ 
cept Sunday (established 1890), and one monthly organ of 
the Y. M. C. A.; 10 saw, 3 shingle, and 2 planing mills; 2 
foundries; hemlock extract works; and sulphate, paper, 
and spool factories; one national bank (cap. $50,000), and 
one private bank. A. has mineral spring resources which 
have been somewhat exploited.—Pop. (1880) 6,153; (1890) 
11,283; (1900) 11,802. 

ALPES, alp: name of two departments in France, the 
Basses-Alpes (or Lower Alps), and the Hautes-Alpes (or 
Upper Alps). 

The dept, of the Basses-Alpes occupies the n.e. of Pro¬ 
vence. It is, for the most part, mountainous, consisting of 
spurs or offshoots from the Maritime Alps, which run in 
numerous chains towards the Rhone. In the n., the climate 
is cold, the soil poor, and the cultivation bad; in the s., the 
climate is much better—almonds, apricots, peaches, and 
various other choice fruits are grown, among which the 
plums of Bignolles form a well-known article of commerce. 
The wines of this region are reckoned excellent. On the 
sides of the Alps, oxen and sheep find admirable pasturage. 
The mines produce lead, green marble, etc. At Digne and 
Greoulx are hot mineral springs. The trade carried on is 
insignificant. The department is watered by the Durance. 
Area, 2,697 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 115,021. The chief town 
is Digne; pop. 5,252. 

The Hautes-Alpes, lying n. of the Basses-A., and form 
ing part of the old prov. of Dauphine, is traversed by the 
chief range of the Cottian Alps, which here rise, in Mount 
Pelvoux, 14,000 ft., and Mount Olan, 13,120 feet. The 
scenery, especially along the course of the impetuous Du¬ 
rance, is singularly picturesque. The Eautes-A. is the high¬ 
est department in France; the fierce north wind and the per¬ 
petual snow on the lofty peaks make the climate severe and 
the winter long, so that the barren soil will yield little else 
than potatoes, a little rye, oats, and barley. Here and there, 
in the most southerly valleys, nut-trees, chestnuts, vines, 
and other choice fruits, thrive. Only horned cattle, asses’ 
and mules are bred profitably. The most important roads 
through this department are: 1st, The road from Grenoble 
to Briangon; 2d, The road from Briangon to Susa, in Pied¬ 
mont, over the Col-de-Genevre, which, 1859, was used to 
transport masses of French soldiery into Italy; 3d, The 
road from Gap to Marseilles. The inhabitants are employed 


ALPES MARITIMES—ALPHA 

in the manufacture of leather, linen and woolens; and 
some are engaged in the mines of lead, copper, iron, and 
anthracite, area, 2,150 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 109,510. Chief 
town, Gap; pop. 8,718. 

ALPES MARITIMES, alp md-re-tem': a dept, of France, 
in the extreme s.e., on the shores of the Mediterranean and 
confines of Italy; formed in 1860, of the ancient county of 
Nice, then ceded to France, formerly belonging to the king¬ 
dom of Sardinia, and of the arrondissement of Grasse, de¬ 
tached from the department of Var. The chain of the A. 
M. forms the n. boundary of the department, and from it 
numerous spurs run seaward, among which are lovely and 
fertile valleys. The chief rivers of the department are the 
Loup, the Var, and the Paillon, at the mouth of which Nice 
is situated. The climate is mild and pleasant in the vicinity 
of the sea, and in the lower valleys, although the higher 
mountains reach altitudes where winter always reigns. The 
vine and olive are much cultivated in the more favored lo¬ 
calities; oranges, lemons, and figs are produced in abun¬ 
dance and of excellent quality; considerable land is devoted 
to tobacco, and not a little to the cultivation of herbs and 
flowers for the preparation of essences and perfumes. Grasse 
is particularly famous for the manufacture of perfumery. 
In many parts of the department are noble forests. In the 
more elevated parts, much land is used for the pasture of 
sheep, and also of goats, of which these regions possess a 
highly-esteemed breed. The silk-worm is reared to a con¬ 
siderable extent, and the keeping of bees is a source of 
wealth, honey being largely produced and exported. The 
mineral riches are not great. There are some quarries of 
white marble, and some mineral springs. Among the chief 
branches of industry, besides those strictly rural, are brass¬ 
founding and the making of bijouterie. The tunny, an¬ 
chovy, and sardine fisheries employ many people on the 
shores of the Mediterranean, and great quantities of an¬ 
chovies and sardines are exported from the port of Cannes. 
The dept, is divided into three arrondissements—Nice, Puget- 
Theniers, and Grasse. The capital is Nice (q v ), and the 
other principal towns are Antibes, Villefranche, Cannes, 
Grasse, and Menton or Mentone. Pop. (1901) 293,213. 

ALPHA, n. al'fd [Gr.]: the first letter of the Greek 
alphabet; the first or beginning. Alphabet, n. al fa-bet 
[Gr. alpha , a; beta, b; mid. L. alphabetkm ]: the letters of 
any language arranged in a fixed order. Alphabetic, a. 
arfa-bet' r ik, or Alphabetical, a. 4-kal, arranged in the 
order of the alphabet. Al phabet ically, ad. -II. 



ALPHABET. 


ALPHABET: the series of letters, arranged in a fixed 
order, with which a language is written. Picture-w T rit.ing 
was doubtless the earliest method invented of conveying 
thought through the eye The idea of an ox w T as readily ex¬ 
pressed by a rude sketch of The animal, or, for shortness, by 
an outline of his head and horns. Or the picture was used 
symbolically; as the figure of an eye, to express the action 
of seeing, or the attribute of wisdom. In process of time, 
some of those pictures came to be used phonetically—i.e., to 
represent, not ideas, but sounds. But the sounds so repre¬ 
sented would at first be whole words, or, at all events, syl¬ 
lables; and the important step was yet to be taken of analyz¬ 
ing syllables into their elementary sounds, and of agreeing 
upon some one unvarying picture or sign (a letter) to repre¬ 
sent each. This constituted the invention of the A. 

Taylor, in his great work on The Alphabet (2 vols., 1883), 
affirms and proves lionge’s theory that the Phoenician, the 
oldest true A. known, is derived from an old hieratic series 
of alphabetic symbols, compiled by the Egyptians out of 
their multitudinous hieroglyphs. See Hieroglyphics: also 
Chinese Language, Cuneiform, and Writing. This 
series, however, was not used by the Egyptians simply as an 
A.; such, simple, was the discovery or invention of the 
Phoenicians. From Phoenician and cognate Sliemitic alpha¬ 
bets have originated, directly or indirectly, almost all the 
modes of writing now in use Hence came Greek, Latin, 
Hebrew, Arabic, and the Indian alphabets; (Chinese, and 
apparently ancient Hittite, Lycian, and Cypriote sylla¬ 
baries were distinct) Some hundreds of alphabets, ancient 
and modern, have been enumerated; but of those now in use, 
setting aside slight variations of form, the number does not 
exceed 50. Those here to be considered are more immedi¬ 
ately connected with the history of the English A. 

In modern alphabets, the order of the letters appears at first 
sight to be quite arbitrary; but there are traces of a natural 
system according to which the series grew, best seen in the 
Hebrew A., which was almost identical with the Phoenician. 
The Hebrew characters given below are the square Hebrew, 
borrowed from Aramsea (q.v.). The oldest Hebrew A. had 
characters identical with those of Phoenicia (q.v.). 

The following table shows the Hebrew letters, with their 
names, and sounds or powers; also the names of the letters 
composing the early Greek A., as borrowed from the 
Phoenician: 


HEBREW. 


GREEK. 


Name. Sound or Power. 


a I 2 Beth, B. 

j J Gimel, G (in gun). 

T Daleth, D. 

r __ tt « 


X Aleph, a vowel or breathing, 


Alpha. 

Beta. 

Gamma. 

Delta 

E(psilon). 

F=V (digamma.) 

Zeta. 

Eta. 

Theta. 


H He, a vowel or breathing. 

1 Vau, V or F. 


2 [T Zayn, Z.] 

n Kheth, KH or CH. 

L tt Theth, TH. 






ALPHABET. 


HEBREW. GREEK. 


Name. 

Sound or Power. 


' Yod, 

J. 

Iota. 

[3 Kaph, 

K, variety of.] 

Kappa. 

Lamed. 

L. 

Lambda 

Mem, 

M. 

Mu. 

: Nun. 

N. 

Nu. 

[D Samekh, 

S. variety of.] 

Sigma. 

V Ayn, 

a vowel. 

O(mikron), 

Q Pe, 

P. 

Pi. 

[f* Tsadi, 

TS.] 


p Koph, 

K or Q. 

Koppa. 

["1 Resh, 

R.] 

Rho. 

[£> Sin, 

S] 

San. 

n Tau, 

T. 

Tau. 


Leaving out of account the letters inclosed in brackets, 
which are not easily accounted for, and are possibly later 
interpolations, the whole fall into four groups, the law of 
tvhich will appear in the following scheme: 


Vowels. 

Labials. 

Palatals. 

Dentals. 

1 

a 

b g d 

Flats or medials. 

e 

** 

v ch th 

Aspirates. 

0 

p k i 

Sharps. 

• 

i 

l m n 

Liquids. 


Without entering at present into the nature of the relation 
between the letters in the several rows, horizontal and 
vertical, of the scheme (for which see Letters), it will be 
«een that group (1) in the Hebrew A. consists of a vowel 
followed by three mute letters, all having one character 
(flats or medials); that group (2) consists of a vowel fol¬ 
lowed by three mutes, also having one character (aspirates); 
and that group (4) consists in like manner of a vowel 
followed by three mutes, all of the same character (sharps). 
The order, moreover, according to the organ of utterance, 
in which the mutes follow in each group, is invariable: the 
labial (lip-sound) coming first; the palatal (palate-sound), 
second; and the dental (tooth-sound), last. This principle 
of arrangement is characterized by Dr. Latham as a circu¬ 
lating order. Group (3) likewise consists of a vowel and 
four consonants of one character (liquids); but in this case 
the order of the vocal organs is not observed—at least in the 
form in which the Hebrew A. is now known; in order to 
be symmetrical with the other groups, the sequence would 
require to be m. 1. n 













ALPHABET. 

The nucleus of the original A. thus seems to have con 
sisted of sixteen letters, grouped in four tetrads or quater¬ 
nions, on an organic principle of arrangement. This princi- 
ciple is obscured in English and other modern alphabets, 
by some of the letters having gradually come to represent 
quite other sounds than their original There is sufficient 
evidence, for example, that in the earliest Latin alphabet, 
from which the English is derived, the third letter, 
C, had the power of G (in gun). There was a subsequent 
period in the development of that language when the dis¬ 
tinction between the sharp and flat palatal sounds seems to 
have been lost, and when two syllables like kam and gam 
would have been pronounced both alike (kam). C thus ac¬ 
quired the power of K, and the letter K itself went almost 
out of use. But about the time of the First Punic War (b.c. 
264-241), the distinction between the sharp and the flat 
sounds revived; and while the original C continued ever 
after to have the power of K (C<cero, for instance, was pro¬ 
nounced Kikero), a new character (G) was formed from it, 
by a very slight alteration, to express the flat sound. Again, 
the modern H, which has in most cases become a mere 
evanescent breathing, can be traced back until it becomes a 
strong gutteral, like CH in the Scotch word loch. The place 
of the third consonant in the cycle of aspirates is a com¬ 
plete blank in the alphabets derived from the Latin; because 
that language being originally destitute of the sound dropped 
the sign of it, from the first. The Latins were, in fact, 
completely destitute of the genuine aspirate sounds; for 
even the letter F had not the sound now given it. There¬ 
fore, when they had to represent the aspirate consonants of 
the Greek language, (p , j, Q, they had recourse to the com¬ 
binations ph, ch, th —a clumsy expedient still followed in 
modern alphabets derived from the Roman, and constitut¬ 
ing one of their most serious defects. The cycle of the 
sharps is nearly perfect in the English alphabet, for Q is 
only a variety of K. 

It is easy to conceive a language represented by sixteen 
characters of the nature above described. The most serious 
deficiency would seem to be the want of r and s. But the 
sound of th is very nearly allied to that of s (witness ‘ loves 
or lo veth;’ also the pronunciation of a person who lithyth), 
and one character might be made to stand for both, as easily 
as an English c is made to represent two sounds so different 
as those exemplified in rat and city. Some nations, again, 
are said to make no distinction between r and l, so that one 
character might stand for both these sounds. 

But whether or not the Phoenician A.Jiad originally only 
sixteen letters, it is evident that when transplanted into 
Greece, it had twenty-one letters, if not twenty-two. In ac¬ 
commodating itself to the necessities of the Greek tongue, it 
gradually underwent a series of changes. Some of the let¬ 
ters were modified: lie became e; Cheth, ee; Sigma became 
b—x, and the name Sigma was transferred to San. Other 
letters were altogether dropped, as Digamma (= v) and Eoppa. 
On the other hand, for such simple sounds as had no repre- 


ALPHABET. 

sentatives in the Phoenician, new characters were invented, 
and annexed to the end ( v , (p, x, ip, go). 

Another important change was in the direction of the 
writing. In the Phoenician and other Semitic languages, 
the writing proceeded from right to left. The Greeks, on 
borrowing the Phoenician A., also wrote for some time from 
right to left. The mode called bustrophedon (turning like 
an ox in plowing), of writing alternately from right to 
left and from left to right, was then introduced; and finally 
the direction from left to right prevailed throughout the 
west, to the exclusion of the other modes. 

In the classical period of the Greek language, the A. had 
come to consist of twenty-four letters, as in columns 2, 3, 4 
of the following table. Column 1 (copied from Ballhorn’s 
Alphabete) gives some of the earlier forms of the Greek let¬ 
ters, found on coins and other inscriptions, of the period 
when writing still proceeded from right to left; column 2 is 
from the Alexandrian Codex (q.v.), as given in Key’s Alpha¬ 
bet; and Nos. 3 and 4 are the modern printed forms of capi¬ 
tals and small letters. The small characters are merely 
cursive forms or variations of the capitals; and it woul d not 
be difficult to show how, in each case, the endeavor tc trace 
the capital on soft material rapidly and without lifth g the 
hand weuld give rise to the form now used as the small 
letter. 


GREEK ALPHABET. 


14 3 4 Name. Power. 

- , ^ ' 


A 

X. 

A 


Alpha 

a 

i 

B 

B 


Beta 

b 

"V 

r 

r 

y 

Gamma 

g 

V 


A 


Delta 

d 

3 

G 

E 

* 

Epsilon 

e (short) 







I 

2 : 

Z 

K 

Zeta 

ds 

B 

H 

H 

* 

Eta 

e (lon$ 

o 

0 

'6 

6 

Theta 

th 


l 

I 

J 

Iota 

i 

A. 

K 

K 

K 

Kappa 

k 















ALPHABET. 


1 

$ 

5 

4 

Name. 

Power. 

1 

X 

A 

X 

Lambda 

1 

M 



t* 

My 

m 

A' 

1X| 

N 

y 

Ny 

n 

+ 

£ 

£ 

l 

Xi 

X 

0 

O 

0 

6 

-4 

Omlkron 

o (short) 

1 

TT 

n 

sr 

Pi 

P 

9 







r 

r 

( 

Rho 

r 

>w 

C 

2 

trs 

Sigma 

8 

T 

T 

T 

9 

Tau 

t 


V 

r. 

V 

Ypsllon 

tl 



$ 

9 

Phi 

f ph 


X 

ft — 

X 

X 

Chi 

ch 


IT. 

¥ 

* 

Psi 

ps 


CJU 

n 

O) 

OmSga 

O (long) 


With regard to the figures or shapes of the letters, it is 
relieved that they all arose out of pictures or hieroglyphic 
characters. The names of the Hebrew letters are the names 
also of material objects; and the letters themselves were at 
first, in all probability, rude outlines of the objects. Aleph, 
for example, means an ‘ ox,’ and the letter was in its origin 
an outline of an ox’s head The history of Gimel, which 
means ‘ camel,’ is probably similar. The Hebrew characters 
now known are believed to be comparatively modern, and 
much corrupted from their original forms, and the likenesses 
are more difficult to trace in them than in the Samaritan and 
the early Greek, or even in the Latin. Mem, again, is the 
Hebrew word for ‘ water,’ and some of the earliest forms of 
the letter M are zigzag lines, similar to the sign of Aquarius 
(W) in the zodiac,intended, no doubt,to represent the undula¬ 
tions of water. Ayn, the name of the Hebrew letter equiva¬ 
lent to O, also means an ‘ eye,’ and the picture of an eye 
would naturally degenerate into a circle, first with a dot in 
the centre (which some ancient O’s actually have), and then 
without a dot. 

The A. came into Italy not directly from Phoenicia, but 
from Greece, and that at a time when the Greek A. had 
undergone some of the changes described above, although 
not all of them; v, </>, x bad been added, but not ip and go. 
Moreover, there must have been distinct and independent 
importations into more than one part of Italy, and that. 



















ALPHABET. 

probably, from different parts of Greece, or, at all events, at 
different periods. Tbe Etrurian A. is evidently an earlier 
importation than the more southerly Latin, as it departs less 
from the Phoenician. There are differences even in different 
parts of Etruria itself. The alphabets of Etruria n. of the 
Apennines (for numerous inscriptions recently discovered 
show that this remarkable race must have extended at one 
time as far north as the Alpine valleys of Provence, Tyrol, 
Graubiindten, and Styria) differ slightly from the alphabets 
of the inscriptions in Etruria proper, which are demonstrably 
taken from the A. of the Greek colony of C sere. 

The Latin A., which became that of Rome, and thus of 
the whole western world, was borrowed from a newer form 
of the Greek—nam ly, that imported by the Dorian Greeks 
of Cumae and Sicily. The writing in the oldest Latin hr 
scriptions is never from right to left, as mostly in Etrurian. 
On the other hand, the Kaph and the Koph (K and Q) of 
the Phoenician, which disappear in Etrurian, are retained in 
Latin. r l he Greek A. of Cumae had not yet received the addi¬ 
tion of ip and go; but it still retained the representative of the 
Phoenician Van , the Digamma, and also Koppa, and thus con 
sisted of twenty-four letters. The Latin tongue, being desti¬ 
tute of aspirate sounds, dropped the three letters 0, (p, x, so 
that the original Latin A. consisted of twenty-one letters, 
the forms of which, as seen on the oldest inscriptions, were 
as in the following table. See Corssen’s Anssprache, Vocal- 
ismus und Betonung der Lateinischen Sprache (Leip. 1858.) 


1. a 

A, A, A, A. 

12. m 

Ill! 

2. b 

R, B. 

13. n 

N,'N. 

3. c 

c, c. c. 

14. o 

0, 0, o, 

4. d 

D. 

15. p 

R R 

5. e 

E.II. 

16. q 

Q. 

6. f 

11 F. 

17. r 

KR. 

7. z 

Z. 

18. s 

^ s: 

8. h 

H. 

19. t 

r. t. 

9. i 

1. 

20. v 


10. k 

K.o:) 

21. x 

X. 

11 1 

h.A-L. 




Z was early dropped, and the new letter G (see above) 
substituted for it; and thus the Latin A. continued to the 
fast to consist of twenty-one letters, until it was applied to 
tbe modern tongues of w. Europe. The distinction made 
between u and v, and between i and J, in printing Latin 
books, is a modern innovation; and no Latin word contains 
either y or z. The five additional letters that make up the 
twenty-six of the English A. arose from the addition of z, 
and the development of i into j, and of u into w, v, and y. 

The Anglo Saxon A had two useful letters, which have 
disappeared from modern English—namely, one for the 


ALPHEIUS. 

sound of th in thin, and one (or rather two) for that of th in 
thinj. These were derived, in all probability, from the 
Moeso-Gothic A., which (as well as the Russian and other 
Slavonic alphabets) was founded on the Greek rather than 
the Latin. The loss of these letters is owing to the influence 
of the Norman-French, the alphabet of which is exclusively 
Latin. The forms of the Anglo-Saxon letters are as under: 

A a £S) 

M se (</€) 

B b 

C c (C) 

D d (S) 

E e ( 6 ) 

F f ® 

G g (p S) 

H h 

I i 

L 1 

M m QJ) 

‘The characters between brackets were written by the 
Anglo-Saxons, but being for the most part mere corruptions 
of the Roman forms, are now seldom printed.’—Vernon’s 
Anglo-Saxon Grammar. 

See Isaac Taylor’s The Alphabet (2 vols., 1883). 

For the peculiarities of the different letters see each 
Letter: for their classification, and the defects and redundan¬ 
cies of the English A., see Letters and Articulate 
Sounds: as also Black-Letter: Orthography: Pho¬ 
netic Writing. 

ALPHEIUS, al-fe'yus (now Rufea, Rufia, or Rofid): the 
chief river of Peloponnesus (Morea); rising in the s.e. of 
Arcadia, and flowing w. through Elis, and past the famous 
Olympia, into the Ionic Sea. This river is one of the most 
celebrated in ancient song, and is connected with a beautiful 
and characteristic Greek legend. The nature of the upper 
course of the A. was such as to affect strongly the imagination 
of the Greek*. In its passage through Arcadia, a country 
consisting of cavernous limestone, and abounding in shut-in 
basins and valleys, it repeatedly disappears under ground 
and rises again. After these feats, it was deemed capable 
of anything—even of flowing under the sea—and the Greek 
colonists of Sicily thought they recognized it in their new 
country. Close on the margin of the sea in the island of 
Ortygia (the site of Syracuse), there was a beautiful and 
copious fountain; and just where the water of this fountain 
joined the sea, another strong spring bubbled up under the 


N 

n 


0 

0 


P 

P 


R 

r 

00 

S 

s 

(r) 

T 

t 

(t) 

U 

u 


W 

w 

(fPr) 

X 

X 

Y 

y 


* 

J) th (^in) 

£ 

if 

th (£/dne) 


ALPINE—ALPINE CLUB. 

salt water. This could only be another freak of the A.; and 
it was popularly believed that the sweepings of the temple 
of Olympia, after the great festival, when thrown into ths 
river, reappeared in the springs at Ortygia. Strabo asserts 
as a fact that a cup did so. 

This wonderful phenomenon found its explanation, as 
usual, in a myth, connecting it with the history of the gods. 
The river-god Alphieus became enamoured of the nymph 
Arethusa while bathing in his stream. To escape him, she 
prayed to Diana, who changed her into a fountain, and 
opened up an underground passage for her to Ortygia. The 
river still pursued her, passing from Greece to Sicily below 
the sea, without mingling his waters with it, and appearing 
in the spring that bubbles up by the shore. 

ALPINE, n. al'pin [L. Alpes, the Alps, of a Celtic origin: 
Gael, alp, a height, a mountain; said to be connected with 
old L. alpus; L. a/bus, white]: from or like the Alps; very 
elevated; belonging at elevated regions, as alpine flora. 
Al'penstock [Ger.j: staff used for ascending the Alps or 
any other mountain. Alp, n. in OE., a high mountain; a 
mountain similar to the Alps or one of them. 

ALPINE CLUB: a society in England for promoting 
exploration of the Alps; definitely constituted in 1858. The 
first president, Mr. Ball, had crossed the main chain of the 
Alps forty-eight times, by thirty two different passes, besides 
traversing nearly one hundred of the lateral passes. The 
club has a winter and a summer dinner every year. In 
1859, it published a volume. Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers; 
in 1863, the first number of the Alpine Journal, a valuable 
and flourishing periodical; between 1863 and 1868, guides 
to the Western, Central, and Eastern Alps. In 1884, there 
were about 450 members, including the most distinguished 
climbers of the foreign clubs. Of the daughter societies, 
the German Club has more than 9,000 members, the Swiss 
Club 2,500; there are also French, Austrian, and Italian 
clubs. 

The first known ascent of Mont Blanc is comparatively 
recent; the TaupinDre Blanche, the highest summit of Mont 
Blanc, was reached 1786, Aug. 8, by Jacques Balmat and 
Dr. Paccard. See Mont Blanc, Saussure. At the begin¬ 
ning of this century only four heights were found on maps 
of this great Monte Rosa district; and in the sixth edition 
of Murray’s Handbook of Switzerland, we read that the 
ascent of Mont Blanc was ‘attempted by few,’ and those for 
the most part ‘ of unsound mind.’ Now most of the peaks 
of the Alps and Pyrenees have been scaled, and their con¬ 
figuration, geology, plants, and animals explored and 
recorded. The ascent of the monarch of the Alps is now 
regarded as comparatively easy. In 1881, forty-two parties 
ascended, including sixty-seven persons, of whom. nineteen 
were French and seventeen English. In 1883, eighty-one 
persons ascended, in twenty-five parties. On nine occasions 
ladies w r ere of the party. Of the total number, thirty-five 
were French. Reckless ascents of difficult peaks have led 
to melancholy loss of valuable lives; and occasionally sad 


ALPINE HUSBANDRY—ALPINE PLANTS. 

accidents occur to well-planned expeditions. Of late, mem 
bers of the English Alpine Club have attacked the Hima¬ 
layas; and in 1883, another member, accompanied by 
Swiss guides, ascended Mount Cook in New Zealand. 

ALPINE HUSBANDRY: characterized by the fact that 
the preparation of fodder is the chief object, and the cultiva¬ 
tion of grain only secondary. In the less elevated regions 
bordering on the flat country, it is the practice to break up 
the grass from time to time, and take a succession of grain 
crops. In more elevated districts, the moisture of the 
climate and the shortness of the season of vegetation pre¬ 
vent crops requiring tillage from coming to perfection, and 
there the whole attention is devoted to pasturage and the 
preparation of meadow-hay. The top-dressing of the plots 
devoted to hay-growing, with the solid and liquid manure 
of the cattle, the cutting and making of the hay, and trans¬ 
porting it to the fann offices, occup} 7, a great part of the 
labor of the population of the Alps. They turn to account 
for hay-making those shelves and crevices among the moun¬ 
tains, inaccessible to cattle, and even goats; the herbage, 
which often grows luxuriantly in such situations, is cut, 
. bound up in cloths or nets, and carried down difficult paths 
on the head, or is flung over the precipices. 

The grass lands in the lower regions near the dwellings 
being mostly reserved for hay, the cattle are pastured in 
summer in those regions that lie too high or too remote to 
be inhabited in winter. These pastures consist of plateaus 
and slopes, which immediately on the disappearance of the 
snow become clothed with a rich carpet of herbage and 
flowers. Each separate locality or pasture is called an Alp. 
Some of these‘alps’belong to individuals; others to the 
commune or parish. The more rocky and steep places are 
pastured by sheep and goats. There are three zones or 
stages in the A. pastures. The cattle are driven to the first 
and lowest stage about the end of May; about a month 
later, they ascend to the ‘ middle Alps ’; and by the end of 
July, they reach the Upper Alps. As the days shorten, 
they descend in the same gradual way, so that the whole 
‘ Alp-time * lasts about 20 weeks. The pastures are provided 
with huts for those who have charge of the cattle, who also 
convert the milk into cheese. Little butter is made. The 
departure for the ‘ Alps ’ in spring, and the return in autumn, 
are made the occasion of popular festivals. 

ALPINE PLANTS: appellation given not only to 
those plants found at elevations approaching the limit ot 
perpetual snow in the Alps of central Europe, but also to 
plants belonging to other mountainous regions in any part 
of the world, whose natural place of growth is near snows 
never melted even by the summer’s sun. As the elevation 
of the snow line, however, varies very much in different 
countries, according to the latitude, and also from peculiar 
local circumstances, the term A. P. is significant not so 
much of the actual elevation of the habitat, as of the aver¬ 
age temperature which prevails there. On the Andes, near 
the equator, at an elevation of 12-000-15,000 ft. above the 


ALPINE PLANTS. 

sea, many kinds of plants are found, of humble growth, 
resembling in their general appearance those which occur 
in Germany and Switzerland at an elevation of 6,000 ft.; 
and these, again, either resemble, or are even identical with, 
the species which in Lapland grow upon hills of very little 
elevation, or which, in the northern parts of Siberia, are 
found at the level of the sea. Similar plants occur also in 
the Himalaya Mountains, at elevations varying remarkably 
within very narrow geographical limits from local causes, 
which also create great differences in the general dryness or 
humidity of the atmosphere. The laws of this natural dis¬ 
tribution of plants have been in our own day for the first 
time investigated and elucidated by Humboldt, Walilen 
berg, Schouw, Decandolle, and others, and form the mos 
essential part of a branch of science still in its infancy, and 
requiring further study—phytogeography, or the science of 
the geographic distribution of plants. When the A. P. of 
central Europe are spoken of, those are meant which grow 
at an average height of 6,000 ft., marking what, in the 
language of phytogeographic science, is called a zone. This, 
on its northern limit,the Riesengebirge, or Giants’ Mountains, 
falls as low as 4,000 ft., and rises in the southern Alps and 
Pyrenees to an elevation of 9,000 ft ,and sometimes even high¬ 
er. Although very rich in forms peculiarly its own,this zone 
contains many plants which are likewise found on much 
lower hills, and even in the plains. The number of these, 
however, diminishes as the elevation increases. Hence the 
small spaces clear of snow in the highest regions possess a very 
characteristic flora, the plants of which are distinguished by 
a very low diminutive habit, and an inclination to form a 
thick turf; frequently, also, by a covering of woolly hairs, 
v/hile their stems are very often either partly or altogether 
woody, and their fUywers are in proportion remarkably large, 
of brilliant colors, and in many instances very odoriferous, 
upon which accounts they remarkably attract and piease 
the occasional visitors from the plains. In the Alps of cen¬ 
tral Europe, the eye is at once caught by gentians, saxi¬ 
frages, rhododendrons, and various species of primrose. 
With these and other phanerogamous plants are associated 
a number of delicate ferns and exceedingly beautiful mosses. 
The highest mountains in Scotland exhibit a somewhat 
similar flora, and beautiful plants, both phanerogamous 
and cryptogamous, are found on them, which never appear 
in lower situations, as the Alpine Speedwell ( Veronica Al- 
pina), the small Alpine Gentian ( Gentiana nivalis), the Rock 
Scorpion Grass, or Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis Alpestris), 
Azalea procumbens, Woorfsia llvensis and hyperborea, etc. 
Many A. P. are limited to a very small district. Thus, the 
flora of Switzerland differs considerably from that of Ger¬ 
many, the latter being now 7 known to contain 3,400 phane¬ 
rogamous plants, of which the former contains 2,200, and 
with them also 126 species which have hitherto been found 
only in the Swiss Alps.—There are, moreover, particular 
species of plants found only in single localities, as Hyperi¬ 
cum coris upon the mountain of Wiggis, in the canton of 
Glarus; Wulfenia Oai'inthiaca , upon the Kuweger Alp, in 


ALPINI—ALPN ACH. 

Upper Carinthia.— In N. America, many A. P. on the 
higher mountains of the United States are species on low¬ 
lands far north, and agreeing much with the A. P. of 
Europe. The White Mts. of N. H. have Labrador 
species, both plants and animals, e.g., theSemidea butter¬ 
fly, found nowhere else in the United States.—For expla¬ 
nation see Darwin’s Origin of Species, chap. XI., and the 
recent works on distribution, such as Wallace’s. In brief, 
the Arctic region was more circumscribed in the warmer 
pre-glacial times than now, and its species more circum¬ 
polar. In the glacial period there was migration south, 
and at the end of the period many species were left 
islanded on mountains.—See Geographical Distribution 
of Plants and'Animals: Species. 

ALPINI, al-pe'ne, Prospero: 1553-1617; b. Marostica, in 
the republic of Venice: celebrated physician and botanist. 
For a time he served in the Milanese army, but left it to 
study medicine. He gave particular attention to the science 
of botany, and during a three years’ stay in Egypt, where he 
went as physician to the Venetian consul, devoted himself 
to this study, acquiring a wide botanical knowledge. He 
was perhaps the first to notice the sexual differences of 
plants, and in his treatise Be Medicini Egyptiorum first called 
the attention of Europeans to the coffee-plant. He resided 
at Genoa for some years, and held rank as the foremost 
physician of the day; afterwards he was appointed professor 
of botany in the Univ. of Padua, where he continued until 
failing health compelled him to give up his work. The 
genus Alpini is named in honor of him. He was the author 
of several Latin books. 

ALPI NIA: see Galangale. 

ALPNACH, alp'ndk, or Alpnacht, alp'nakt: Swiss 
village, in the canton of Unterwalden, at the foot of Mount 
Pilatus, H m. from that part of Lake Lucerne called Lake 
A. It is known principally on account of its celebrated 
* slide,’ a sort of wooden trough by which the felled timber 
of Mount Pilatus was conveyed with amazing velocity from 
a height of 2,500 ft. down to the lake. To prevent friction, 
the trough was perpetually lubricated by a slender rill of 
water. It is no longer used, the wood being now drawn 
down by horses and oxen. Population of A., 1,700. 


ALPS. 

ALPS, alps: the most extensive system of lofty mountains 
in Europe, raising their giant masses on a basis of 90,000 sq. 
m., between 6 40' and 18 e. long., and extending in some 
places from the 44th to the 48th parallel of latitude. The 
word Alp or Alb, signifying in the Celtic language ‘ white,’ 
was the name given to these mountains on account of their 
tops being perpetually covered with snow. The Alpine 
system is bounded on the n. by the hilly ground of Switzer¬ 
land and the upper plain of the Danube ; on the e., by the 
low plains of Hungary; on the s., by the Adriatic Sea, the 
plains of Lombardy, and the Gulf of Genoa ; and on the w., 
by the plains of Provence and the valley of the Rhone. A 
string of lakes encircles both the n. and s. bases of these 
mountains, the former at an elevation of 1,200-2,000 ft.; 
the latter, 600-700 ft. The varied natural scenery of 
France, Italy, Germany, and Hungary has a common centre 
of union in this lofty region. Valleys open out in all direc¬ 
tions, sending their melted snows on one side into the North 
Sea, on another into the Black Sea, and on another into the 
Mediterranean. 

The water-system of the A. may be thus briefly sketched: 
1. In the basin of the Rhine, there is the Rhine itself, which 
partly forms the Lake of Constance, at the n.e. extremity 
of Switzerland, and receives on the left the important tribu¬ 
taries of the Thur and the Aar ; the latter of which flows 
through lakes Brienz and Thun, and is itself augmented by 
various affluents, the largest of which are the Reuss and the 
Limmat. 2. In the basin of the Danube there flow from 
the s. the Iller, Lech, Isar, and the Inn. Still further e. the 
Danube has for its tributaries the Traun, the Ens, the Raab, 
the Drave. and the Save, the last three of which have their 
sources in the extreme eastern A. 3. In the basin of the Po 
are numerous streams which rise in the southern A.; the prim 
cipal are the Dora Baltea, the Sesia, the Ticino from Lake 
Maggiore, the Mincio from Lake Garda, and the Adige. 4. 
In the basin of the Rhone, are the Rhone (flowing through 
the Lake of Geneva), and various Alpine tributaries; most 
important are the Arve, the Isere, and the Durance. 5. 
The Var is the principal Ligurian coast-stream ; the Piave 
and the Tagliamento the largest of those which fall into 
the Adriatic from the southern A. 

Divisions —In order to give a clear view of the manifold 
ranges of this mountain land, a distinction is generally 
made between the East, the West, and the Middle A.; the 
last of which is again divided into a northern, central, and 
southern chain; while a natural separation by river valleys 
into groups is also made. I. West A.—The principal 
ranges of these are: 1. The Maritime A., from the middle 
Durance s. to the Mediterranean; rising in the Rocca dell’ 
Argentera to 10,795 ft. 2. The. Cottian A., n. of these, 
whose highest summit, Monte Viso, is 13,599 ft. 3. The 
Graian A., forming the boundary between Savoy and 
Piedmont, and attaining in Mont Iseran an elevation of 
13,272 ft., and in Mont Cenis, of 11 457 ft. II. Middle A. 
Central Chain.—1. The Pennine A., between the plains of 
Lombardy and the valley of the Rhone. Highest summits: 


I 


ALPS. 

Mont Blanc, 15,744 ft.; Monte Rosa, 15,151 ft.; Mont Cervin, 
14,836 ft 2. The Lepontian or Helvetian A., from the 
depression of the Simplon, along the plateau and masses 
of St. Gothard (12,000 ft.), to the pass of Mont Splilgcn. 
3. The Rhaetian A., between the Inn, the Adda, and the Upper 
Adige. Northern Chain. —1. The Bernese A , between the 
Rhone and the Aar: highest summits; Finsteraarhorm 
14,026 ft.; Jungfrau, 13,716 ft.; Schreckhorn, 13,397 ft. 
2. The A. of the Four ‘ Forest Cantons,’ the Schwytz A., etc. 
The Southern Chain. —1. The Oertler A., between the Adda 
and the Adige; highest summit, Oertlerspitz, 12,822 ft. 2. 
The Trientine A., between the Adige and the Piave; highest 
summit, La Marmolata, 9,802 ft. III. East A.—The 
principal chains are: 1. The Noric A., between the plains of 
the Drave and the Danube; highest summit, Gross-Glockner, 
12,431 ft. 2. The Carnic A., between the Drave and the 
Save. 3. The Julian A., between the Save and the Adriatic 
Sea; highest summit, Mont Terglu, 9,366 ft. 

Elevation .—As a general rule the A. are lowest where the 
system is broadest, that is, in the e.; and highest where the 
system is narrowest, that is, towards the w. Making a 
threefold distinction of crests, summits, and passes, the 
principal ranges may be characterized as follows. The 
crest-line (1) of West A., 6,000-11,000 ft.; (2) of Middle A., 
9,000-13,000 ft.; (3) of East A., 3,600-9,000 ft. The 
summits; (1) of West A., 9,000-14,000 ft.; (2) of Middle A., 
9,000-15,800 ft.; (3) of East A., 6,000-12,000 ft. Height 
of the passes: (1) of West A., 4,000-8,000 ft.; (2) of Middle 
A., 6,500-11,000 ft.; (3) of East A., 3,500-6,000 ft. 

A comprehensive classification leads to a division of the 
elevations into three regions: 1. The lower range forming 
the buttresses of the main masses, and reaching a height of 
2,500-6,000 ft.; that is, to the extreme limit of the growth 
of wood. 2. The middle zone betweea the former limit and 
the snow line at the elevation of 8,000-9,000 ft. 3. The 
high A., rising to 15,744 ft. The middle zone forms the 
region of mountain-pasturages, where the characteristic 
Alpine dairy-farming is carried on. These pastures consist 
of a rich carpet of grass and flowers. This threefold division 
of heights, however, docs not everywhere coincide with the 
same phenomena of vegetation: the line of perpetual snow 
descends lower on the n. side, and the boundaries of the 
zones above described vary accordingly. 1. The line of 
demarcation between the region of mosses and Alpine plants 
and that of perpetual snow, is from 8,000-9,000 ft. on the 
n. declivities; but on the s., it approaches 10,000 ft. 2. The 
highest limit to which wood attains on the n. is about 6,000 
ft., while on the s. it is nearly 7,000 ft. 3. Grain, beech, 
and oak, on the n., disappear at the elevation of 4,000 ft.; on 
the. s., they exist, some hundreds of feet higher. 4. The 
region of the vine, as well as of maize and chestnuts, 
extends to an elevation of 1,900 ft. on the n. declivity; and 
on the s. declivity, to 2,500 ft. The ranges of outlying 
lower mountains which flank the high central Alps on the 
n., e., and w., are mostly wanting on the s., especially where 
the Middle A. descend into the plains of Lombardy. Thus 


PLATE 10 


Alps 

Altai 



AJps.—The Chain of Mont Blanc across the Valley of Chamouni. 



Hign Altar.—Churcn or tne oaerecl Heart, Edinburgh 







































































































ALPS. 

the A. rise in steep rocky precipices from the level of the 
flat plains of the Po, while they sink more gradually into 
the plains on the n.; hence their mighty masses closely piled 
together present an aspect from the s. more grand and 
awful; from the n., more extended and various. 

Valleys .—The variety in the valleys as to form and 
arrangement is not less striking than in the elevations. 
Most worthy of notice is the characteristic form of the wide 
longitudinal valleys at the foot of the high central chains. 
On the e. they open directly into the plain; on the n., they 
are connected with the plain through transverse valleys 
which often end in lakes. The transverse valleys on 
the s. are mostly in the shape of steep rocky ravines, forming 
in some parts long-stretching lakes. Beside the deep-sunk 
principal valleys, there are extensive series of basin-shaped 
secondary valleys, the scenes of Alpine life properly so 
called. Many Alpine valleys have names distinct from the 
rivers flowing through them. Thus, the valley of the 
Rhone is styled the Upper and Lower Valais; that of the 
Adda, the Valteline; of the Arve, Chamounix. 

Communications — Passes .—The valleys of the high A. 
form the natural means of communication. Some are more 
accessible than others. The entrance into a longitudinal 
valley is almost always smooth and easy; art has often had 
to force an entrance into a transverse valley. On many of 
the high roads which link the principal with the secondary 
valleys, it has been found necessary to blow up long ridges 
of rock, to build terraces, to make stone-bridges and long 
galleries of rock as a protection against avalanches, as well 
as to erect places of shelter ( hospices ) from storms. The 
construction of these roads may be reckoned among the 
boldest and most skilful works of man. In crossing the A., 
several defiles (usually seven) have to be traversed; for in 
addition to the pass of the main crest, there are other defiles 
on both sides at the entrances of the different valleys. In 
the e., the number of these narrow passes or defiles is 
considerably increased. The names applied to the Alpine 
passes vary according to their natural features or the local 
dialect; as Pass, Sattel (Saddle), Joch (Yoke) Scheideck, 
Klause, Col, Chiusa. The traveller, in the course of a day’s 
journey, experiences a succession of climatic changes, with 
an equal variety in the manners of the people. 

No lofty mountains in the world are so easily crossed as 
the A. Hence we can understand how the plains of 
Upper Italy, accessible from the French, German, and 
Hungarian sides, have been the theatre of bloody strife for 
ages. The passage of the West A. is made by five prin¬ 
cipal roads: 1. The military road, La Corniche, a coast- 
road at the foot of the A. from Nice to Genoa, parallel to 
which a railway now runs. 2. The causeway over the 
Col-dbTenda, between Nice and Coni, made in 1778; high¬ 
est point, 5,290 ft. 3. The high-road over Mt. Genevre, 
connecting Provence and Dauphine with Turin; highest 
point, 6,550 feet. 4 The carriage-road made by Napoleon 
in 1805, over Mt Cenis, connecting Savoy with Piedmont; 
highest point, 6,770 ft. Near this the chain is pierced by 


ALPS. 

the railway tunnel. See Tunnel, and Cenis. 5. The pass 
of the Little St. Bernard, connecting Geneva, Savoy, and 
Piedmont; highest point, 7.190 ft. By this pass Hannibal 
crossed into Italy. It is not much used now. Besides these 
great roads there are many smaller ones branching from 
them, which form a network of communication. The pas¬ 
sage of the Middle A. is made by eight principal roads: 
1. That of the Great St. Bernard, connecting the valley of the 
Rhone with Piedmont; highest point, 8,170 ft. It was 
crossed by Napoleon in 1800. 2. The magnificent road 

over the Simplon, constructed by Napoleon, 1801-06. con¬ 
necting the Valais with the confines of Piedmont and Lom¬ 
bardy; highest point, 6,570 ft. 3. Between the Great St. 
Bernard and Monte Rosa is the Col of Mont Cervin, the 
loftiest pass in Europe, nearly 11,200 ft., connecting Pied¬ 
mont with the Valais. 4. The pass of St. Gothard, connect¬ 
ing Lucerne with Lago Maggiore; highest point, 6,800 ft. 
The borings of the railway tunnel met in 1880. 5. The 

Bernardin Pass, made 1819-23 by the Swiss Grisons and 
Sardinia; highest point, 6,800 ft. 6. The Splugen Pass, 
repaired in 1822, connecting the sources of the Rhine with 
the Adda. This pass was the one used by the Romans in 
their intercourse with the countries bordering on the 
Danube and the Rhine, and also by the German armies 
on their marches into Italy in the middle ages. 7. The 
Wormser Joch, also called the Orteles Pass, or Road, opened 
by Austria in 1824. It is the loftiest carriage-road in 
Europe, and connects the Tyrol with Lombardy. 8. The 
Brenner Pass, known to the Romans. It also connects the 
Tyrol with Lombardy; highest point, 4,650 ft. It is now 
crossed by a railway. Besides these great roads leading s. 
into Italy, there are two which lead n. from the valley of the 
Rhone, and cross the Bernese A., over the Grimsel Pass, 
6,500 ft high, and the Gemmi Pass, 7,400 ft. high. The 
roads over the East A. are much lower, and also much 
more numerous than those in the Middle or West A. 
The principal are—1. The road from Venice to Salzburg, 
crossing the Noric A. at an elevation of rather more than 
5,100 ft. 2. The road over the Carnic A., which divides 
into three branches—the first leading to Laybach; the sec¬ 
ond to the valley of the Isonzo, and the third to the valley 
of the Tagliamento. 3. The roads from the Danube at 
Linz to Laybach. 

Geology— The A. offer a rich field for geological investi¬ 
gations, the results of which hitherto may be thus summed 
up: The highest central mass—the Primary A., as they are 
called—that rises from the plain to the s.w. of Turin, and 
stretches in a mighty curve to the Neusiedlersee, in Hun¬ 
gary, consists chiefly of the crystalline rocks, gneiss and 
mica-slate, with a much smaller proportion of granite. 
Inclosed among the Central A. appear representatives of 
the carboniferous and jurassic formations, but so altered 
and become so crystalline that their age can cnly be guessed 
from a few remaining petrifactions, which are accompanied 
here and there by garnets. In the Graian, Pennine, and 
Rhoetian A. occur great masses of serpentine; in the n. of 
Voi. 1 — 19 


ALPS. 

Piedmont, and in the upper valley of the Adige, quartz- 
porphyry. In the e. there are, on the n. and s. sides of the 
chief range, vast deposits of clay-slate and grauwacke 
mixed with transition limestone. 

Beginning on the Mediterranean coast, and following in 
general the direction of the central chains, a belt of sedi¬ 
mentary rocks runs along the w. and n. sides to the neigh¬ 
borhood of Vienna. On the s. side a similar belt runs from 
Lake Maggiore to Agram. The undulating curves and 
colossal dislocations presented by these regions show that 
the form of their mountains must have been the result of a 
mighty force acting northward and southward from the 
Central A. In respect of age, these sedimentary or calcare¬ 
ous A. include all the members of the series of formations 
from magnesian limestone up to the lowest strata of the ter¬ 
tiary group. The s.e. portion of these calcareous moun¬ 
tains, forming the Julian A., consist mostly of cavernous 
rocks of the Jurassic and chalk groups, and are continued 
with this character into Dalmatia. 

Minerals .—Precious stones are found in abundance in the 
trap and primary mountains, especially in the region of the 
St. Gothard. The rock-crystal of St. Gothard has a world¬ 
wide reputation. Mining and smelting become more and 
more productive to the eastward. Switzerland itself is poor 
in useful ores. Gold and silver are found in Tyrol, Salzburg, 
and Carinthia; there are silver mines also in Styria and 
Illyria, and one near Grenoble, in France. Copper is found 
in the French A., in Tyrol, and Styria. The lead-mines 
near Villach, in Carinthia, yield yearly about 85,000 cwt. 
The yield of iron in Switzerland, Savoy, and Salzburg is 
small; Carinthia, on the other hand, produces 260,000 cwt, 
and Styria 450,000 cwt. Quicksilver is extracted at Idria, 
in Carniola, to the amount of 1,000-1,500 cwt. The Alpine 
region is rich in salt, especially at Hall in Tyrol, and Hal- 
lein in Salzburg. Coal is found in Switzerland, in Savoy, 
and in the French A., but in no great quantity; the Aus¬ 
trian A. are richer in this important mineral. The mineral 
springs, hot and cold, in the region of the A. are innumer¬ 
able. See Aix; Ischl: Leuk: Baden, etc. 

Animals .—The mountains present many peculiarities 
worthy of notice in the animal as well as in the vegetable 
kingdom. See Alpine Plants. On the sunny heights the 
number of insects is very great; the butterflies are especially 
numerous. There are few fishes, although trout are some¬ 
times caught in ponds even 6,000 ft. above the level of the 
sea. Although the lofty mountains are inhabited by eagles, 
hawks, and various species of owls, yet the birds are few in 
comparison with the numbers in the plains, and those few 
are mostly confined to the larger valleys. Among the quad¬ 
rupeds, the wild goat is sometimes, though rarely, met with; 
the chamois is more frequently seen, chiefly in the e. dis¬ 
tricts. 1 he marmot inhabits the upper Alpine regions. 
Wolves are seen more frequently in the w. than in the e.; 
*n the e. bears, lynxes, and wildcats are found, although 
constantly diminishing in number. Of the domestic ani- 
mals, goats and oxen are scattered everywhere in large 


ALPS. 

herds. There are fewer sheep and horses, and these not of 
good breeds. Mules and asses are used more frequently in 
the s. than in the n., especially as beasts of burden. Swine 
and dogs are not common; the latter are used almost solely 
by the herdsmen, or are kept in the hospices, to assist in 
searching for the unfortunate wanderers who may be lost in 
the snow. 

The Alpine mountains are rich in singularly beautiful 
natural scenery, of which the inhabitants of Hat countries 
can scarcely form an idea. Nature in the A. has an infinite 
variety of aspects. Here the hardened masses of the icy 
glacier cover the naked rock, avalanches are hurled into im¬ 
measurable abysses, the fall of rocks or mountain-slips 
overwhelm the dwellings, and cover the fields in the valleys; 
and in the e., the bora, with its hurricane strength, hurls 
before it the upraised masses of snow. There the sun 
glances upon the scattered silver threads of a water-fall, or 
mirrors himself in a glassy Jake, while his rising and his 
setting are announced to the expectant traveller by the ruddy 
glow on the snowy mountain-tops. The inhabitant of the 
A., surrounded on ever} 7 side by mountains, is uncon¬ 
sciously subdued by their presence, and receives from them 
a peculiar stamp of character; their dangers fascinate him 
as well as their charms. The most ceaseless variety of oc¬ 
cupation demands all his time and his thoughts; in the 
mountains he acknowledges bis only despots, who seize his 
soul, and lead it unresistingly. In his constant struggle 
with the elements, the Alpine dweller strengthens both his 
mind and his body; he opens his heart to the impressions 
of nature, he gives utterance to his childlike gladness 
in simple songs, and at the same time defends with self- 
sacrificing devotion his mountain-fortresses against for¬ 
eign aggression. But the manners and spirit of the neigh¬ 
boring plains have penetrated into the larger valleys with 
the dust of the highway. There the true Alpine life has more 
and more passed away. The simplicity and characteristic 
industry of the Alpine farms are now preserved only in the 
higher secondary valleys. 

Six states share the A. The w. portion is shared by 
France and Italy. Switzerland claims the Middle A. almost 
exclusively. Bavaria has only a small share. Austria has 
the largest share of the A.—in the provinces of Tyrol, 
Illyria, Styria, and the archduchy. The wide valleys open¬ 
ing to the e. allow the civilization of the plains to enter 
easily among the mountains. The value of the minerals, 
and the fertility of the soil, have permitted mining, manu¬ 
factures, and agriculture to take firm root, and a flourish¬ 
ing trade has caused large towns to take the place of mere 
Alpine villages. In the Tyrol, the pastoral life of the 
mountains has long been mixed up with the working of 
mines of salt or other minerals. The inhabitants of whole 
valleys are occupied in various branches of industry to a 
greater extent than in any other district of the A., and their 
sons travel far and near as artisans. See H. and A. Schla- 
gintweit, Pese irehes into the Physical Geography of the A. 
(Untermehungen uberdie Physikalische Geographie derAlpen), 
Leip. 1850. 


ALPUJ ARRAS—ALSACE. 

ALPUJ ARRAS, al-po-liar'rds [a corruption of an Arabic 
word which signifies ‘grass’—an allusion to the excellent 
pasturage]: name applied to all the valleyss. of the chief 
chain of the Sierra Nevada in s. Spain: it has been applied 
also to a range of mountains in Spain parallel to the Sierra 
Nevada, and approaching the Mediterranean Sea. Their 
s side is precipitous, but the n. slopes away into broad val¬ 
leys. They beffin in the w. at Motril, where they are sepa¬ 
rated by the Guadalfeo, from the lower Sierra de Holucar, 
and stretch as far e. as the river Aimeria. The range is 
divided into two parts by the Adra, each of which bears a 
particular name. The highest peaks reach an elevation of 
7,000 ft. On the n. side, owing to the copious rains, there 
is the richest pasturage, both in the deep vallevs and on the 
uplands. The s. slope, how r ever is almost destitute of trees 
or shrubs, with the exception of the fertile valleys near the 
sea, which are abundantly watered by numerous little 
streams. Here flourish, under an almost tropical climate, 
all the products of the s., <?ven the date-palm and the 
sugar cane. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in rear¬ 
ing sheep, and in cultivating the vine and other fruits. A 
little mining also goes on. Lead, antimony, and silver arc 
got. The Moorish element is still quite discernible in the 
population of this mountain region. 

ALQUIFOU, n. al'ki-fo [Sp. alquifol, potters’-ore ]: an • 
ore of lead called potters’-ore, giving a green varnish to 
pottery. 

ALREADY, ad. awl-red i [OE. al-redy: all and ready\: 
now; at this time; at some time past. 

ALRED, or Alredus: see Alured. 

ALSACE, dl-sds': c German dist., forming, with Lor¬ 
raine, an imperial territory (Reichsland), reunited (all but 
the small district of Belfort) to that country in 1871, after 
two centuries’ possession by France. It lies between the 
Rhine on the e. and the Vosges Mountains on the w., ex¬ 
tending s to Switzerland, and n. to Rhenish Bavaria, 3,360 
Eng. sq. m. It is exceedingly fertile; rich also in mines 
and manufactures; and contains the important cities of 
Strasburg, Colmar, and Miihlhausen. In Caesar’s time, A. 
was occupied by Celtic tribes; but during the decline of the 
empire, the Alemanni and other tribes from beyond the 
Rhine occupied and completely Germanized it. It after- 
wards formed part of the German empire, under various 
sovereign dukes and princes, latterly of the House of Haps- 
burg; till a part of it was ceded to France at the peace of 
Westphalia, and the rest fell a prey to the aggressions of 
Louis XIV., who seized Strasburg (1681) by surprise in 
time of peace. By the peace of llyswick (1697), the ces¬ 
sion of the whole was ratified. Thus—as the Germans 
used to complain—was this fine land, and one of the noblest 
branches of the race, alienated from the German people, 
and the command of the German Rhine disgracefully 
surrendered to the enemy in the time of misfortune, and, 
more disgraceful still, not demanded back when fortune 
favored. German never ceased to be the language of the 


ALSEN—ALSTRCE M E KIA. 

people, and all newspapers were, during the whole period 
of the French possession, printed in both languages. Pop. 
of Alsace-Lorraine (-1890) 1,603,506; (1900) 1,719,470. 

ALSEN, dV sen (Dan. Als ): island in the Baltic, in the 
Prussian province of Slesvig-Holstein, and extending from 
the Apenrade to the Flensborg Fiord; separated from the 
mainland by the Sound of A., in part very narrow and deep. 
Its greatest length is nearly 20 m.; its greatest breadth about 
12; lat ; 54’ 46 n., long. 9° 52 e. The island, one of the 
finest in the Baltic, has a picturesque appearance, is very 
fertile, with rich woods, and numerous lakes abounding in 
fish. Its fruit-trees are celebrated over all Slesvig. The 
Gravenstein apple, iu particular, is an important article of 
commerce. The chief towns are Sonderborg or Slidborg 
(South Town), and Norborg or Nordburg (North Town). 
The former has an excellent harbor. Pop. about 24,000. 
Close to the harbor are the ruins of an old and f amous castle 
belonging to the Augustenborg family. Here Christian II. 
of Denmark and Norway was confined, 1532-49. In the 
war of 1864, A. was taken by the Prussians from the Danes. 

ALSO, ad. aid'so [AS. ealles swa, all so]: likewise; in 
like manner. Als, in OE. f also; likewise.—S yn.: too; 
likewise; besides. 

ALSTER, dl'ster: river in Holstein, formed by the con¬ 
fluence of three streams, and, in the neighborhood of Ham¬ 
burg, spending itself out, and forming a lake, called the 
Great or Outer A., and within the town, the Inner A. It 
flows by several canals into the Elbe. 

ALSTON: see Aldstone. 

ALSTONITE, n. dl'stdn-lt: mineral, same as Bromlite, a 
barium and calcium carbonate; color, white, gray, cream, 
or pink; found iu galena mines in England. 

ALSTRCEME RIA, or Alstrcemer’s Lily: genus of 
plants of the natural order Amaryllidm (q.v.), and, accord¬ 
ing to Lindley, of the tribe Alstroemeriece; distinguished by 
fibrous—not bulbous—roots, and by having the outer seg¬ 
ments of the perianth different in form from the inner. In 
this genus, the two lower segments are somewhat tubular at 
the base, the capsules do not gape when ripe, are 3-valved 
or pulpy within, and the seeds globose. The leaves are 
twisted, so that what should be the upper surface, becomes 
the lower. The species are numerous, natives of the warmer 
parts of America. Many of them have tuberous roots. 
Some are sufficiently hardy to endure the open air in Brit¬ 
ain, and are admired ornaments of flower-gardens. Some 
have climbing or twining stems; among these is the salsilla 
(A. salsilla ), a plant of great beauty, with lanceolate leaves, 
a native of Peru, which is cultivated in the West Indies, and 
its tubers eaten like those of the potato. A. ovata , also a 
beautiful plant, with a slender twining stem, and ovate 
leaves, is cultivated in Chili for its tubers, which are used 
as food. The tubers weigh from 3 to 6 ounces. A kind of 
arrow-root is also prepared in Chili from the succulent roots 
of A. pallida and other species. 


ALT—ALTAR. 

ALT or ALTO, n. alt, alto [It.—from L. aUus, high], 
the highest note that can be sung with the natural voice by 
men; the part sung by the lowest female voices; a voice 
intermediate between tenor and soprano. In alt, said of 
the sounds of the treble stave, from G up to F. 

ALTAI, al-tl', The, or Altai Mountains: one of the 
four parallel chains which constitute the skeleton of Eastern 
High Asia, covering the great table-land. The A. forms an 
alpine girdle, intersected by wide valleys traversed by many 
streams, among which are the Tez River, flowing w. to the 
Ubsa Nor (lake), and the Kobdo, flowing s. to the Tke Aral 
Lake. The general direction of the range is from w to e., 
about the parallel of 50° n. It extends between the meridi¬ 
ans of 84° and 100° e. On the e., the A. is separated from 
the Daurian mountain-system by lakes Kosgol and Baikal; 
on the w. it terminates in the Katunsk Mountains, a small 
isolated group, in which Mount Beluka rises to 12,790 ft., 
far above the line of perennial snow, with extensive glaciers 
on its w. flanks. The climate of the A. is not so severe as 
might be inferred from its position. The winters are fre¬ 
quently mild, and comparatively little snow falls. The 
mountain slopes are covered with rich grass, and their flanks 
are in many parts adorned by magnificent cedar forests. 
Stags, hares, and wolves abound in the lower, and bears in 
the higher portions of the range. The A. is celebrated for 
its gold, silver and lead mines. Barnaul, on the n. slope of 
the range, is the chief minirg town; and the village of 
Zeminogorski, s. of Barnaul, is in the centre of the richest 
silver mines in the Russian empire. Jasper is found near 
the summits, red porphyry lower down, and granite still 
lower. Around Lake Baikal are numerous granitic masses, 
interspersed with newer igneous formations. N. of the 
Ubsa Nor (lake), the Tangnu Ula Mountains, connected 
with the A. on the n., rise to upwards of 11,000 feet. They 
furnish abundance of excellent white marble. 

ALT AMU RA, dl-ta-mo' ra: town of s. Italy, 28 m. s.w. 
of Bari; at the e. base of the Apennines. It has a magnifi¬ 
cent cathedral. The surrounding country is fertile, pro¬ 
duces much oil and wine, and abounds in rich pastures. 
Pop. 20,000. 

ALTAR, n. awl ter [OF. auter and alter —from L. aHare, 
an altar for sacrifice—from L. altus, high: perhaps con¬ 
nected with Icel. eldr, fire; am, a hearth; or AS. ern, a 
place]: a small.square or round erection of turf, wood, or 
stone, varying in height, on which animals were burnt— 
these were called sacrifices; a name sometimes given to the 
communion-table. Altarage, n. awl'ter-dj, profits arising 
to priests from oblations. Al tar piece, a painting or 
decoration placed over an altar. Al' tar-cloth, in a 
church, the cloth laid over an altar. Led to the altar, 
brought there for the rites of marriage, said of a woman; 
married. 

ALTAR: a small erection of stone, wood, or turf, whereon 
offerings were laid in the religious w r orsliip of ancient 
Israel, and of heathen uations. The first on record is that 


ALTAR. 


which Noah built on leaving the ark. The Israelites, after 
the giving of the Law, were commanded to make an A. It 
appears from the Old Testament (1 Kings, iii. 3; 1 Kings, 
xi. 7; 2 Kings, xxiii. 15), that altars were often erected on 
high places—sometimes, also, on the roofs of houses. In 
the Jewish tabernacle and temple, each, there were two 
altars, one for sacrifices, and another for incense. For 
minute description of these, see Exodus, Leviticus, and 
Numbers. The Jewish and oriental altars were generally 
either square, oblong, or approximating to those shapes; 
those of Greece and Rome were often round. Heathen sacri¬ 
fices were offered to the infernal gods, not on altars, but in 
cavities dug in the ground. 

The word has been 



transferred into the 
Christian system. For 
upwards of five centu¬ 
ries, altars in the 
Christian churches 
were, for the most 
part, made of wood; 
but in 509, it was de¬ 
creed by the council 
at Epone, in France, 
that none should be 


Roman Altars. 


consecrated with chrism except those built of stone. In 
the first ages of Christianity, there was not more than one 
A. in a church; but, from a ver}^ early time, the Latins have 
used more than one. In the 12th c., the adorning of 
churches with images and numerous altars was carried to a 
great extent, and they were embellished with gold, silver, 
and precious stones. The Greek Church use but one A. 
Altars were frequently placed at the w. end of the ancient 
churches, instead of the e., but in England almost uniformly 
in the e. The only perfect A. of the old times in England 
is the high A. of Arundel Church, Sussex. The slab is 12 
ft. 6 in. long, by 4 ft. wide, and 24 in. thick. The sup¬ 
port is of solid stone, quite plain, and plastered over. Tur- 
tullian (latter half of 2d c.) uses the word A. to denote the 
Lord’s Table, and this was the usage probably from much 
before his time for nearly 300 years; subsequently ‘ table’ 
and ‘altar’ were used indifferently. In the first Prayer- 
book of king Edward, 1549, the word A. was used in the 
Rubric, and the Lord’s Supper was still called the Mass; 
but in 1550, an order was issued for the setting up of tables 
instead of altars, and in the second Prayer-book of 1552 the 
word altar was everywhere replaced by table. The table was 
further ordered to be wood and movable. In Mary’s reign 
the altars were re-erected; but in Queen Elizabeth’s, some 
were riotously pulled down, and injunctions were then is¬ 
sued directing that this should not be done, except under the 
oversight of the curate and at least one churchwarden. It 
was charged against Archbishop Laud that he had con¬ 
verted communion-tables into altars. What he really did 
was to remove the tables out of the body of the church, and 
place them ‘altarwise,’ i.e., n. and s.. at the upper end of 






























PLATE 11 


Altar 

Alternate 



Altar. —Tomb of the Black Prince, 
Canterbury Cathedral. 


Alternate Leaves. 



Wooden Altar - table, time of 
James I., St. Clement’s Church, Town- 
stall. Devonshire. 


Gothic Altar.—Church o£ St. Wau- 
dru, Mons. 






























































































ALTAZIMUTH—ALTDORFER. 

the chancels, where the altars formerly stood; and a dog 
having on one occasion run away with a piece of the conse¬ 
crated bread, he directed that rails should be erected to pre¬ 
vent such desecration in future. The old stone altars used 
frequently to be made in the shape of tombs, and they in¬ 
closed relics; this was from the early Christians having 
often celebrated the eucharist at the tombs of the martyrs, 
or, as others say, they were thus made with the design of 
representing Christ’s humanity as having been real, and 
vouched for by the fact of his body lying in the tomb. The 
Credence Table and Piscina are adjuncts of an A. In Eng¬ 
land, by the judgment in the Arches Court, 1845, in the 
case of Faulkner v. Litchfield, it was decided that altars may 
not be erected in churches. This case arose out of the 
erection, by the Cambridge Camden Society, of a stone A. 
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in that town. 

The old English divines, and, indeed, all Protestant 
ecclesiastical writers of any importance, are unanimous in 
the opinion that among Christians the word cannot mean 
what the Jews and heathens expressed by it. The later 
fathers used various phrases to denote the solemnity which 
should attach to the communion-table, such as ‘ the Mysti¬ 
cal and Tremendous Table,’ ‘the Mystical Table,’ ‘the 
Holy Table,’ etc. And they termed it an A., because, first, 
the holy eucharist was regarded as a kind of commemora¬ 
tive sacrifice, or, more properly, a consecrated memorial be¬ 
fore God of the great sacrifice on Calvary; and, second, the 
prayers of the communicants were held to be in themselves 
sacrifices or oblations—sacrifices of thanksgiving, c.z it were. 
This is the view of those who hold high-church opinions, 
but does not exclude the other view. Again, they termed it 
a table when the eucharist was considered exclusively in the 
light of a sacrament, to be partaken of by believers ae spirit¬ 
ual food. In the former case the sacrifice was commemo¬ 
rated; in the latter it was applied; in the former it expressed 
more directly the gratitude; in the latter, more directly the 
faith of the Christian. 

ALTAZIMUTH, n. alt-dz'i-muth [L. altus, high; and 
azimuth ]: an instr. for taking azimuths and altitudes simul¬ 
taneously—the form most generally used being that called 
the theodolite. See Azimuth. 

ALTDORFER, alt'dor-fer , Albrecht: 1488-1538; b. 
Altdorf, Bavaria; d. Ratisbon: painter and engraver. He 
is said to have been a pupil of Albert D.urer; but this is not 
certain. He belongs, however, to that religious school of 
artists of which Diirer was the head. His pictures are 
also animated by a glowing and romantic spirit of poetry, 
delightful to one who appreciates the conditions of old Ger¬ 
man life. The landscape is delineated with the same truth 
and tenderness as the figures; a rich manifold life pervades 
the scenes, and everything is handled with the utmost deli 
cacy. His masterpiece, now in Munich, is The Victory 
of Alexander over Darius, a painting which, it is said, 
affects the beholder like a heroic poem. As an engraver, A. 
is reckoned among the lesser masters. 


ALTEA—ALTEN-OTTING. 

ALTEA, al-td'a: seaport of Valencia, Spain; 25 m. n.e. 
from Alicante. Pop. 6,000. 

ALTEN, dl ' ten , Karl August, Count of: 1764, Oct. 20 
—1840, April 20: one of the chief Hanoverian generals in 
the French and German war. He entered the army in 1781, 
and gained distinction at the siege of Valenciennes, and in 
the decisive engagement at Hondschooten. He was first 
lieutenant in 1800, but, on account of the unhappy capitula¬ 
tion at Lauenburg, found it advisable to leave Hanover, and 
came to England. Here he was made commander of the 
first light battalion in the German Legion (1803); and was 
in many battles, notably in the siege of Badajoz and the 
battle of Albuera, and in almost all the engagements of the 
Spanish war of liberation—at Salamanca, Vittoria, the Py¬ 
renees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthez, Toulouse, etc. A. had the 
command of a corps of 30,000 men, stationed near Madrid, 
in 1812. He fought with great distinction at Quatre-Bras and 
at Waterloo, where he was severely wounded, after greatly 
contributing to the decision of the battle. Returning to 
Hanover, he was made minister of war, and in this capacity 
died. 

ALTEN A, al ' te - nd : town of Westphalia, Prussia, 40 m. 
n.e. of Cologne, in a deep and picturesque valley. It mam* 
factures needles, pins, and hardware. Pop. (1890) 10,488. 

ALTENBURG, dl ' len - boorg ' : cap. of the duchy of Saxe- 
Altenburg; in a fertile country, about 24 m. from Leipzig. 
On an almost perpendicular rock of porphyry, the old castle 
of A. is a striking feature in the landscape Its foundations 
are probably as old as the 11th c. A. has several excellent 
educational institutions, a museum, and a theatre. Brushes, 
gloves, and cigars are among the chief manufactures carried 
on in A., and the book-trade is considerable. A railway 
connects it with Leipzig and Bavaria. Pop. (1900)37,110. 

ALTENGAARD, al ' ten - gord ' , or Alten: seaport town, 
prov. of Finmarken, Norway; at the mouth of the river 
Alten; lat. 69° 55' n., long. 23° 4' e. Northward from this 
point, no cultivation is attempted; and even here, potatoes 
and barley alone are produced. A. has a harbor and con¬ 
siderable trade. It is visited principally by Russian and 
Norwegian vessels. Pop. about 1,000. 

ALTEN-OTTING, or Altotting, -et'ting: a place oi 
pilgrimage not far from the Inn; in one of the most beautiful 
and fertile plains of upper Bavaria. It may be called the Lo- 
retto of Germany, being frequented by thousands of Rom. 
Catholics from Austria, Bavaria, and Swabia, on account of 
a famous image of the Virgin Mary (the ‘ Black Virgin’) 
which it possesses; it has also an extraordinarily rich treasure 
of gold, silver, and precious stones. A. was the headquarters 
for Germany of the Redemptorist fathers from 1838 till their 
expulsion in 1873. There is also a Capuchin monastery 
here. A. was originally a villa regia. Several German em¬ 
perors, such as Henry III. and Henry IV., held their court 
here. The emperor Leopold I., and other princes of the 
house of Hapsburg, made pilgrimages to it. A chapel, 
called Tilly’s or Peter’s Chapel/contains the tomb of Count 


AL TER—ALTERCATE. 

Tilly who was buried here at his own request. Maximilian 
I. and numerous other princes and princesses of the Bava' 
ri^sfanniy have had their hearts interred in it. Pop. 

ALTER, v. awl'Ur [L. alter, another; altero, I change: 
F. alterer, to alter— lit., to make a thing other than what it 
is]: to change; to vary; to make different in some way. 
Al tering^ imp. Altered, pp. awl'terd. Alterable, 
a awl ter-a-bl , capable of being changed; that may be 
varied. Al terably, ad. -Mi. Alterableness, n. awl' 
ter-d-bl nes, or Alterability, n. awl'ter-d-bil'i-ti, the 
capacity for being changed. Alteration, n. awl'ter-d'shun, 
a varying in some way; a change. Alterative, a. awl'- 
Ur-dtiv, having the power to change or alter: N. a medi¬ 
cine supposed to have the power of producing changes in 
the constitution or habit of body. 

ALTERATIVES, awl'ter-d'tivz, in Medicine: remedies 
that have the power of changing the state of the living solids 
of the body, and consequently of altering their functions. 
Ihe term is generally applied, however, to medicines which 
in fuff dosec are irritant, but which almost imperceptibly 
alter disordered actions or secretions, by acting specially on 
certain glands, or upon absorption in general, when they 
are given in comparatively small doses through a con¬ 
siderable time. For example, mercury is an irritant in some 
of its preparations; but when small doses of blue-pill, Plum¬ 
mer’s pill, or corrosive sublimate are given at intervals for 
some time, they ‘ produce alteration in disordered actions, so 
as to cause an improvement in the nutrient and digestive 
functions, the disappearance of eruptions, and the removal 
of thickening of the skin or of other tissues ’ (Royle); and 
tney will effect these changes without otherwise affecting 
the constitution or inducing salivation. So iodine, also an 
irritant in concentrated doses, and poisonous in some forms, 
is most useful v'hen given in small doses in effecting the re¬ 
duction of enlarged glandular organs, and need not cause 
iodism if carefully given. 

The preparations of gold are likewise stimulants of the 
absorbents, and are used in cases of scrofula. Some 
preparations of arsenic are powerful A. in cases of skin- 
disease. So also are the decoctions of the woods and theii 
substitutes, such as decoction of sarsaparilla, and the like, 
which, when taken in large quantities of water, must operats 
partly by their diluting and solvent properties, and partly 
by the stimulant effect of the active principles of the several 
ingredients in these diet-drinks, conveyed into the capillaries. 

Thus the term A. rather implies the method in which 
some drugs are administered than any special alterative 
action inherent in them. The most useful are also the 
most dangerous in unskilled hands. 

ALTERCATE, v. al'ter-kdt' [L. altercdtus, contended, 
disputed—from alter, another— lit., to have a debate with 
another]: to contend in words; to wrangle. Altercating, 
imp. Al terca ted, pp. Altercation, n. dl'ter-ka'shun 
[F.]: a contention in words; a wrangling.— Syn. of ‘alter 


ALTERNATE—ALTO. 

cation’: quarrel; difference; dispute; affray or fray; broil, 
feud; contest; wrangle. 

ALTERNATE, v. alter'nat [L. alter natus, anything 
done by turns—from alter, another]: to do by turns; to 
happen by turns; to change in succession: Adj. that suc¬ 
ceeds or follows by turns; first on one side, then on another. 
Alter nating, imp. Alter nated, pp. Alter nately, 
ad. -11. Alter nant, a. in geol., in alternating layers. 
Alternation, n. dl'ter-na shun, the act of doing by turns; 
the act of taking one and leaving one in succession. Alter¬ 
native, a. alter nd-tlv, offering a choice of two things.^ N. 
of two things, an offer to take the one and leave the other; 
often used, but incorrectly, of more than two. Alter'- 
natively, ad. -li. Alter nativeness, n. Alternate 
angles, in gecm., two similar angles not adjacent, but on 
opposite sides of an intersecting line. Alternate genera¬ 
tion, a mode of reproduction among the lowest animal 
types, in which the young do not resemble the parent, but 
the grand parent. See Generations, Alternation of. 

ALTERNATE, in Botany: see Leaves. 

ALTH.E A: see Marsh Mallows and Hollyhock. 

ALTHORP, Lord: see Spencer. John Charles, Earl. 

ALTHOUGH, conj. awl-tho [all and though ]: notwith¬ 
standing; though. 

ALTIMETER, n. dl-time-ter [L. altus, high: Gr. metron, 
a measure]: an instrument for taking heights. Altim'etry, 
n. -e-tri, art of measuring heights. 

ALTITUDE, n. dl'tl-tud [L. altitudo, height, altitude— 
from altus, high.: It. alto J: height, as of a mountain; 
extension upwards; highest point. In astronomy, A. is the 
height of a heavenly body above the horizon. It is 
measured, not by linear distance, but by the angle which a 
line drawn from the eye to the heavenly body makes with 
the horizontal line, or by the arc of a vertical circle 
intercepted between the body and the horizon. Altitudes 
are taken in observatories by means of a telescope attached 
to a graduated circle (see Circle), fixed vertically. The 
telescope being directed toward the body to be observed, the 
angle which it makes with the horizon is rea'd on the 
graduated circle. The A. thus observed must receive 
various corrections—the chief being for parallax (q.v.) and 
refraction (q.v.)—in order to get the true A. At sea, the 
A. is taken by means of a sextant, (q.v.), and then it has 
further to be corrected for the dip of the visible horizon 
below the true horizon. See Horizon. The correct 
determination of altitudes is of great importance in most of 
the problems of astronomy and navigation. See Longitude. 

An Altitude and Azimuth Instrument consists 
essentially of a vertical circle with its telescope so arranged 
as to be capable of being turned round horizontally to any 
point of the compass. It thus differs from a transit circle 
(q.v.), which is fixed in the meridian. See Azimuth. 

ALTO, alto (contralto deciso): the deepest or lowest 
species of musical voice in boys, in eunuchs, and best of all 





ALT-OFEN—ALTON. 

in females, where its beauty of tone gives it the preference. 
Its powers of expression are quite peculiar, and cannot be 
supplied by any other kind of voice. Its tone-character 
(timbre) is serious, spiritual, tender, and romantic. The 
low A. in particular has a fulness of tone combined with 
power in the lower range, and is admirably fitted to express 
religious resignation. The high A. has generally the same 
range of compass as the mezzo-soprano, but differs from it 
in the position of the cantabile and in its character of tone. 
A. voices generally consist of two registers, the lower 
beginning at F or G below middle C, and reaching as high 
as the A or B above the octave C. The higher notes up to 
the next F or G partake more of the character of the soprano. 
See Alt: Voice. 

ALT-OFEN, alt-dfen: town of Hungary, practically a 
suburb of Ofen or Buda (q. v.), now incorporated with Pesth 
as Budapest. 

ALTOGETHER, ad. awl'loo-geth'er [all and together ]: 
wholly; entirely. 

ALTON, awl'ton: city, Madison co., Ill.; on the left bank 
of the Mississippi river, eight m. above its confluence with 
the Missouri, 24 m. n. of St. Louis. It has railroad connec¬ 
tions with Chicago and other important centres via the 
Chicago & Alton; Illinois & St. Louis; and St Louis, Rock 
Island & Chicago railroads. With a fine river front of 
nearly 2 m., A. rises irregularly to a height of 225 ft in 
its highest portion; it is drained by Piasa Creek, which flows 
from springs in the highlands above the city. It is very 
handsomely laid out, the business streets being parallel with 
the river, in the lower part of the city, while fine residences 
have been built on the slopes of the hill and on the bluff 
overlooking the river. The principal trade is in the farming 
products of the rich surrounding country, in the coal mines 
in the neighborhood, and in the lime and building stone 
which are plentiful beneath and about the city. Ferries 
connect the two sides of the river, and steamboats ply 
between A. and other towns on the Mississippi. There are 
four large flour mills in A., a tobacco factory, glass works, 
saw and planing-mills, an iron foundry, organ factory, 
manufactory of agricultural implements, and other 
industries. There are 5 public schools; Shurtleff College 
(Bapt.) in Upper A., chartered 1835; Rom. Cath. cathedral; 
2 daily and 4 weekly newspapers; public library; state 
penitentiary; and 1 national bank (cap. $100,000). The 
total valuation 1891 was $1,707,475; debt $60,500. Pop, 
(1880) 8,978; (1890) 10,294; (1900) 14,210. 

ALTON: town of Hampshire, Eng., near the Wey, 16 
m. n.e. of Winchester. The church was erected in the 
reign of Henry VII., and is in tne perpendicular style. 
Bombazines were formerly manufactured here. Good 
hops are grown in the neighborhood, and there are large 
breweries in the town, the ale of which is much es¬ 
teemed. Pop. (1871) 4,092; (1831) 4,510; (1891) 4,671. 

ALTON, al'ton, Jos. Wilhelm Eduard d’: 1772-1840; 


ALTONA—ALTOONA. 

b. Aquileia: Prof. Archaeology and the History of Art at 
Bonn. In early years his attention was directed to natural 
history, especially that of the horse, on which he published 
a splendid illustrated work {Naturgeschichte des Pferdes, 
Bonn, 1810), completed in 1817. In concert with his friend 
Pander, he projected an extensive work on comparative 
osteology, of which the first division was published at Bonn 
1821-28. His etchings of animals, etc., are highly esteemed. 
Albert, the late Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, was a 
pupil of A. in the history of art. 

ALTONA, al'to-nd: largest and richest city in the 
Prussian prov. of Slesvig-Holstein; on the Elbe, so near 
Hamburg that the two cities are divided by only the state- 
boundaries. A. lies higher than Hamburg, and is much 
healthier; but is without the numerous canals necessary 
for the transport of goods, with which Hamburg is well 
provided. Commercially, it forms one city with Hamburg. 
Its trade extends to England, France, the Mediterranean 
Sea, and the Indies. In 1882, 537 sea-going vessels entered 
the port. There are many important industrial establish¬ 
ments in A.; tobacco is largely manufactured, one factory 
working up 600,000 lbs. yearly. A. is a free port, and 
enjoys many privileges in respect of trade, and also of civil 
freedom; all sects are allowed free exercise of their religion. 
The city is connected by a railway with Kiel, Rendsburg, 
and Gliickstadt. The observatory is a private institution, 
which gained a great reputation under the direction of 
Schumacher, who died in 1851. The rise of A. to its 
present importance has been recent and rapid, for a con¬ 
tinental town. Pop. (1891) 143,249; (1900) 161,501. 

ALTOONA, dl-to'nd: city in Blair co , Penn., on the 
Pennsylvania railroad, at the e. base of the Alleghany Mts., 
here crossed by the railroad: 117 m from Pittsburgh, 131 
from Harrisburg, and abt. 235 from Philadelphia. It has 
importance as a great railroad centre, here being located the 
principal offices and the extensive machine shops of the 
Pennsylvania railroad company, in which locomotives and 
cars are manufactured, and in which over 2,000 men are 
employed. Besides these works, there are also extensive 
planing-mills and a large rolling-mill. The city was laid 
out in 1849, and contains 75 m. of streets, planted with 
shade-trees. There are water works, owned by the city, 
supplying water by gravitation, and the city is lighted by 
gas. There is one place of amusement, and modest 
municipal buildings. A is chiefly notable for the fine 
scenery about it, and for the many and varied natural 
attractions afforded to the traveller by the Pennsylvania 
railroad Its elevatio* is 1,208 ft. above the level of the 
sea. The journey by rail to the summit discloses some of 
the most wonderful engineering achievements of the country. 
The ‘horseshoe’ curve is familiar to tourists as presenting 
an extraordinary railroad feature. At the top of the 
mountain is a tunnel more than 3,500 ft. long, through 
which the railroad passes. There are about 20 churches, a 
public library, a Rom. Cath convent, public schools, and 


ALTORF—ALTO-RILIEVO. 

11 newspapers of which four are daily; there are four 
banks. Pop. (1890) 30,269; (1900) 38,973. 

ALTORF, dl'iorf: chief town in the Swiss canton Uri; a 
sheltered spot at the base of the Grunberg, about 2 m. from the 
head of the Lake of the Four Cantons. It is well built, having 
several open places, a church, a nunnery, and the oldest 
Capuchin monastery in Switzerland. The little tower on 
which the exploits of William Tell are painted in rude 
frescoes is known to be older than the legend of Tell. The 
lime-tree under which the scene of the shooting of the apple 
was laid was removed in 1567, and a stone fountain erected 
in its stead. Situated on the St. Gothard road, A. has some 
transit trade, but little or no industry of its own. Pop. abt. 
3,000. 

ALTO-RILIEVO, n. dl'td-ri-le-vd [L. altus; It. rilievo, 
raised or embossed work]: term used in sculpture to 
designate that mode of representing objects by which 
they are made to project strongly and boldly from the 
background, without being entirely detached. In alto- 
rilievo, some portions of the figures usually stand quite 
free, and in this respect it differs from basso-rilievo [It. 
basso , low], or bass-relief, or low-relief, and from the in¬ 
termediate kind of relief known as mezzo-relievo, in which 
the figures are fully rounded, but where there are no 
detached portions. In order to be in high-relief, objects 
ought actually to project somewhat more than half their 
thickness, no conventional means being employed in this 
style to give them apparent prominence. In bass-relief, on 
the oth-T hand, the figures are usually flattened; but means 
are adopted to prevent the projection from appearing to the 
eye to be less than half; because if an object be seen to 
project less than half, i.e. to be more than half buried in the 
background, it will be obvious that its true outline or 
profile cannot be represented. This rule, that in all reliefs 

there shall be either 
a real or an apparent 
projection of at least 
half the thickness of 
round objects, was 
strictly observed in 
the best period of 
Greek art, but has 
been often neglected 
in the execution of 
reliefs in later times, 
and hence some at 
tempts at foreshort' 
ening and perspec¬ 
tive have partially 
failed. 

Relief forms an in- 
Winged Bull. termediate stage be¬ 

tween plastic art and 
painting, the mode of representation being borrowed from the 
former, while the mode of arrangement is to some extent fronj 











ALTO-RILIEVO. 

the latter. The plastic principle occupies the most prominent 
place in the simple and tranquil reliefs of the earlier art of 
Greece, whereas the pictorial principle preponderates in the 
crowded and often excited scenes represented in the later 
Roman reliefs. In reliefs produced in modern times, the 
one element or the other has prevailed, according as the 
one model or the other has been followed. The works re¬ 
covered from the ruins of Persepolis, Nineveh, and Baby¬ 
lon still attest the extensive employment of relief in Persian 
and Assyrian art. Of the latter, which usually belongs to 
the class of mezzo rilievo, some of the finest specimens in ex¬ 
istence are now to be seen in the British Museum. Though 
never exhibiting the life and freedom of classical or modern 
European art, the elaborately executed and majestic reliefs 
of these semi-oriental nations are greatly in advance not 
only of the whimsical distortions of nature exhibited by 
the Hindus, but of the inanimate and motionless represen¬ 
tations of the Egyptians. 

The earliest Greek reliefs possessed a hard and severe 
character, somew T hat approaching + o the art of those earlier 
nations of which we have just spoken, and were very slightly 
raised. Of this an instance is in the two lions over the gate 
at Mycenae—probably the oldest Greek relief in existence. 
It was Phidias who gave to relief its true character, and 
finally brought it to a degree of perfection which it has 
never since attained. The alti rilievi which adorned the 
metopes of the Parthenon at Athens, and the Temple of 
Apollo at Phigalia in Arcadia, now preserved in the British 
Museum, are still not only unsurpassed, but unapproached 
as examples of the style. In none of these do w r e see any 
attempt at perspective, and even foreshortening for the most 
part is avoided. 

Under the Romans, sculpture was employed to an enor¬ 
mous extent in the decoration of tombs and sarcophagi, 
whole streets of such monuments being constructed, as, for 
example, on the Appian Way. The result of the demand 
thus created was, that sculpture became a manufacture 
rather than an art, and attempts were made to supply 
by technical execution and mere mass what had been 
lost in thought and spirit. Relief was applied, often by 
Greek artists resident in Italy, to purposes for which the 
Greeks, in their own land and in their better times, had 
rightly deemed it unsuited. Behind figures standing nearly 
free, a second rank was introduced, and those numerous ex 
amples of a false style, still to be found in every gallery in 
Europe, were produced, the imitation of which afterwards 
led to such a lavish expenditure of artistic talent in Italy. 
The attempt which the Romans had made to invade the 
province of painting, by means of sculpture, was carried 
still further by the Florentine artists of the 16th and 17th c. 
Not only were several rows of figures represented in perspec¬ 
tive, but even landscape was introduced with a success 
which, in the hands of such artists as Ghiberti, was posi¬ 
tively marvellous. If the highest perfection in the true 
plastic style of relief was attained by Phidias in the metopes 
f)f the Parthenon at Athens, a corresponding merit may be 


ALTRINGHAM— ALUDEL. 

claimed as regards the degenerate pictoiial style by Ghi- 
berti in the celebrated bronze doors of the Baptistery of San 
Giovanni at Florence. Even Canova’s reliefs partook to 
tar too great an extent of the character of paintings in stone- 
and to Flaxman, and above all, to Tborwaldsen, must be 
assigned the merit of restoring this style of art to its genu* 
me and original principles. It is to be remembered, in 



Panathenaic Frieze.—From the Parthenon. 


studying the reliefs of classical times, that, studiously as the 
Greeks avoided a pictorial conception of their subject, they 
did not eschew the use of color where it could be employed 
to heighten the effect of their reliefs. There is reason to 
believe that in many excellent examples the background 
w T as painted blue, and that the hems of the garments of the 
figures, and the like, were often colored or gilded. 

ALTRINGHAM, al'iring-am: market town of Cheshire, 
England, on Bowden Downs, 8 m. s.w. from Manchester, on 
the Cheshire Midland railway, and near the Duke of Bridge¬ 
water’s canal, which has contributed greatly to its prosperity. 
It is an attractive and healthful town. Pop. (1891) 12,424. 

ALTRUISM, n. al’tro-izm [It. altrui, other persons, 
other; L. alter , another, the other]: the state of being re¬ 
gardful of the interests and good of others; the carrying 
out the principles of the golden rule; the opposite of ego¬ 
ism; benevolence. Al'truis Tic, a. is'tik, regardful of the 
interests and good of others, the opposite of egoistic; benef¬ 
icent; benevolent. 

ALUDEL, n. al'U-del [OF. and Sp.—from Ar. al-uthal , 

E rob. utensil]: pear-shaped glass or earthen pot open at 
oth ends so that several could be fitted in series. It re¬ 
sembled an alembic, and was used in subliming metals b$ 
th« old chemists. 









ALUM. 

ALUM, n. dl -■iim [L. alumen, alum; Gr. ( h)als , salt]: a 
white saline substance used in medicine and dyeing; a 
double sulphate of potash and alumina; in chem., several 
other salts of similar constitution are also called alums. 
Alumed, a. dl'umd, imbued or mixed with alum. Alu¬ 
mina, n. d-lumi-nd, or Alumine, n. -min, the clay, loam, 
or other substance from which alum is obtained; pure 
alumina consists of oxygen and the new metal now called 
aluminum. Aluminiform, a. dl'6-min i-fawrm [L. alumen, 
forma, shape]: formed like alumina. Aluminiferous, a. 
d-ld'min-if er-us [L. alumen, fero, I produce]: containing 
alum. Alu'minous, a of or relating to alum. Aluminite, 
n. drlo'mi nit, a mineral of a silver or yellowish white 
color. Aluminum, n. dLo'mi-num, or Aluminium, n. 
dl'o-min'i-um, the metallic base of alumina—as a metal, 
now manufactured to a considerable extent. Alum-root, 
two different species of American plants possessing as¬ 
tringent properties. Alum-stone, a mineral of a white, 
grayish, or reddish color, from which much of the best 
alum is procured. 

ALUM: white saliue substance, with a sweetish astrin¬ 
gent taste; properly a double salt, composed of sulphate of 
potash and sulphate of alumina, which, with a certain propor¬ 
tion of water, crystallize together in octahedrons or in cubes; 
formula K 2 SO 4 AI 23 SO 424 H 2 O. A. is soluble in 18 times its 
weight of cold water, and in its own weight of hot w 7 ater. 
The solution thus obtained is strongly acid to colored test- 
papers. When heated, the crystals melt in their water of 
crystallization and when the water is completely driven off 
by heat, there is left a spongy wiiite mass, called burnt A. 
or anhydrous A. A. is much used as a mordant in dyeing: 
this property it owes to the alumina in it, w 7 hich has a 
strong attraction for textile tissues, and also for coloring- 
matters. The manufacturer of the colors or paints called 
lakes depends on this latter property of alumina. Thus, if a 
solution of A. is colored w-ith cochineal or madder, and am¬ 
monia, or carbonate of soda is added, the alumina of the A. 
is precipitated with the color attached to it, and the liquid 
is left colorless. Alumina, the basis of pure clay—w r bich 
is a silicate of alumina—derives its name from being first 
extracted from A. A is used also in preparation of leather 
from skins, and in medicine as a powerful astringent for 
arresting bleeding and mucous discharges. Its use in 
the making of bread, to give a white appearance and 
more pleasing consistence to bread made from indifferent 
flour, is highly objectionable, as injurious to health. A. 
rarely occurs in a nature, except in a few springs and in some 
extinct volcanoes, where it appears to be formed from the 
action of sulphurous acid vapors on felspathic rocks. In 
Britain it is prepared artificially from A.-shale, obtained 
from coal mines at Hurlelt and Campsie, near Glasgow; 
and A.-slate, which occurs at Whitby, in Yorkshire, form¬ 
ing precipitous cliffs which extend about 30 m. along the e. 
coast of England. The alum-slate, shale, or schist, con¬ 
sists mainly of clay (silicate of alumina), iron pyrites (bisul- 
phuret of iron), and coaly or bituminous matter. When the 


ALUM—ALUM BAGH. 

shale is exposed to the air—as it is in the old coal-wastes 01 
mines from which the coal has been extracted—the oxygen 
of the air, assisted by moisture, effects a decided change 
upon it. The original hard stony substance begins to split 
up into thin leaves, and becomes studded over and inter¬ 
spersed with crystals. The latter are the result of the 
oxidation of the sulphur of the pyrites into sulphuric 
acid, and the iron into oxide of iron, both of which in 
part combine to form sulphate of iron, while the excess 
of the sulphuric acid unites with the alumina of the clay, 
and produces sulphate of alumina. When the alum- 
shale thus weathered is digested in water, there dissolve 
out the sulphate of alumina, A1 2 3S0 4 , and sulphate of 
iron, FeS0 4 ; this solution is treated with chloride of potas¬ 
sium (KC1), which decomposes the sulphate of iron, forming 
sulphate of potash (K 2 S0 4 ), and protochloride of iron 
(FeCl 2 ). When this liquid is evaporated to concentration, 
and allowed to cool, crystals of A., leaving the composi¬ 
tion above described, separate out, and the protochloride of 
iron is left in the solution or mother-liquor. The crystals of 
A. obtained from the first crystallization are not free from 
iron, and hence require to be redissolved in water, recon¬ 
centrated, and recrystallized. This operation is usually re¬ 
peated a third time before the A. is obtained pure.—As the 
preliminary weathering of the shale requires some years, a 
more expeditious method is now largely resorted to. The 
shale is broken in fragments, and piled up over brushwood 
in long ridges, shaped like huge potato pits, and the brush¬ 
wood being set fire to, the coaly matter of the shale begins 
to burn, and the whole ridge undergoes the process of 
roasting; the results of which are the same as those of the 
weathering operation—namely, the oxidation of tbe sulphur 
and iron, and the formation of sulphate of alumina and 
sulphate of iron. This material is afterward worked up as 
previously described. The roasting operation reduces the 
weathering process from years to months. The A. made at 
Tolfa, near Civita Vecchia, Italy, is extracted from alum- 
stone, a mineral containing sulphate of potash and sulphate 
of alumina, but united in such form as to render them in¬ 
soluble. When the mineral is calcined the sulphates become 
soluble, and are extracted by lixiviation. The A. thus 
manufactured crystallizes in opaque cubes, having a red¬ 
dish tint due to the presence of iron, and goes by the name 
of Roman A. The potash in A. can be replaced partly or 
altogether by soda or ammonia; the alumina by oxide of 
chromium or sesquioxide of manganese; or the sulphuric 
acid by chromic acid or peroxide of iron, without altering 
the form of the crystals. There are thus soda, ammonia, 
chrome, etc., alums, forming a genus of salts of which 
common A. is only one of the species. The more important 
members of tbe class, expressed in symbols are: 

K 2 S0 4 .A1 2 3S0 4 .24H 2 0, potash A. 

NaoS0 4 .Al 2 3S0 4 .24H.,0, soda A. 

K 2 S0 4 .Cr 2 3S0 4 .24H 2 0, chrome potash A. 

FeS0 4 .Al 2 3S0 4 .24H 2 0, iron A. 

ALUM BAGH, - bag [‘Garden of the Lady Alum, or 
Beauty of the Soul’]: a domain about 4 m. from city of 


ALUMINA. 

Lucknow, India, near the Cawnpore road. It comprised 
several buildings, including a palace, a mosque, and an em- 
anbarra or private temple, bounded by a beautiful garden, 
in the middle of a park, and the park enclosed by a wall 
with corner towers. In 1857, it was converted by the rebels 
into a fort. In Sept., Outram, Havelock, and Neill crossed 
the Ganges from Cawmpore, marched rapidly towards Luck¬ 
now, and captured the A. B. on the way. About 300 sol¬ 
diers were left at the place, with four guns, a number of 
sick, wounded, and 4,000 native camp-followers, under Col. 
MTntyre; while the three generals proceeded with their 
main force to Lucknow, where for two months they were 
shut in by the rebel hordes. At the end of Nov., Sir Colin 
Campbell relieved both Lucknow and the A. B , leaving Sir 
James Outram, with 3,500 men, to hold the A. B., then the 
only spot in the whole province of Oude in the hands of the 
British. Sir James was attacked, 1858, Jan. 12, by an armed 
rabble of 30,000 men. These Le completely defeated. They 
attacked him again with 20,000 men, Feb. 21, w T hen his 
small force was weakened by the absence of a detachment; 
and were again effectually repulsed. In the next month, 
Sir Colin Campbell reconquered Lucknow, and relieved the 
garrison at the A. B. 

ALUMINA, d-loml-na: the most abundant of the earths 
(q.v.); the oxide of the metal Aluminium (q.v.), the formula 
being A1 2 0 3 . It occurs in nature abundantly in combina¬ 
tion with silica, associated with other bases. The most 
familiar of its native compounds is felspar, a silicate of A. 
and Dotash, K 2 0 .Al 2 03 . 6 Si 0 2 . This is one of the constitu¬ 
ents of granite, and of several other igneous rocks. Certain 
varieties of these, by exposure to the atmosphere, become 
completely disintegrated, passing from the state of hard, 
solid rock, such as we are accustomed to see in building 
granite, into soft, crumbling, earthy masses. It is the fel¬ 
spar which undergoes the change; and it appears to be 
owing to the action of rain w r ater charged with carbouic 
acid, which dissolves the potash and some of the silica 
of the felspar, leaving the excess of silica and the A. 
still united. It is not known, however, why certain speci¬ 
mens of granite are rapidly corroded and crumbled down, 
while others have for ages resisted the same causes of 
decay. By such disintegration the clays of arable soils are 
produced. Clay consists of silica and A. in a state of 
chemical combination. It never is pure A., but the 
quantity of silica united to the latter is variable. When it 
is pure, clay is quite white, as we see in the porcelain clay 
of Devonshire and Cornwall, derived trorn colorless felspar. 
More frequently clay is red, owing to the presence of oxide 
of iron; or black, from the diffusion through it of vegetable 
matter. 

From alum, A. is prepared by adding to a solution of the 
former water of ammonia, as long as it occasoins a precipi¬ 
tate. The A. appears as a voluminous, white, gelatinous 
substance, consisting of the oxide of the metal combined 
with water. AVhen A. is piecipitated from a solution con¬ 
taining coloring matter, such as logwood, etc., it carries 
down the color chemically united to" the docculent precipi 


ALUMINUM. 

tate; in this way are formed the colored earths, called lakes 
(qw.).. A. in the state of precipitate, alter being gently 
dried, is readily soluble in acids and alkalies: but if strongly 
heated at a certain temperature it presents an appearance of 
sudden incandescence, loses the associated water, contracts 
greatly in bulk, and forms a white, soft powder, not at all 
gritty, and with difficulty soluble in alkalies and acids. A., 
as generally prepared, whether hydrated or anhydrous, is 
insoluble iu water, possesses no taste, and does not alter 
coloring matters; but it has also been obtained in an alio- 
tropic hydrated form, which, in the presence of a very small 
proportion of acetic acid, is largely soluble in water, from 
which a minute trace of sulphuric acid precipitates it. It 
is quite different, therefore, in properties from the alkaline 
earths, and is a much weaker base. In the anhydrous state 
it absorbs water with great readiness, without combining 
with it, so that it adheres to the tongue, and is felt to parch 
it. Clay retains this property; and the ends of tobacco-pipes 
are glazed, to prevent adhesion to the lips or tongue. A. 
is not fusible by a forge or furnace heat, but it melts before 
the oxyhvdrogen blow-pipe into a clear globule, possessing 
great hardness. It occurs in nature in a similar state. The 
more coarsely crystallized specimens form the emery which 
is used for polishing; the transparent crystals, when of a 
blue color, owing to a trace of metallic oxide, constitute the 
precious gem, the sapphire, and when red, the ruby. A., 
in common with other sesquioxides, is a feebie base. 
Almost all the salts which it forms with the acids have a 
sour taste, and an acid action on coloring matter. 

ALUMINUM, d-lo mi-niim, or Aluminium (sym Al, at. 
wt. 27'4): one of the metals in clay, felspar, slate, and 
many other minerals. It was discovered by Wohler 1828, 
and re-examined by him 1846, when he obtained the metal 
in minute globules or beads, by heating a mixture of chlo¬ 
ride of A. and sodium. In 1855, the French chemist Deville 
showed, as the result of a series of experiments, that A. 
could be prepared on a large scale and in a compact form 
without much difficulty. The mineral cryolite found in 
Greenland, a double fluoride of A. and sodium, was the ore 
first used for its manufacture; but bauxite, a mineral found 
in France, and consisting chiefly of alumina, or oxide of 
A. and oxide of iron, has more recently been employed as a 
convenient source of the metal. An aluminate of soda is 
first obtained by heating the bauxite with soda ash in a fur¬ 
nace, and separating it (the alluminate) from the insoluble 
portions by lixiviation. When carbonic acid is passed 
through the solution, pure alumina is thrown down. The 
alumina is then formed into balls with common salt and 
charcoal, which are heated in an earthenware retort through 
which chlorine gas is passed. In this part of the process the 
charcoal combines with the oxygen, and the chlorine with 
the A.; the latter sublimes over with the common salt 
(chloride of sodium), and is collected as a double chloride of 
A. and sodium. When this double chloride is heated in a 
reverberatory furnace with fluxes and metallic sodium, the 
latter seizes the chlorine combined with the A., which is 


ALUMNUS—ALUM ROOT. 

then set free, and falls to the bottom ready to be cast into 
ingots for use. Several processes for its production have 
been patented, and large works have been started in several 
places in the United States, notably at Cleveland, O., 
Lockport, N. Y., and Pittsburg. Penn., for it3 electrical 
reduction from aluminium minerals. 

Tne properties of A. are, that it is a white metal, some¬ 
what resembling silver, but possessing a bluish hue, which 
reminds one of zinc. It is very malleable and ductile, in 
tenacity it approaches iron, and it takes a high polish. It 
fuses at about 1292°, and can then be cast in molds into ingots. 
Exposed to dry or mc-jst air, it is unalterable, and does not 
oxidize as lead and zinc do. Neither cold nor hot water has 
any action upon it. Sulphuretted hydrogen, the gas which 
so readily tarnishes the silver in households, does not act cn 
A., which is found to preserve its appearance under all or¬ 
dinary circumstances as perfectly as gold. When cast into 
molds, it is a soft metal like pure silver, and has a density of 
2 56; but when hammered or rolled, it becomes as hard as 
iron, and its density increases to 2 67. It is therefore a very 
light metal, being lighter than glass, and only one-fourth as 
heavy as silver. A. is very sonorous, and when a rod or 
small bell made of it is struck, it gives out a very sweet, clear 
ringing sound. 

A. forms, with copper, several light, very hard, white al¬ 
loys; also a yellow alloy, w r hich, though much lighter than 
gold, is very similar to it in color. This gold-like alloy, or¬ 
dinary A. bronze, contains 5 to 10 per cent, of A., is of great 
strength, and has hitherto been much more used for manu¬ 
facturing purposes than A. alone. It is much used for 
watch chains, pencil-cases, and other ornamental articles. 
More lately it has been made into such articles as table-plate, 
and carriage mountings,which have an attractive appearance. 
It can be made with a tensile strength equal to that of steel, 
and has certain advantages for field-guns. The addition of 
a few parts per cent, of A. to common brass greatly increases 
the tenacity of the latter and its resistance to corrosion. An 
alloy of A. and tin is used for optical instruments, and from 
another of A. and silver, called ‘Tiers Argent/ excellent 
spoons and forks are made. 

The Cowles process reduces the metal by the heat of an 
immense voltaic arc or series of arcs in an electric furnace. 
This process is in operation in Cleveland, O., and Lock- 
port, N. Y. The Pittsburg (Penn.) company reduce it by 
electrolysis from a fused haloid compound. New pro¬ 
cesses are promised; and the metal is rapidly falling in 
price and in a few years will doubtless have very exten¬ 
sive applications. In England the Castner process, a 
modification of Deville's, has been extensively operated. 

ALUMNUS, n. a-lfim'nfts [L. alumnus , a pupil—from 
allr%, to nourish]: pupil of a school, univ., etc.; specifi¬ 
cally a graduate. Fem. Alumna. Plu. Alumni, fem. m . 

ALUM ROOT: name of two plants, natives of the United 
States, very different from each other, but agreeing in the 
remarkable astringency of their roots, which are medicinally 
used. One of these plants is Geranium maculatum. See 


ALUNITE—ALURED. 

Geranium. The root contains more tannin than kino 
(q.v.) does. The tincture is of use in sore-throat and ulcera¬ 
tions of the mouth, and is also administered in various dis¬ 
eases.—The property of astringency belongs, in an inferior 
degree, to some other species of Geranium, and of the kin¬ 
dred genera, Erodium and Pelargonium .—The other Ameri¬ 
can plant to which the name A. R. is given is Heuchera 
Americana, a plant of the natural order Saxifragece (q.v.), 
an order in which also astringency is a pievalent property. 
The genus Heuchera has the calyx 5-cleft, the petals undi¬ 
vided, five stamens, and the styles remarkably long. H. 
Americana is everywhere covered with a clammy down; the 
leaves are roundish, lobed, and toothed; the peduncles di¬ 
chotomous and straggling. The root is a powerful styptic, 
and is used to form a wash for wounds and obstinate ulcers. 

ALUNITE, al'on-it [F. alun, alum]: alum-stone; a 
mineral, hydrated potassium aluminium sulphate; found as 
crystals and massive, forming seams in volcanic rocks. 
Alunogene, n. a-loon'ojen [F. alun; Gr. genndo , I pro¬ 
duce]: an ore of alumina, known as hair-salt or feather- 
alum — is a frequent efflorescence on the walls of quarrries 
or mines. 

ALUNNO, d-lon'no, Niccolo, or Niccolo of Fuligno: b. 
about 1430, Fuligno: one of the earliest of the old Umbrian 
painters. Some of his pictures were carried off by the 
French; one, The Agony in the Garden, remains in the 
Louvre. There is also a Madonna between Two Angels 
(1499), to be seen in the parish church of the village of 
Bastia. Fragments are in existence of an altar-piece for 
the cathedral of Assisi. The picture represented a Pieta, 
with two angels bearing torches, and. according to Vasari, 
weeping so naturally, that ‘ no one could have painted them 
better.’ A. is not so remarkable for the originality or fer¬ 
tility of his invention, as for his selection of details, warmth 
of feeling, purity, and devout faith. His earnestness, how¬ 
ever, leads him at times into exaggeration. 

ALURED, i.e.. Aimed, or Alred, of Beverley, Yorkshire: 
d. 1128 or 29: old English historian of the time of Henry 
I. Little is known regarding him; but he is said to have 
been educated at Cambridge, and to have greatly dis¬ 
tinguished himself by the variety of his learning. It is 
also stated that he had enriched his mind by travel, both 
in France and Italy, and that at Rome he became do¬ 
mestic chaplain to cardinal Othoboni. His permanent office, 
however, appears to have been that of canon and treasurer 
of the church of St. John in his native town of Beverley, 
where he wrote his Annals. This work commences with a 
fabulous period of British history, and extends down to the 
29th year of Henry I. It was published at Oxford, 1716, 
by Thomas Hearne, and is remarkable for various reasons. 
Its Latin is extremely good, and even elegant, while its ac¬ 
curacy, especially in dates, is unusual for the age in which 
its author lived. He is said, though it is very doubtful, to 
have written, besides the Annals, a work on the liberties or 
privileges of the church of St. John of Beverley. The 
work, whoever wrote it, is a translation of old Saxon docu^ 


ALYA—ALVARADO. 

ments, charters, etc., relative to that edifice, and is sti]' m 
manuscript. A. died in 1128 or 1129. 

ALYA, al'va: village of Stirlingshire, Scotland, 7 m. n.e. 
from Stirling. The part of Stirlingshire in which A. is situ¬ 
ated is detached from the rest of the county, and enclosed 
between the counties of Clackmannan and Perth. A. is a 
place of great industrial activity, having extensive woolen 
factories, fin which the manufacture of shawls and tweeds 
has superseded the old trade in blankets. The number of 
looms employed is about 1,100. To the e. of the village is 
a glen named the Silver Glen, where two pits are still to be 
seen, marking the site of old silver-mines. The communion 
cups still in use in the parish church are made of silver 
derived from these mines. Immediately behind the village 
is Alva Glen, noted for its picturesque beauty and magnifi¬ 
cent waterfall. About a mile to the w. of the village is 
Balquharn Glen, also a very romantic spot. Pop. (1897) 
est. 6,500. 

ALYA, Duke of: see Alba. 

ALVARADO, al-vd-rd'do: t. of Mexico, dept, of Yera 
Cruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the river 
Alvarado, 50 m. s.e. from Yera Cruz. The situation close 
to a lagoon is unhealthy. A bar at the mouth of the river 
prevents the entrance of vessels of more than 12 or 18 ft. 
draught, but within the bar the harbor is sheltered from 
every wind. Great part of the town consists of cane-built 
cottages, roofed with palm-leaves. The river has a course 
of not much more than 100 in., but collects the waters of an 
extensive swampy district. Much rice and cacao are pro¬ 
duced in the country around Alvarado. Pop. 6,000. 

ALVARADO, dl va-rd'do, Pedro de, a famous compan 
ion of Cortes; b. Badajoz in Spanish Estremadura, towards 
the close of the 15th c.; d. 1541. In 1517 or 18. he sailed 
for the new world, and in the same year was despatched 
from Cuba, by Velasquez, the governor of that island, to 
explore, under the command of Grijalva, the shores of the 
American continent. The expedition touched at Acozamil 
(the Isle of Swallows), and at various places in Yucatan. 
Ascending also the rivers Tabasco and Banderos, Grijalva 
was so enchanted with the beauty of the country, its fine 
cultivation, and the numerous traces of advanced civili¬ 
zation, that he named it New Spain. Now, for the first 
time, the Spaniards heard of the riches of Montezuma, 
and of his vast empire. A. was ordered to return to Cuba 
and inform Velasquez of the result of the expedition. 
The sight of the gold which A. brought with him stimu¬ 
lated the covetousness and ambition of Velasquez, who 
became greatly incensed against Grijalva, because the latter 
had not penetrated further into the new region, and on his 
return to Cuba, deprived him of his command. In 1519, 
Feb., Cortes sailed from Havana, solely for the purpose of 
conquest, with 11 ships, containing 508 soldiers, and 109 
seamen.. A. commanded one of these ships; but a storm 
separating the fleet, he arrived at the rendezvous, Isle of 
Swallows, three days earlier than the others. Here the con- 



ALVAREZ. 

quest of Mexico was planned by these intrepid adventurers. 
A. figured in every conspicuous incident; he was, indeed, 
hardly less distinguished than the sagacious Cortes himself, 
who knew his worth, and whom he served with unfaltering 
zeal and fidelity. While he held the city of Mexico, during 
the absence of his chief, he massacred in the midst of a 
fete a great number of Aztec nobles, which act is said to 
have excited the indignation of Cortes; but, on the other 
hand, it is asserted that the Mexicans had plotted the destruc¬ 
tion of the Spaniards, and that A. had become cognizant of 
the scheme. In the famous night retreat of 1520, July 1, 
A. commanded the rear-guard. After the conquest of 
Mexico, he was sent, 1523, at the head of 300 foot, 160 horse, 
with 4 pieces of cannon, and a troop of Mexican auxiliaries, 
to subdue the tribes on the coast of the Pacific in the direc¬ 
tion of Guatemala. He was completely successful, receiv¬ 
ing everywhere the submission of the native chiefs, while 
the people brought him presents, in token of friendship. 
He now returned to Spain, where the emperor Charles V. 
gave him a splendid reception, and appointed him governor 
of Guatemala. On departing again for the new world he 
was accompanied by numerous friends and cavaliers desirous 
of making their fortune. His adventurous spirit soon 
launched him into new enterprises Pizarro and Almagro 
were prosecuting a brilliant career of conquest in S. Amer. 
A. resolved not to intrude upon their territories. He con¬ 
sidered the province of Quito to be without the limits of 
these, and so, embarking with a force of 500 soldiers, 227 
of whom were cavaliers, he landed at Bahia de los Caraques, 
near Cape San Francisco, whence he penetrated into the 
heart of the country, crossing the Andes by as bold and 
hazardous a march as it is possible to conceive. In the plain 
of Rio Bamba he was met by some of the troops of Pizarro, 
headed by Almagro; but instead of disputing by force of 
arms his right to the possession of the country in which he 
found himself, he agreed to retire, on receiving an indemnity 
for his arduous undertaking. He therefore retired to Hon¬ 
duras, and aided the colonists in establishing new settlements, 
among others, Gracias a-Dios and San Juan de Puerto de 
Caballos. Meanwhile, Pizarro, loaded with wealth, went 
back to Spain in 1534, and misrepresented the conduct of A. 
to the emperor; but the latter following, vindicated himself 
so successfully, that he received the government of Hon¬ 
duras in addition to Guatemala. Again he embarked for 
the new world, and pursued his course of discovery and 
conquest; but in an affray with the Indians upon the coast 
of Miclioacan, 1541, he was accidentally killed by his horse 
falling upon him and crushing him. In the same year, an 
inundation, accompanied by a frightful tempest, overthrew 
the walls of the town of San Jago, when his wife and chil¬ 
dren all perished. 

ALVAREZ, dl'vdrez, Don Jose:1768, Apr. 23—1827, 
.Nov. 26; b. Priego, prov. of Cordova, Spain: Spanish sculp¬ 
tor. During youth he labored with his father, a stone-mason, 
and when 20 years old began to study drawing and sculpture 
in the academy at Granada. His early essays in sculpture 


ALVEARY—A LWUR. 

secured for him the patronage of the bishop of Cordova, 
and in 1794 he was received into the acad. of San Fernando, 
where, 1799, he gained the first prize in the first class. Sub¬ 
sequently, he gained the second prize for sculpture in the 
Institute of Paris, and in 1804 increased his celebrity by a 
plaster-model of Ganymede, which proved him a rival of 
Canova in gracefulness of style. He then attempted greater 
works in the more severe style, and prepared a model for a 
wounded Achilles,-which was accidentally broken. Having 
removed to Rome he was employed by Napoleon to design 
bass-reliefs for the Quirinal Palace on Monte Cavallo; but, 
on account of political changes, his works were not allowed 
to occupy the places for which they had been destined. In 
Rome, where he lived on teims of friendship with Canova 
and Thorwaldsen, he executed, among other works, his 
Grupo Golosal de Zaragoza , now in the Royal Museum of 
Madrid, representing a scene in the defence of Saragossa. 
This work alone is sufficient to establish A.’s fame. Clear¬ 
ness of design, dignified simplicity in execution, trueness to 
nature, and deep sentiment, mark the sculptures of A., who, 
next to nature and classical antiquity, studied the works of 
Michael Angelo. He d. Madrid. 

ALVEARY, n. al've-er'i [L. afoearium ., a beehive—from 
aims , thebellyj: in anat., the hollow of the external ear. 
Alveolar, a. dl-ve'6-ler, or Alve'olary, a. ler'i, con¬ 
taining sockets. Alve'olate, a. -Iat, divided into cells or 
pits; honeycombed. Alveolae, n. plu. dl-ve'o-le, sockets 
or cells. Alveole, n. a/'ve-di, the socket of a tooth. 
Alveolus, n. al-veo-lus [L- alveolus, a small hollow or 
cavity—from alvus, the belly]: in nat. hist., a little trough 
or hollow channel. Alve oli, n. plu. -d-d, the cavities of 
jawbones in which the teeth are fixed. Alveolites, n. 
plu. al-ve'd dts [Gr. llthos, a stone]: a genus of corals com¬ 
posed of concentrically-arranged tables of short tubes, 
angular without, and rounded within. Alveus, n. al've-its 
[L. alveus, a hollow, a river bed]: the bed or channel of a 
stream; in anat., a tube or canal for a fluid of the body— 
e.g., alveolar process. Alvlne, a. al'vin, of or from the 
bowels. 

ALWAYS, ad. awl'wdz [AS. eallewcega, the whole way]: 
continually; forever; also Alway, ad. awl'wd, chiefly used 
in poetry. 

ALWUR, al'wur, or Machery, masher'ri: a Rajpoot state 
of India, under the control of the governor-general’s agent for 
the states of Rajpootana, but having a considerable measure 
of independence: between n. lat. 27° 14—28° 13, and e. 
long. 76 14'—77° 15': about 3,000 sq. m. The cap., Alwur, 
is a small ill-built town, surrounded by a wretched mud 
wall, at the base of a rocky range of quartz and slate, 1,200 
ft. above the adjacent country, and at least 2,100 ft. above 
the sea, 94 m. w.n.w. from Agra. The palace of the Rao 
Rajah is a curious square building, having its walls pierced 
with a great number of small windows, and covered with 
glaring and grotesque paintings. The revenue of the Rao 
Rajah is estimated at about £180,000. The military force 


AM—AMADIS. 

of the state amounts to about 3,000 infantry and 4,000 
cavalry. The inhabitants, who are called Mewattis, are a 
rude and savage race. In former times the Mewattis were a 
predatory tribe, and from the 13th to the 15th c. carried 
their raids even to the gates of Delhi. Fop. (1901) 828,487. 

AM, v. am [Moeso-Gothic im: Icel. em: AS. eom: Gr. 
eimi ]: 1st sing, present tense of the verb be. I AM, one of 
God’s titles. 

AMADEUS, am-a-deus [i.e., Love-God]: a common 
name in the house of Savoy. The first who bore it was 
Count A., eldest son of Count Humbert, about the com¬ 
mencement of the 11th c. His successors gradually en¬ 
larged their paternal dominions; but the first to make an 
important figure in history was A. V., 1249-1323, who 
succeeded his uncle Filippo in 1285. He acquired the 
dignity of a prince of the empire. He had a brother who 
resided long in England, and while there, built the Savoy 
Palace in London. 

A. VI., the ‘Green Count,’ son of A. V., 1334-83; suc¬ 
ceeded his father in 1343. He was a sagacious, moderate, 
and vigorous ruler, won various places from the Dauphin 
of France, became lord paramount of Piedmont, and 
through the favor of the emperor Charles IV. obtained the 
viceregency over a great part of Upper Italy. His influence 
among the Italian states was very great. 

A. VIII., 1383—1451, was at first under the guardianship 
of his grandmother, a woman of superior talents; but in 
1398 he assumed the reins of government, ruling with 
moderation, and yet with love of order. The zeal with 
which he aided the policy of the emperor Sigismund secured 
him the imperial favor, and the elevation of Savoy into a 
duchy (1416). On the extinction of its native dynasty, in 
1418, Piedmont chose him for its ruler, as he was next of 
kin. But a religious melancholy took possession of his 
mind, and, 1434, Nov. 7, he laid down his authority, and 
with six of his knights betook himself to a monastic her¬ 
mitage which he had built on the shores of the Lake of 
Geneva. He was elected pope in 1439, and assumed the 
name of Felix V.; but he resigned the papal chair in 1448, 
and died three years afterward at Geneva. 

A. IX. (died 1472), after governing for four years, handed 
over his authority to his wife Jolanthe, on account of ill- 
health; but she used it very imprudently. While he lived, 
A. was a mere tool in the hands of grasping factions. 

AMADEUS I. (Amadeo Ferdinando Marta), King of 
Spain, Duke of Aosta: 1845, May 30—1890, Jan. 18; second 
son of Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy. He was elected king 
of Spain 1870, Dec. 4, abdicated the throne 1873, Feb. 11, 
and lived quietly in Rome till his death. 

AMADIS, am'a-dis: a much used heroic name in chivalric 
poetry. At the head of those heroes of romance, stands A. 
of Gaul, called the Lion Knight, from the device on his 
shield, and also Beltenebros, or the Darkly Beautiful. The 
other Amadises that figure in romance are represented aa 
descendants more or less remote of A, of Gaul. He him- 


AMADIS. 

self was wliat the Germans call a love-child of the fabulous 
King Perion of France and of Elisena, a princess. of 
Bretagne. The relationship of several of the other Amadises 
to the princes and princesses of Colchis, Trebisond, Greece, 
and Cathay, that figure as their parents, is of the same un¬ 
sanctioned kind. The romance which narrates the adven¬ 
tures of A. of Gaul is both the most ancient and the best of 
all the A. romances. It found favor even in the sight of 
Cervantes, who won immortal honor by overthrowing the 
long usurped dominion of this ‘evil sect.’ This one, how¬ 
ever, has maintained its reputation even to the present day, 
not only because it was regarded by him as a literary curi¬ 
osity, but also from its own merits, as the original pro¬ 
duction of a creative fancy. 

The question which was early raised, and cannot yet be 
demonstratively settled, as to whether this romance was 
originally a Portuguese, a Spanish, or a French production, 
proves at least the absence in it of all national peculiarities, 
and the lack of all national traditions connected with it-, 
and hence the want also of a living historical background, 
which, in the case of all really national legends, is discernible 
through the purely epic structure. It may be asserted with 
certainty, both from internal and external evidence, that 
this romance is the pure subjective creation of the fancy 
of a single individual; and that it was composed at a time 
when the genuine epic style of chivalric writing was near 
its decline, consequently not earlier than the 14th c. It is 
also apparent that this romance must have been originally 
written in prose, and intended to be read, and not to be re¬ 
cited. Lastly, it is not to be doubted that the author was 
well acquainted with the earlier legendary poetry, and has 
imitated it in many things, but has nevertheless struck out 
for himself an entirely new path, in an opposite direction, 
which naturally tended to lead his less gifted imitators into 
a bottomless abyss, and at last brought about the extinction 
of the whole class. For these chivalric romances—doubt¬ 
less, unintentionally—became by degrees more and more 
of an ironical cast; and only a genius like Cervantes was 
wanting in order to complete their extinction, by making 
the comic element the fundamental tone, and exaggerating 
the incongruity inherent in such compositions. 

The Spanish A. romances consist of fourteen books, of 
which the first four contain the history of A. of Gaul 
Yet, according to the researches of the learned Clemencin, 
stated in his Commentary on Don Quixote (Madrid, 1833), 
it can scarcely be doubted that this most ancient part 
was originally written in the Portuguese language, by 
the knight Yasco de Lobeira of Oporto (d. 1403); and 
that it must have been composed between 1342 and 1367. 
The original manuscript is said to have been in the pos¬ 
session first of the Infant Alfonso of Portugal, son of 
John I., the founder of the house of Braganza (d. 1461); 
and last in that of the Duke of Aveiro, and to have been 
destroyed during the earthquake in Lisbon, 1755. At 
least, these first four books have been preserved only in the 
Spanish translation which was made by Garcia Ordonez de 


AMADOU. 

Montalvo, about 1460, and was first printed between 1492 
and 1505. The same Montalvo added to it the fifth book, 
Las Sergas [ ergas , i.e., actions or deeds] de Esplandian, 
Hijo de Amadis de Gdula. He began this book in 1485, but 
did not complete it till 1492. The books from the 6th to 
the 14th contain the Exploits and Adventures of Florisando, 
by Paez de Ribera; of Lisuarte of Greece, and of Perion of 
Gaul, by Juan Diaz; of A. of Greece, of Florisel of Nicea, 
and of Anaxarte, by Feliciano de Silva; of Rogel of Greece, 
and of Silves de la Selva, by the same; of Lepolemo, and of 
Leandro the Fair, by Pedro de Lujan; and lastly, of 
Penelva, by an anonymous Portuguese. The French trans- 
lators and continuators, beginning with Nicholas de Herbe- 
ray, Sieur des Essarts, who published the first eight books, 
1540-48, have increased this series of romances to twenty- 
fcur books. Gilbert Saunier, Sieur de Duverdier, has 
written a conclusion, in seven large volumes, to all the 
adventures begun in the whole series of legends, which he 
has called Le Roman des Romans. 

How popular and widely circulated these romances were 
in their day may be proved by the many editions of single 
legends, by the translations of most of them into Italian, Eng¬ 
lish, German, and even into Dutch, and also by the numer¬ 
ous chivalric romances written in imitation of them. As, 
nevertheless, a change came over the public taste, they almost 
till fell into oblivion, and indeed justly so, because of their 
want of intrinsic merit. They were transferred from the 
Temple of the Muses to the literary lumber-room, where 
now at best they only serve to feast the eyes of bibliomaniacs. 
A. of Gaul has been deservedly excepted from this fate, and 
has not only found readers in the present day, but has been 
in modern times translated, revised, and imitated. I he 
Portuguese Gil Vicente, and the Spaniard Andres Rci de 
Artieda, extracted from it the materials for two Spanish 
comedies. De Lubert and Count Tressan revived this ro¬ 
mance in tasteful extracts; and as Bernardo lasso formerly 
did in his Amadigi, so now Creuze de Lesser and William 
Stewart Rose have extracted from it the materials for epic 
poems: A. de Gaule, Poeme faisant suite aux Chevaliers de 
la Table ronde (Paris, 1813), and A. of Gaul , a poem in 
three books (Lond. 1803). On the other hand, Wieland’s 
JSfeuer A. has nothing in common with the more ancient 
Amadises, except the title. See Baret, De VAmadis de Gaule 
(Par. 1873). 

AMADOU, n. dm’d-do [F. amadou , by metaphor from 
amadouer to coax, to cajole—from madouer, a word of Ger. 
origin—from Icel. mata, to bait, to allure]: name given to 
Polyporus igniarius and P. fomentarius, fungi of the tribe 
or division Ilymenomycetcs; formerly included in the genus 
Boletus . They grow upon old trees in Britain and on the 
continent of Europe. The pilous is completely blended with 
the hymenium, which is pierced with thin-sided, rather an 
gular, tubular, vertical passages—the whole fungus thus ap¬ 
pearing as a leathery or fleshy mass; the under side of which 
is pierced by deep pores P. igniarius is called Hard A., or 
Touchwood. P. fomentarius is called Soft A,. or German 


AMAIN—AMALBKITES. 

Tinder. They are used as styptics for stanching slight 
wounds; and when steel and flint were in general use for 
striking fire, were much employed as tinder, being prepared 
for this purpose by boiling in a solution of nitre. . The Soft 
A. is used for making small surgical pads, for which its elas¬ 
ticity peculiarly fits it. . P. fomentarius, or a very similar 
species, is found in India, 
and used there as in Eu¬ 
rope. It is also employed 
by the Laplanders and 
others for moxa (q.v.). It 
is sometimes made into 
razor-straps, and this use 
is likewise made of P. 
betulinus. — P. officinalis, 
the Agaricon of Dioscor- 
ides, which grows upon 
larch-trees in the s. of Eu¬ 
rope, is a drastic purgative, 
now rarely employed. P. 
suaveolens, which grows 
upon the stems o* willows, 
and is easily recognized by 
its anise-like smell, was for¬ 
merly employed in medi¬ 
cine, in cases of consump¬ 
tion, under the name of 

Fungus salicis. All these „ , . 

species are very similar iu Polyporus suaveolens. 

appearance. Another species of the same genus, P. destructor , 
is one of the fungi known by the name of Dry Rot (q.v.). 
—The remarkably light wood of Hernandia Guianensis, a 
shrub of the natural order Thymelceacece (q.v.), is readily 
kindled by flint and steel. See Agaric. 

AMAIN, ad. d-mdn' [AS. a, on; mcegen, might, power: 
Goth, magan; AS. mega, to be able]: with energy or force; 
suddenly; at once: applied by sailors in such orders or di¬ 
rections as ‘ lower amain,’ ‘ strike amain,’ etc. 

AMALEKITES, am'a-lek-its: one of the most fierce and 
warlike of the Canaanitish nations. They dwelt ‘ in the land 
of the south ’ (Numbers xiii. 29), that is, in the land s. of 
Palestine, or between Idumea and Egypt. From the very 
first they manifested an uncompromising hostility to the 
Israelites, whose rear guard they smote after the passage 
through the Red Sea. In consequence of this they received 
no mercy at the hands of the Israelites when the latter had 
established themselves in Palestine. Saul (1 3am. xv. 2) 
nearly annihilated them. Twenty years later, David, while 
dwelling amongst the Philistines, penetrated into their land 
and made dreadful slaughter of them. After this they made a 
last desperate reprisal, but were overtaken by David in the 
midst of their drinking and dancing; and 4 from twilight even 
unto the evening of the next day ’ he smote them, 4 and there 
escaped not a man of them, save 400 young men who rode 
upon camels and fled.’ The descendants of these were 











AMALFI—amalgam. 

finally extirpated in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, 
by the Simeonites. 

AMALFI, d-malfe: seaport on the Gulf of Salerno, on 
the w. coast of southern Italy; has a very ancient cathedral, 
and is the seat of a bishop. It is said to have been founded 
under Constantine the Great, and was long a powerful and 
independent state, having at one time a population of 50,000; 
and about the close of the 11th c., fell under the power of the 
Normans. The maritime laws of A. ( Tabula Amalphitana) 
once prevailed throughout Italy 7 ". The unique manuscript 
of the pandects (q. v.) was discovered at A.; and Flavio Gioja, 
the inventor of the compass, and Masaniello, were born 
there. Pop. upward of 5,000. 

AMALGAM, n. a-mdl'gam [F. amalgame —from Gr. 
ama, together; gamed , I marry; or ama, malagma, that 
which softens—from malasso, I soften] r a mixture of mer¬ 
cury with another metal; an alloy of which mercury forms 
a constituent part. Amalgamate, v. d-mdl'gd-mdt, to 
compound or mix mercury with another metal; to Mend; 
to incorporate. Amalgamating, imp. Amal gama ted, 
pp. Amalgamation, n. a-mdl' gd-md' shun, a mixing to¬ 
gether different bodies; a union of two or more bodies into 
one, as of railway companies. — Syn. of ‘amalgamate’: to 
coalesce; unite; cohere; join. 

AMALGAM: term applied to that class of alloys (q.v.) in 
which one of the combining metals is mercury. On the 
nature of the union, it has been observed that ‘ on adding 
successive small quantities of silver to mercury, a great 
variety of fluid amalgams are apparently produced; but in 
reality, the chief, if not the sole compound, is a solid A., 
which is merely diffused throughout the fluid mass.’ Thft 
fluidity of an A. thus seems to depend on there being an 
excess of mercury above what is necessary to form a definite 
compound. Mercury unites readily with gold and silver at 
the usual temperature. It has no disposition to unite with 
iron even when hot. A solid A. of tin is used to silver 
looking-glasses. 

Amalgamation is employed on a small scale in some pro¬ 
cesses of gilding, the silver or other metal being overlaid 
with a film of gold A., and the mercury being then driven 
off by heat. But its most extensive use is in separating gold, 
and especially silver, from certain of their ores. The mer. 
cury dissolves the particles of the metal, and leaves the 
earthy particles; it is then easily separated from the gold or 
silver. This process, discovered in Mexico in 1557 by 
Bartolome de Medina, is very extensively used in Mexico at 
the present time, and has been introduced with great success 
into the Californian and Australian gold-fields. The mode 
of application is to crush the quartz rock which serves as 
the matrix in which the small particles of gold are em 
bedded; place the fragments in a barrel or revolving drum 
with mercury, and agitate for some time. The mercury 
attaches all the gold particles to itself; and in the apparatus, 
when fully agitated, there is found a semi-fluid mass, which 
is the mercury, appearing half congealed, and containing 


AMALIE. 

all the gold. It is only necessary to place this A. in a retort 
and apply heat, when the mercury sublimes over—and can 
be re-employed for further amalgamation -and leaves the 
gold in the body of the retort. This process is the only 
known method of separating the finer particles of gold from 
a mass of rock, and is always used by the gold-crushing 
companies. Indeed, it is now believed that this truly com' 
mercial mode of gold-seeking is the only one which, in a 
few years, will be in use. 

Several amalgams may be regarded as definite chemical 
compounds. Thus, when gold-leaf is placed in mercury, 
and the A. so produced filtered by being squeezed in a 
chamois-leather bag, the uncombined mercury oozes through 
the skin, but a definite A. of 2 of gold and 1 of mercury 
remains behind in the leather filter. Tin A. is employed in 
silvering looking-glasses, and is formed by laying a sheet of 
tin-foil on a table, covering it with mercury, and then plac¬ 
ing, by a sliding movement, the sheet of glass over it. This 
A. contains 3 of mercury and 1 of tin; glass balls are silvered 
with an A. of 1G mercury, 1 tin, 1 lead, and 2 bismuth. A 
silver A. highly crystalline—and,from the clusters of crystals 
somewhat resembling a tree, called Arbor Diaries, or Tree of 
Diana—is prepared from 3 parts of the strongest solution of 
nitrate of silver, 2 parts of solution of proto nitrate of mer¬ 
cury added to an A. of 7 mercury and 1 silver. In a day 
or two, the arborescent appearance presents itself, and the 
crystals contain 65 per cent mercury, and 35 silver. The 
A. used for frictional electric machines is made from 1 tin, 
1 zinc, and 3 mercury, to which sand is afterwards added. 

AMALIE, d-male-eh, Anna, Duchess of Saxe-Weimai: 
1739-1807: an amiable and generous patron of literature; 
during the latter part of the 18th c., the centre of the court 
of Weimar. Left a widow in the second year of her mar¬ 
riage (1758), her judicious rule, as guardian of her infant 
son, enabled the country to recover from the effects of the 
Seven Years’ War, and promoted the education of the 
people. She appointed Wieland tutor to her son, after¬ 
wards duke, and attracted to Weimar such men as Herder, 
Goethe, Knebel, Bottiger, Musseus, Schiller; forming a 

f nlaxy of genius such as, perhaps, has graced no other court. 

Iven after resigning the government into the hands of her 
son. in 1775, she continued to be surrounded by the same 
society. She has the high distinction of having honored 
and encouraged the greatest writers that Germany has 
produced. The battle of Jena is said to have broken her 
heart; she died six months after that event. 

AMALIE, Marie: wife of Louis Philippe, king of the 
French; daughter of King Ferdinand I. (IV.) of the Two 
Sicilies; 1782—Apr. 26—1866. When she married Louis 
Philippe (then Duke of Orleans), he was a political exile, 
without a hope of ever rising to the throne of France. It 
was a marriage of personal choice on both sides, conse¬ 
quently happy. After Louis Philippe’s elevation to the 
throne, the queen avoided interference in political affairs, 
and devoted her attention to beneficence. In her domestic 


AMANDE DE TERRE—AMARANTE. 

relations, her conduct was highly exemplary, and won the 
esteem of all parties; indeed, the only charge ever preferred 
against her was her supposed excess of piety. She shared 
the fortune of her exiled husband, and was very respectfully 
received in England. Louis Philippe, shortly before his 
death, (at Claremont, 1850), gave expression to the love and 
esteem with which he regarded his faithful wife. She died 
at Claremont in 1866. 

AMANDE DE TERRE: see Cyperus. 

AMANITA, am-an-i'ta: genus of Fungi, nearly allied to 
Agaricus, but bursting from a volva. A. muscaria, common 
in woods, especially of fir and beech, is one of the most 
poisonous fungi. It is sometimes called Fly Agaric, being 
used in Sweden and other countries to kill flies and bugs, 



Amanita Muscaria, Amanita Muscaria, 

in a young state. full-grown, more reduced. 

for which purpose it is steeped milk. The pileus or cap 
is of an orange-red color, with white warts, the gills white, 
and the stem bulbous. It grows to a considerable size. 
Notwithstanding its very poisonous nature, it is used by 
the Kamchatkadales to produce intoxication, and it im¬ 
parts an intoxicating property to the urine of those who 
swallow it. 

AMANUENSIS, n. a-man'u-en'sis [L.—from ah, and 
mdnus, the hand]: one who writes down the words of an¬ 
other; a writer to dictation. Aman'uen'ses, n. plu. 

AMARANTE, a-md ran’ta (anc. Ante Moranam)'. town 
of Portugal, prov. of Minho, on the Tamega, a branch of 
the Douro; 82 m. n.e. from Oporto. The Tamega is crossed 
by a handsome stone bridge. The town is well built, but 
dull and decayed. A church, erected in the I6th c., is an 
interesting specimen of the Flamboyant style. A. was me 
scene 'of a fierce conflict between the French and the 
Portuguese in 1809, when the bridge was defended by the 
Portuguese for several days, and the French committed 
great barbarities. Pop. 2,500, 

Vol. 1 — 20 
















AMARANTH. 

AMARANTH, n. am'a-ranth, or Amaranthus [F. 
amaranilie —from L. amararitus; Gr. arnaran'tos, unfad¬ 
ing]: a flower inclined to a purple color; in poetry, a flower 
which never fades; Amaran'thus hypochondriacus, is 
Prince’s Feather,and A.cauddtus, is Love-lies-bleeding, Ord. 
Amaranthdcece. Am'aran'thine, a. -thin, pertaining to. 

AMARANTH ( Amaranthus ): genus of plants of the 
natural order Amaranthacece. This order contains nearly 
300 known species, natives of tropical and temperate 
countries, but abounding chiefly within the tropics. They 
are herbs or shrubs, with simple exstipulate leaves, and 
flowers in heads or spikes; the perianth usually colored, 
3-5-partite, hypogynous, scarious, persistent, generally 
surrounded with small bracteae; the stamens hypogynous, 
either 5, and opposite the segments of the perianth, or 
some multiple of 5, distinct or united into a tube, some¬ 
times partly abortive; the anthers either 2-celledor 1-celled; 
the ovary single, superior, 1-celled, with 1 or few ovules, 
which hang from a free central cord; style single or absent; 
stigma simpleor compound; fruit, a small membranous bag 
or utricle, or a caryopsis (q.v.), rarely baccate; seeds lense- 
shaped, externally crustaceous, embyro curved round the 
circumference; albumeu farinaceous.—The genus Ama¬ 
ranthus has mostly monoecious flowers '(although the order 
is generally hermaphrodite), with two or three stigmas, and 
a 1-celled, 1-seeded utricle, bursting all round transversley. 
Some of the species are nat¬ 
urally of singular form, and 
others assume singular but 
monstrous forms through 
cultivation. A. caudatus 
(Love lies-bleeding), A. cru- 
entus, A. hypochondriacus 
(Prince’s Feather) and other 
species,are common annuals 
in flower-gardens. The 
spikes of A. caudatus are 
sometimes several ft. in 
length. The dry red bracts 
which surround the flower 
retain their freshness for a 
long time after being gath¬ 
ered; for which reason the 
plant has been employed by 
poets as an emblem of im¬ 
mortality.—The Globe A. 

(Gomphrena globosa) and-the 
Cockscomb (q.v.), well- 
known tender annuals, be¬ 
long to the same natural 
order. The Globe A. is much 
cultivated in Portugal and 

other Rom. Catli. countries Love-lies-bleeding, 

for adorning churches in ( Amaranthus caudatus). 

winter. Its flowers, of a shining purple, retain their 
beauty and freshness for several years. Our species of 









AMARAPURA—AMARI. 

the order are mostly from tropical Amer., both the garden 
kinds and weeds. The pig-weeds (q.v.) are green-flowered 
Amaranths. In some countries A. Blitum , A. oleraceitf 
(Chusan Han-tsi), and other species, are used as pot-herbs. 
Wholesomemucilaginousqualities are very generally found 
in the leaves throughout the order. The seeds of Ama- 
ranthus frumenlaceus (called Kiery) and of A. anardhana 
are gathered as corn-crops in India.—Medicinal properties 
are ascribed to some species of the order, particularly to 
Gomphrena officinalis and macrocephala , which have a high 
and probably exaggerated reputation in Brazil as cures for 
many diseases. 

AMARAPURA, am-d-ra-po'ra, or Ummerapoora: a city 
of the past, was, before 1853, the cap. of Burmah; on the 
left bank of the Irrawady, 9 m. n e. from Ava, in lat. 21° 
57', long. 96° 7'. It was founded in 1783. In 1810 it was 
totally destroyed by fire, and in 1839 almost totally by an 
earthquake. In 1852, 3, by order of the king, A. was 
finally deserted, and the capital of the empire fixed at 
Mandalay. The pop. in 1810 was estimated at 170,000. 
Nothing remains of the old city but some rows of beautiful 
trees and a few ruined pagodas. In a temple between A. 
and Mandalay isajfamous colossal bronze image of Gautama 
(Buddha). 

AMARA-SINHA, am'a-ra- or um'ur-d-singha: a cele¬ 
brated Hindu grammarian probably of great antiquity; 
generally supposed to have been one of the ‘ nine gems * 
who adorned the throne of Kiug Vikramaditya I., b.c. 56. 
But Mr. Bentley ( Asiatic Researches ) places him as late as 

a. d. 11th c., while Mr. Colebrooke assigns the close of the 
5th as the most probable; who wrote a variety of works, 
only one of which has come down to us, the Amara-Kosha, 
or Thesaurus of Amara; sometimes called the Irikanda, 
i.e., the Tripartite. Regarding the author’s life, little is 
known. He is known to have been a Buddhist; and it is 
almost universally believed that his writings perished during 
the fierce persecution to which that sect was subjected by 
the orthodox Brahmins, in the 3d, 4th, aud 5th centuries. 
This tradition harmonizes with the earliest of the three ages 
in which he is said to have lived. 

The Amara-Kosha is a Sanskrit vocabulary, divided into 
three books and 18 chapters, and containing in all about 
10,000 words. The words are classed according to the 
nature of the things signified by them. Almost all the 
grammarians of Hindustan imitate, translate, or comment 
upon the work of A. 

An excellent addition of the Amara-Kosha , with notes in 
English and an index, was published by Colebrooke, 1808 
(reprinted 1829); the Sanskrit text at Calcutta in 1813; and 
in 1839, a French translation. 

AMARI, d-md're, Mtchele: 1806, July 7—1870, Sep. 20; 

b. Palermo: Italian historian and orientalist. In youth he 
was in straitened circumstances, and even meditated becom¬ 
ing a bandit, but was aroused from liis morbidness by falling 
passionately in love with an English lady. Although he 


AMARYLLIDEiE. 

did not win her hand, he won a knowledge of the English 
language, the first result of which was a translation of Sir 
Walter Scott’s Marmion (Palermo, 1832). A. soon became a 
political ‘ suspect though he had conducted himself during 
the tumult of 1837 with exemplary moderation. He 
remained four years in Naples, where he was diligent in 
historical investigations. In 1842, appeared his La Guerra 
del Vespro SiciHano (The War of the Sicilian Vespers), his 
masterpiece, often republished. Its great merit is its 
successful disproving of the common notion, that the 
terrible massacre so named was the result of a deep and 
ramified conspiracy of the nobles. A. proves from a letter 
of Charles of Anjou himself, as well as from numerous 
other sources, that it was a popular or national outbreak, 
occasioned by the tyranny of the foreign rulers, and that it 
really brought about the deliverance of Sicily. The book 
was quickly prohibited, and, as a consequence, widely read. 
It was translated into German by Dr. Schroeder of Ilildes- 
heim, and into English by Lord Ellesmere. A. fled to 
France, where he studied Arabic and modern Greek, and 
prepared his History of the Mussulmans in Sicily. At the 
revolution of 1848, he returned to Palermo, where he had 
been appointed prof, of public law, but shortly after his 
arrival was elected vice-pres. of the committee of war. He 
was next sent on a diplomatic mission by the provisional 
government to France and England. In 1849 he published 
at Paris La Sidle et les Bourbons, to show up the pretensions 
of the Neapolitan sovereign. After the Sicilian insurrection 
had been quelled, A. resided in Paris, engaged in literary 
pursuits till 1860, when he returned to Italy. He w r as made 
senator next year, and in 1863,4, was Minister of Instruc¬ 
tion. Other writings of A. are upon the language and 
history of the Arabs, in the Revue Archeologique , the Jour¬ 
nal Asiatique, etc. He d. at Palermo. 

AMARYLLI'DEzE, or Amaryllidacejs, am-a-ril'li- 
dd'se-e: natural order of monocotyledonous plants, including 
many species distinguished by the beauty of their flowers. 
They are herbaceous plants, or when, as in the genera Agave 
and Fourcroya, they form woody stems, they have still the 
character of gigantic herbaceous plants rather than of shrubs. 
The greater part are bulbous-rooted. The leaves are sword¬ 
shaped, with parallel veins; the flowers have spathaceous 
bracts. The perianth is regular, 6 cleft, sometimes with a 
corona. The stamens are 6, arising from the perianth, some¬ 
times cohering by their dilated bases; the anthers bursting 
inwardly. The ovary is inferior, 3-celled, with 1, 2, or many 
anatropal ovules; the style is single; the stigma, 3-lobed. 
The fruit is a 3-celled, 3-valved capsule, or a 1-3-seeded 
berry. The seed is albuminous, with the embryo nearly 
straight.—There are about 400 known species of this order, 
natives of tropical, or sub-tropical, and more sparingly, of 
temperate regions—particularly abundant at the Cape of 
Good Hope. A few species only are European. Many of 
them are much prized ornaments of gardens and hot houses. 
Among these are different species of Narcissus (q.v.), Ama¬ 
ryllis (q.v.), CRiNUM(q.v.), Alstrcemeria (q.v.), Nerine, 



AMARYLLIS—AMASIS. 

Coburgia, Brunsvigia, Pancratium, Fourcroya, etc. 
To .his order belong the Snowdrop (q.v.) and Snowflake 
(q.v.); it includes also the American Aloe {Agave, q.v.). 

AMARYLLIS, n. dm'd-rillls [name of a country girl in 
Vergil]: genus of bulbous rooted plants of the naturaf order 

Amaryllidece (q.v.), having a simple 
6-partite perianth, and containing a 
large number of species, natives of 
the warmer regions of the globe. 
Many of them have flowers of very 
great beauty. A species of this 
genus, A.formosissima, was brought 
to Europe from S. Amer. in the 
end of the 17th c., and has since 
been in common cultivation as a 
garden-flower. Its flowers are of 
a beautiful red color, exhibiting a 
play of golden gleams in the sun¬ 
shine. They are scentless. A. am- 
abihs, A. Josephince, and A. vitta&a 
are amongst the most admired bulb¬ 
ous-rooted plants. A. Sarniensis is 
the Guernsey Lily, probably from 
Japan. The Zephyr or Fairy 
Flower (A. Atamasco), native from 
Amaryllis formosissima. Penn, southward, has large pink 

and white flowers on a short stalk. 
It is a garden favorite, as is also the Rose Zephyr Flower 
of florists (A. rosea). 

AMASIA, a-md'sed , or Amasieh, or Amasiayah (anc. 
Amasia); t. of Asia Minor, the principal town of the vilayet 
of Sivas, on the right bank of the Yeshil-Irmak, about 80 m. 
from the month of the river, and 200 m. s. w. from Trebizond. 
It stands in a deep and narrow valley, and the river flows 
through a narrow channel, between precipitous rocky banks. 
The streets are narrow and crooked; the houses mostly of 
wood, although some are of stone, all roofed with tiles. 
The river is crossed by three stone bridges, and one wooden 
bridge. One of the stone bridges is supposed to be Roman. 
The ancient town, the birthplace of Strabo, occupied both 
banks of the river, and the remains of the Acropolis crown 
a lofty rock on the side of the river opposite to the present 
town. There are numerous other interesting remains of 
antiquity, particularly the tombs of the kings of Pontus, 
whose capital A. was, excavated in the face of a steep rock, 
and some Saracenic buildings. Water is raised from the 
river by means of wheels driven by the river itself, for irri¬ 
gation of the gardens and mulberry plantations. Much silk 
is produced in and around A.; also wine, cotton, corn, and 
madder. Silver, copper, and salt mines are wrought in the 
neighborhood. Silk and salt are the chief articles of export. 
A. is the seat of an Armenian bishop. Pop. 30,000, about 
one-third being Christians. 

AMASIS, a-md'sis, King of Egypt: reigned b.c. 569-525. 
Of humble origin, he rose to be general under Apries, the 




AMASS—AMAXICHI. 

last king of the line of Psammetichus. Being sent to put 
down an insurrection, he joined the rebels, and was pro¬ 
claimed king. He cultivated the friendship of the Greeks, 
opened to them the commerce of Egypt, previously confined 
to Naucratis, married a Greek wife, and took a body-guard 
of Greeks into pay. Pythagoras and Solon are said to have 
visited him. For his alliance with Polycrates, and the sin¬ 
gular reason for which Herodotus makes him break it off, 
see Polycrates. During his reign of 44 years, he greatly 
promoted the prosperity and adornment of Egypt. Imme¬ 
diately after his death, the country was conquered by Cam- 
byses of Persia. 

AMASS, v. d-mds' [F. amasser, to heap up: L. massa, a 
mass]: to gather into a heap; to collect many things to¬ 
gether. Amas sing, imp. Amassed, pp. d-mdsl'. Amass'- 
ment, n. a large quantity collected. Syn. of ‘ amass to 
heap; accumulate; pile; collect. 

AMASTHENIC, a. dm'ds-then'ik [Gr. ama, together; 
sthenos, force]: uniting the chemical rays of light into one 
focus, as a certain kind of lens. 

AMATE, v. d-mdt' [AS. a , on, and mate: Icel. mail, an 
equal, a comrade]: in OE., to accompany; to associate with, 
as a companion. 

AMATE, v. d-mdt' [OF. amater, to mortify, to abate: It. 
matto, mad, foolish: Sp. matar, to kill, to quench]: in OE., 
to perplex; to confound; to terrify. 

AMATEUR, n. dm'd-ter [F.—from L. amator, a lover]: 
one who loves and cultivates any art or science, but does not 
follow it as a profession. 

AMATITLAN, d-md-te-tldn’: dist. of Central America, 
near Guatemala city, embosomed in abrupt mountains of 
volcanic origin. It produces cochineal. In the dist. is the 
city of A. (pop. 6,000), and a lake. 

AMATIVENESS, n. am'd-tiv-nes [L. amo, I love; amd- 
tus, loved]: a propensity to love. Amative, a. dm'd-tiv, 
full of love; amatory. Amatory, a. dm d-ter'i, relating tc 
love; causing love; also Amatorial. a. am'a-tori-al. Am'- 
ato'rially, ad. -dl-ll. 

AMATRICE, d-ma-tre'cha: t. of s. Italy, province of 
Aquila or Abruzzo Ulteiiore II., on the right bank of the 
Tronto, 21 m. n. by w. from Aquila: formerly a place of 
much greater importance than at present. It has five 
churches. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agri¬ 
culture and the manufacture of blankets. Pop. 2,240. 

AMAUROSIS, n. bm'aw-rb'sis [Gr. amaurosis , the act of 
rendering obscure—from amauros, obscure], imperfect 
vision or total blindness without anv obvious imperfection 
of the eye. The terms A. and Amblyopia (q.v—dullness 
of vision) have in recent years been greatly limited in their 
application through discoveries by use of the ophthalmo¬ 
scope (q.v.). See Eye, etc. Amaurotic, a. dm aic-rdtfik, 
pertaining to partial blindness or loss of sight. 

AMAXICHI, d-mdks-e' ke: cap. of the Ionian island of 
Santa Maura or Leucadia; built on the edge of the shallow 


AMAZE—AMAZON. 

lagoons that separate the n.e. part of the island from the 
mainland. The harbor constructed by the Anglo-Ionian 
government is protected by a mole, at the end of which is a 
lighthouse. It is fit only for small craft. A. derives its 
name from the Greek amaxai, ‘ cars/ which the Venetian 
garrison employed in bringing down the oil and wine from 
the inland districts to the point nearest the fort of Santa 
Maura, where subsequently houses began to be erected. The 
town has a very mean appearance; the buildings are partly 
of wood, on account of the frequent earthquakes. Slight 
shocks occur about once a month. Behind A. there is a£ 
old olive wood, extending to the base of the neighboring 
hills, and. checkered with cypresses and gardens. The town 
is the residence of a Greek archbishop, and has 15 churches. 
Pop. 5,000. A. is now frequently called Leukas. 

AMAZE, v. d-mdz' [It. smagare; Sp. desmayer , to dis¬ 
courage, to dispirit: Norm. F. s’esmaier, to be sad: OE. 
esmay, thought, care]: to confound with terror or wonder; 
to strike with astonishment or fear. Amaz ing, imp: Adj. 
very wonderful; exciting fear, surprise, or wonder. Amazed, 
pp. d-mdzd!. Amaze'ment, n. astonishment; sudden fear. 
Amazingly, ad. -li, to a degree that excites astonishment. 
Amazedness, n. a-ma' zed-nes, the state of being amazed.— 
Syn. of ‘amaze’: to confound; perplex; astonish. 

Note. —In OE., Amay, v. d-ma' , or May, v. was used 
in the sense of its modern derivations, amaze and dismay, 
meaning ‘to dismay; to dispirit; to confound; to alarm’— 
and had its origin from same root words. 

AMAZON, n. dm'a-zon [L. and Gr. Amazon, an Amazon 
—from Gr. a, without; mdzos, a breast]: one of a race of 
female warriors; a river in S. Amer., properly the river 
of the Amazons. Amazonian, a. dm'd-zo’ni-dn, pertaining 
to; of bold, masculine manners. Am azon-stone, a bluish- 
green ornamental variety of felspar from the river Amazon. 

AMAZON, dm'a-zon , or Maranon, md-rdn-ydn', or Orel¬ 
lana, o-rel-yd'nd: a river which, after traversing nearly the 
entire breadth of S. Amer., enters the Atlantic between 
Brazil and Guiana, by a mouth about 150 m. in width—a 
mouth which, though it admits the tide for nearly 500 m., 
is yet so far from meeting the ordinary notion of an estuary 
that it repels, or at least overlays, the ocean to a distance of 
more than 50 leagues. With its various tributaries—the 
Napo, the Putumayo, the Japura, and the Rio Negro from 
the n., and the Huallaga, theJavari, the Jutahy, the Jurua, 
the Coary, the Purus, the Madeira, the Tapajos, and the 
Xingo from the s.—the A. drains 2,330,000 sq. m., an area 
equal to two-thirds of Europe, and is estimated to afford an 
inland navigation of 50,000 m., a line double the circumfer¬ 
ence of the globe. In every respect, then, the A. may well 
claim to be the largest of rivers, excepting only that, in volume 
of contents as distinguished from volume of discharge, the 
St. Lawrence, with its computed mass of 11,000 cubic m., 
has been estimated to be equal to all the other bodies of 
fresh water on the earth’s surface, from the A. downwards. 
With this exception, which- as the St. Lawrence is really a 


AMAZON. 

series of lakes—is ratlier apparent than real, the A. stands 
forth as the king of rivers, whether trunk be compared with 
trunk, or branches with branches, alike in essential features 
and in the area of basin. Viewed as one grand system, the 
A., from its sources, from which the Pacific may be seen 
within a distance of 60 m., to its embouchure, comprises a 
course of about 4,000 m.; while, gathering its tribute from 
Doth sides of the equator along more than 20° of latitude, it 
presents, perhaps, between s. and n., a longer line of natural 
communication than even between w. and e. Reckoning 
from the western range of the Andes, the A. is but little 
more than a mountain torrent till it has burst through the 
gorges of the eastern range of the chain, where it is over¬ 
hung by peaks that tower thousands of feet above it. But 
within 800 m. from the Pacific—a journey of about 20 days 
for loaded mules—the branch called the Huallaga is practi¬ 
cable for steamers, while, after a run of 325 m., the A. is 
navigable for vessels drawing 5 ft,, growing deeper and more 
available as it rolls its steadily swelling flood towards the 
ocean. Nor is this the remotest point of clear navigation 
from the sea, for the Maranon itself is estimated by Hern¬ 
don to carry the clear navigation about one-fifth higher up, 
amounting in all to 3,360 m. What an idea do these single 
threads afford of this matchless net-work of inland naviga¬ 
tion ! But it is not to its own basin alone, vast as that basin 
is, that the value of the A. is confined. The Rio Tapajos 
has its navigation separated only by a portage of 18 m. from 
that of an affluent of the Plata; the Rio Branco, the main 
tributary of the Rio Negro, has a water communication 
which is only two hours distant from that of the Essequibo; 
while the Rio Negro itself is doubly connected with the 
Orinoco, receiving from it the navigable Cassiquiare (q.v.), 
and wanting only a canal over a portage of six hours to 
complete a still more useful bond of union, whose superior 
advantages will certainly one day lead to the necessary im¬ 
provement. In addition to all this, the outlet of this mighty 
river, besides washing Cayenne, is itself, under nature’s 
guidance, a feeder, as it were, of that highway of nations, 
the Gulf Stream. Thus does the A., to say nothing more 
of its maritime relations, bring its inland navigation medi¬ 
ately or immediately to bear on every country, except Chili, 
in South America—including Venezuela, Ecuador, New 
Granada, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, the Guianas, and the several 
Argentine Republics. This is not mere prospect; not only 
has the basin proper of the A. been more or less frequently 
traversed, but also the various joints that knit it to other 
basins have been tested by experience. The grandest and 
most singular of them all, besides being explored by Hum¬ 
boldt, has been placed beyond a doubt by the denizens of 
the country. The barge builders of San Carlos, at the en¬ 
trance of the Cassiquiare into the Rio Negro, have long sent 
vessels not only down the Rio Negro to Para, on the Lower 
A., but likewise up the Cassiquiare to Angostura, on the 
Lower Orinoco; thus solving, in their own way, the problem 
which systematic geographers were elsewhere deriding as 
worse than a fable—as a sheer impossibility. It was not, lill 


Alto-rilievo 

Amazons 


PLATE 12. 



Alto-rilievo. — Battle of Centaurs 
and Lapithas. 


Love-lies-bleeding (Amaran- 
thus caudatus). 




Amazons.—1, From Hope’s Costume of the Ancients; 2, from Museo Bo-> 

bonico. 
















AMAZONS. 

1867 that the navigation of the A. was thrown open, but 
now regular lines of steamers ply between its mouth and 
Yurimaguas on the Huallaga. The most important exports 
sent down the A. are india-rubber, cocoa, cotton, nuts, co¬ 
paiba, palm-fibre, hides, sarsaparilla, farina, tonka beans, 
arnotto, and tobacco. Other productions of the countries 
watered by the A., countries well fitted to become the garden 
of the world, are coffee, sugar, maize, rice, indigo, grapes, 
bananas, cabinet woods, building timber, game, fish, and pre¬ 
cious metals. Steamboat navigation began on the A. in 1853. 
In that year the Amazon Navigation company, a Brazilian 
commercial association fostered by the government, sent its 
first steamer from Para, the maritime emporium of the A., to 
Nauta, in Peru. Since then the income of the formerly dull 
town of Para has risen from $250,000 to about $2,500,000. 
The company had in 1883 thirty-three steamers. The Peru¬ 
vian government has also a line of steamers on its reach of 
the A. The name A. is said to be from an Indian word 
meaning ‘ boat-destroyer ’ (from the dangerous bore in tbe 
stream). Maranon was an explorer who visited the river in 
1503; and Orellana sailed on it in 1540. 

The wonderful discoveries made by the late Professor 
Agassiz (1865.6) in the fauna of the waters of the A. have 
proved what he himself calls ‘a true revelation for science.’ 
Their importance will be seen by contrast. The number of 
species of fish on the whole globe known to Linnaeus about 
a century ago was 300; in 1840, Captain Wilkes collected 
only 600 species in a voyage round the world with three 
ships, in an expedition lasting four years; but Agassiz saw 
in five months on the A. alone 1,300 species of fish, nearly 
1,000 of them new, and about 20 new genera. The 
Vacca marina , the largest fish inhabiting fresh w r aters, 
and the Acara, which carries its young in Its mouth, espe¬ 
cially when there is danger, are denizens of the Amazon.— 
See A Journey in Brazil, by Agassiz (1868); The River 
Amazon , by W. H. Edwards; Fifteen Thousand Miles on 
the A., by C. B. Brown; Brazil, the Amazons, and the Coast, 
by II. H. Smith (1880); Between the A. and the Andes, by 
Mrs. Mulhall (1882). 

AMAZONS, or Amazones: according to a very ancient 
tradition, a nation of women, who suffered no men to re¬ 
main among them, but marched to battle under the com¬ 
mand of their queen, and formed for a long time a formid¬ 
able state. They held occasional intercourse with the 
men of the neighboring states. If boys were born to them, 
they either sent them to their fathers, or killed them. But 
they brought up the girls for war, and burned off their 
right breasts, that they might not be prevented from bend¬ 
ing the bow. From this custom they received the name of 
A. , that is, ‘ breastless.’ Such is the ordinary tale; the 
origin of which is perhaps to be accounted for by supposing 
that vague reports, exaggerated and poetically embellished, 
had reached the Greeks of the peculiar way in which the 
women of various Caucasian districts lived, performing 
military duties which elsewhere devolved on husbands. 
Ebers and others insist that Greek imagination made the 



AMB—AMBASSADOR. 

institution of armed priestesses, as found amongst various 
races, into nations of women warriors. In later times, 
however, the word Amazon has been supposed to have some 
connection with the Circassian word ‘ Maza,’ signifying the 
moon, as if the myth of the A. had taken its origin in the 
worship of the moon, which prevailed on the borders of 
Asia. Three nations of A. have been mentioned by the 
ancients. 1. The Asiatic A., from whom the others 
branched off. These dwelt on the shores of the Black Sea, 
and among the mountains of the Caucasus, especially in the 
neighborhood of tjae modern Trebisond, on the river 
Thermodon (now Tcrmeh). They are said to have at one 
time subdued the whole of Asia, and to have built Smyrna, 
Ephesus, Cumae, and other cities. Their queen, Hippolyte, 
or, according to others, Antiope, was killed by Hercules, as 
the ninth of the labors imposed on him by Eurystheus con¬ 
sisted in taking from her the shoulder belt bestowed on her by 
Mars. On one of their expeditions, the A. came to Attica, in 
the time of Theseus. They also marched under the command 
of their queen, Penthesilea, to assist Priam against the 
Greek*. They even appear upon the scene in the time of 
Alexander the Great, when their queen, Thalestris, paid 
him a visit, in order to become a mother by the conqueror . 
of Asia. 2. The Scythian A., who, in after-times, married 
among the neighboring Scythians, and withdrew further 
into Sarmatia. 3. The African A , who, under the com¬ 
mand of their queen, Myrina, subdued the Gorgons and 
Atlantes, marched through Egypt and Arabia, and founded 
their capital on the Lake Tritonis, but were then annihilated 
by Hercules. See Strieker, Die Amazonen in Sage und 
Oeschichte (Berl. 1873). 

AMB or AMBI, dmb or am'bi [L. or Gr.]: a prefix, signi¬ 
fying, both; about. 

AMBAGES, n. am-bajes [L.— from ambi, around; ago , I 
go]: in OE., a circuit of words; a circumlocution. 

AMBASSADE, n. dm'bds-sdd, or Am'bassage, n. -sdj, 
in OE., an embassy (q.v.—see also Ambassador). 

AMBASSADOR, n. dm-bds' sa-der [F. ambassadeur; mid. 
L. airibas'cid; It. ambasciata; old II. Ger. ambaht, a minis¬ 
ter: Goth, andbahts, a servant]: person sent by a sovereign 
to represent him in a foreign country. Ambas sadress, 
n. -dres, a woman thus sent; wife of an ambassador. Am- 
'Bas'sado'r.ial, a. a-dorl-dl, pertaining to.— Syn. of ‘am 
bassador’; envoy; plenipotentiary; deputy; minister; 
legate; nuncio .—Ambassador denotes properly a diplo¬ 
matic minister of the highest order, an officer sent by one 
sovereign power or government to another to treat on 
affairs of state. In alers restricted sense, writers on public 
law apply the term to every kind of diplomatic minister 
or agent. The credentials of an A. are addressed directly by 
his own sovereign or govt, to the sovereign (or head of the 
govt, to whom he is sent, and with whom he has privi¬ 
lege of personal communication. In all his (iplomatic 
duties, an A. is understood to represent, not only the 
affairs, but the dignity and power of his sovereign or 


AMBATO—AMBER. 

governmental head; and by the law of nations, he has 
many important rights and privileges, the chief of which 
is exemption from the municipal laws of the nation in 
which he is to exercise his functions, an exemption ex¬ 
tended to all his suite, including persons employed by him 
in diplomatic services, also his wife, chaplain, and house¬ 
hold. It has been disputed among legal writers whether 
this exemption extends to all crimes, including mala in se, 
e.g., murder; or whether it is limited to offenses mala 
prohibita, e.g., coining. But now, in the general practice, 
at least of Europe, it is considered that the security of an 
A. in conducting the intercourse of nations is more im¬ 
portant than the punishment of a particular crime. 

But though an A. is not amenable to any tribunal of 
the country in which he resides officially, he cannot mis¬ 
conduct himself with impunity. He must respect the laws 
and customs of the country; and if he violates these, he 
may be complained of to the court or govt, which he rep¬ 
resents; or if the offense is very serious, his recall may be 
demanded, or the governmental head to whom he has 
given such offense may dismiss him peremptorily, and 
further require that he be brought to trial in his own 
country. But if an A. is guilty of an offense which 
threatens the safety of the state, he loses his privileges of 
diplomatic exemption. Some other privileges are gener¬ 
ally allowed to ambassadors: they are permitted free exer¬ 
cise of their religion; they are, in general, exempted from 
direct taxation; they have special letter-bags, and they 
are usually allowed to import their goods without paying 
custom-house duties—a privilege, however, which, being 
liable to abuse, has sometimes been limited. 

Ambassadors are of two kinds: first, those who reside 
regularly at the court to which they are accredited—a 
class originating in modern times; secondly, those sent on 
special occasions, receiving the designation Ambassadors 
Extraordinary. —The British diplomatic corps includes 
only five ambassadors in the restricted sense; accredited 
to the courts of Vienna, Paris, St. Petersburg, Constanti¬ 
nople, and Berlin. Inferior diplomatic agents receive the 
titles Charge d’affaires (q.v.); Minister Plenipoten¬ 
tiary (see Minister, in Diplomacy: Plenipotentiary); 
or Envoy (q.v.). See also Diplomacy: Embassy. 

The U. S. congress 1893 authorized the pres, to raise 
our foreign ministers to the rank of ambassadors, under 
certain conditions (see Minister, in Diplomacy). 

AMBATO, am-bcL'td , or Asiento d’Ambato: t. of Ecua¬ 
dor, on the n.e. slope of Chimborazo, 66 m. s. from Quito, 
8,859 ft. above the sea. It has active trade in grain, sugar, 
and cochineal, products of the region. Pop. 12,000. 

AMBER, n. dm'ber [F. ambre; It. ambra; Sp. ambar; 
Arab, anbar or anba/rum, ambergris or gray amber]: a fossil 
resin, with a tinge of yellow, semi-transparent (see below): 
Adj. made of amber. Am'ber-seed, musk-seed. Am'ber- 
pine, the tree producing amber. Ambergris, n. dm'bdr- 
gres [F. ambre; and gris, gray—gray amber]: ash-colored 
waxy substance found floating on seas frequented by sperm 


AMBER. 

wliales (see below). Ambrein, n. dm'breJn, a crystalline 
substance soluble in alcohol, found in ambergris. Ambreic, 
ambre-ik, denoting an acid formed by digesting ambrein a. 
in nitric acid. Note. — Amber , and Ar. anbar seem to have 
been applied first to the gray amber or odoriferous secretion 
of certain fish, and then transferred to the yellow or fossil 
amber. 

AMBER: a substance analogous to the vegetable resins, 
and, in all probability, derived from an extinct coniferous 
tree, although now appearing, like coal, in connection with 
beds of which it is usually found, as a product of the 
mineral kingdom. It is usually of a pale-yellow color, some¬ 
times reddish or brownish, is sometimes transparent, some¬ 
times almost opaque. It occurs in round irregular lumps, 
grains, or drops; has a perfectly conchoidal fracture, is 
slightly brittle, emits an agreeable odor when rubbed, melts 
at 550° F., and burns with a bright flame and pleasant smell. 
It becomes negatively electric by friction, and possesses this 
property in a high degree—which, indeed, was first observed 
in it, and the term electricity is derived from elektron , the 
Greek name of A. The specific gravity of A. is 10-1T. 
It is ultimately composed of carbon 79, hydrogen 10'5, and 
oxygen 10 5. An acid called succinic acid (named from the 
Lat. succinum, amber) is obtained from it. A. had formerly 
a high reputation as a medicine, but the virtues ascribed to 
it were almost entirely imaginary. An antispasmodic 
volatile oil is obtained from it by distillation. A. is employed 
in the arts, for the manufacture of many ornamental articles, 
and for the preparation of a kind of varnish. Great quan¬ 
tities are consumed in Mohammedan worship at Mecca, and 
it is in great demand throughout the East. It was obtained 

by the ancients from the coasts 
of the Baltic Sea, where it is 
still found, especially between 
Konigsberg and Memel, in 
greater abundance than any¬ 
where else in the world. It 
is there partly cast up by the 
sea, partly obtained by means 
of nets, and partly dug out oi 
a bed of bituminous wood. It 
is found elsewhere also in 
coal, and occasionally in dilu¬ 
vial deposits, as in the gravel 
near London; but it is very 
rare in Britain. It is obtained 
in small quantities from the 
coasts of Sicily and the Adri¬ 
atic, and is found in different 
Amber, with enclosed insects parts of Europe, in Siberia, 
Greenland, etc. It sometimes encloses insects of species 
which no longer exist. Leaves also have been found enclosed 
in it. Specimens which contain insects or leaves being much 
valued, fictitious ones are often manufactured and imposed 
upon collectors. According to an ancient fable, A. is the 
tears of the sisters of PhaBthon, who, after his death, were 
changed into poplars. The ancients set an immense value 

















































AMBER—AMBIDEXTER. 

upon it. Pieces of A. liave occasionally been found of 19 
or 13 lbs. weight, but such pieces are extremely rare. 

AMBER: a decayed city in the Rajpoot state of Jeypoor, 
India, 4 m. n. by e. from Jeypoor; 26° 59' n. lat., 75° 5»' 
e. long. It is on the margin of a small lake, in a deep 
hollow among hills; and its temples, houses, and streets are 
scattered among numerous ravines opening on the lake. 
Comparatively few of its houses are now inhabited; but on 
every side are to be seen ghastly Hindu ascetics, sitting 
amid the tombs and ruined houses. On the slope of an 
adjacent hill is the vast and gorgeous palace of Amber, a 
building remarkable for its massiveness and solidity. 

AMBERG, dm!berg: old cap. of the Upper Palatinate in 
Bavaria, 35 m. e. of Ntirnberg, and 32 n. of Ratisbon; on 
both sides of the Yilz. The ancient walls are now trans¬ 
formed into shady avenues. A. is the seat of the court of 
appeal for the district; has a library of 34,000 vols., a lyceum, 
an agricultural and industrial school, a house of correction, 
an arsenal, etc. The principal products are firearms, 
earthenware, woolen cloths, ironmongery, and beer. A. 
has 14 breweries, a large cattle and swine market, a market 
for hops, and an important salt-trade. Many of the 
inhabitants are employed as miners in the neighboring 
mountains. A. is well built, and the suburbs are adorned 
with beautiful gardens and shaded alleys. Pop. (1890) 
19,098; (1900) 22,039. 

AMBERGRIS, dm'ber-gres [i.e., gray amber]: a fatty sub¬ 
stance, of an ash-gray color, with yellow or reddish striae, 
like those of marble, which is found in lumps of from half aS 
ounce in weight to 100 lbs. and upwards, floating on the sea, 
or cast upon the seashore in different parts of the world, and 
is also taken by whale-fishers from the bowels of the sperm¬ 
aceti whale (. Physeter macrocephalus). Much A. is obtained 
from the coasts of the Bahama Islands; it is also brought 
from different parts of the East Indies, and the coasts of 
Africa and Brazil. It is probable that all of it is produced 
by the spermaceti whale, and that it is a morbid secretion 
in the intestinal canal of that animal, derived from the bile. 
It is highly valued upon account of its agreeable smell, 
and is much used in perfumery. The price is about 20s. 
an ounce. It has been strongly recommended for medicinal 
uses, but is scarcely employed in Europe; although in some 
parts of Asia and Africa it is much used as a medicine, 
and also in cookery as a condiment. The specific gravity of 
A. is scarcely more than 0‘9. It almost always contains 
black spots, which appear to be caused by the presence of 
beaks of the Sepia octopodia, the principal food of the sperm¬ 
aceti whale. It consists in great part (85 per cent.) of a 
peculiar brilliant white crystalline substance called Ambrein. 
which is obtained from it by treating it with alcohol. 

AMBIDEXTER, n. ambi-dekster [L. ambo , both; dex¬ 
ter, the right hand]: one who uses both hands alike; a 
double-dealer. Am bidex trous, a. -trus, able to use either 
hand; double-dealing; deceitful. Am'bidex'trously, ad. 
- trus-1%. 


AMBIENT—AMBO. 

AMBIENT, a. dm'bi-ent [L. ambien'tem, going about— 
from ambi, around, eo, I goj surrounding on all sides. 

AMBIGUITY, n. dm'bi-gui-ti [F. ambiguite —from L. 
ambiguitdtersX ambiguity—from L ambiguus , doubtful— 
from ambi , around, ago, l go. It ambiguitd—lit, the going 
round about the thing] a thing which may be understood 
more than one way, uncertainty as to meaning, doubtful¬ 
ness, state of doubt. Ambiguous, a dm-big'u-us [F. ambigu: 
It. ambiguo]. indefinite, doubtful, having more meanings 
than one Ambiguously, ad. 41. Ambig uousness, n. 
-■ usnes , the state of being ambiguous— Syn, of ‘am¬ 
biguous’. equivocal, uncertain, doubtful;, indistinct; un 
settled; indefinite, indeterminate. 

AMBIT, n. am bit [L. amino, I go round—from ambi, 
around, eo, I go]: in OE., a compass or circuit. 

AMBITION, n. dm-bish'un [F. ambition —from L. am- 
bitlbnem, seeking eagerly for a favor—from ambio, I go 
round—from ambi, around, and eo, I go—lit., the going 
about hunting for favor or votes]; the eager desire for the 
possession of pow r er, fame, excellence, or superiority. 
Ambi tionless, a. Ambitious, a. dm-bish'us, aspiring; 
desirous of fame or superiority; eager to attain something. 
Ambi TiousLY, ad. 4i. 

AMBLE, v. dm'bl [F. ambler, to amble; amble, an amble: 
L. ambiilo, I go up and down— lit., to move up and down, 
or backwards and forwards]: to move at an easy pace, as a 
horse : N. the pace of a horse between a walk and a trot. 
Am bling, imp : Adj. going at an easy pace, faster 
than walking. Ambled, pp. dm bid. Am bler, n. he or 
that which. 

AMBLYGON, n. am'blig-dn [Gr. amblus, obtuse, gonia, 
an angle]; obtuse angled figure, especially an obtuse angled 
triangle. Amblygonite, n. dm-blig' dn-it, a mineral of 
bluish, greenish, and other colors; a fluo-phosphate of 
aluminium and lithium, found often in oblique rhombic 
prisms, with the tourmaline, etc., of Paris, Me., and else¬ 
where. 

AMBLYOCARPOUS, a. dm'bli-d car'pus [Gr. amblus, 
obtuse, dull; karpos, fruit], in bot., having seeds abortive. 

AMBLYOPIA, n. dm-bli-d'pia [Gr. amblus, dull; dps , 
eye]: dullness of vision, with no visible organic lesion and 
not capable of improvement with lenses. A. may be con¬ 
genital; or may arise from disuse of the eye; from excessive 
indulgence in tobacco or alcohol; from poisons, e g., lead, 
urea, etc.; or from disease, e.g., diabetes. Injuries about 
the skull or globe of the eye may produce temporary and 
perhaps permanent A. in one or both eyes. When in one 
only, and of congenital origin, it is frequently associated 
with squint. Amblyopic, a. pertaining to. 

AMBLYOPSIS, n. am'blimp'sis [Gr. amblus, obtuse, dull; 
dps, eye]: genus of blind-fish (see under Blind) found in 
the waters of the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. 

AMBO, n. am'bo, or Ambon, n. dm'bon [Gr. ambon, a 
raised stage: mid. L. ambo; F. ambon, a pulpit ascended 


PLATE 13 


A.mbo 

4.mic' 



Ambo, Church of San Lorenzo, Rome. 



Ambulance-wagon in use in the Amentum. — Willow (Salix fra 
British army to carry seven sicrf j Vis', male and female, with separate 
or wounded lowers. 



Amice, 


























AM BOISE—AMBO YN A. 

by steps]: a kind of reading desk or pulpit, which, in early 
churches, was placed in the choir. The Gospels and Epis¬ 
tles were read from the A., and sermons were sometimes 
preached from it, although the more usual practice in 
the primitive church was for the preacher to stand on the 
steps in front of the altar. The A. is still to be found in 
oriental churches, and specimens of it may be seen in Rome. 
The A. had two ascents—one from the east, and the other 
from the west. In the Roman churches, there were two 
ambos, one on each side of the choir, from one of which 
the Gospel was read, and from the other the Epistle. Where 
two such ambos were used, their construction was somewhat 
different The name A. was also given to the analogium or 
reading-desk used in monastic choirs, which was usually 
in the form of an eagle. 

AMBOISE, orib-waz': t. on the left bank of the Loire, in the 
dept, of Indre-et-Loire, France. It is 15 m. by railway e. of 
Tours, in a region so rich in vineyards that it has been 
called ‘ the Garden of France. ’ Its manufactures are un¬ 
important. A. has a castle, in which several French kings 
have resided. Charles VIII. was born here. It was also the 
scene of his death. The town is memorable as the place in 
which the religious wars that devastated the kingdom dur¬ 
ing the 16th c. broke out, and where the word * Huguenot 
w r as first applied to the Protestant party. The castle of A. 
was much improved by Louis Philippe, and was the resi¬ 
dence of the Arab chief Abd-el-Kader, during his captivity 
in France. Pop. 5,000. 

AMBOISE. Geokge d’, Cardinal and Prime-minister 
under Louis XII. of France: 1460-1510, May 25; b. Chau- 
mont-sur-Loire. When only 14 years old he was made 
bishop of Montauban, and almoner to Louis XI., and in 
1493 was made archbishop of Rouen. Initiated in early 
years iuto the intrigues of court, he soon, by his zealous 
services, secured the confidence of Louis of Orleans (Louis 
XII.), bv whom he was made premier in 1498. From this 
time A. became the prime mover in all the political affairs 
of France. By his advice, the king undertook the capture 
of Milan, which had such great influence on the fortunes of 
France. After the death of Pope Alexander VI., A. en¬ 
deavored to raise himself to the papal see, and having 
failed, became the dangerous enemy of the.succeeding popes, 
Pius III.—who occupied the papal chair only 27 days— 
and Julius II. To secure his own election, A. encouraged 
a schism between the French Church and the see of Rome, 
and convened a separate council, held first at Pisa, after¬ 
wards at Milan and Lyons; but his plans were frustrated by 
the failures of the French army in Italy. He died at Lyons. 
The Cardinal A. was a dexterous and experienced states¬ 
man; but was accused of avarice, vanity, and ambition, and 
it was said that his vast fortune of 11,000,000 livres had 
been accumulated by not over-scrupulous means. His biog¬ 
raphy was written by Montagnes(1681) and Legendre (Rouen, 
1724). 

AMBOYNA, am-boy'na, or Apon, or Thau: most im- 


AMBREIN—AMBROSE. 

portant of the Spice Islands belonging to the Dutch: lies 
s.w. from Ceram, and n.w. from Banda, 127 J 51' 30" 128 
22' 15" e. long., 3° 26' 40"—3° 49's. lat.; 287 sq. in. The 
bay of A. runs into the island lengthways, forming two 
peninsulas, the northern called Hitu, and the southern, 
which is the smallest, Leitimor. A. is mountainous, the 
highest peaks being in Hitu. The climate is healthy— 
average temperage, 82° F.; lowest 724 The east monsoon 
brings heavy rains and storms. There are many rapid 
streams, and the town of Amboyna is supplied with excel¬ 
lent water from three small rivers. Clove, sago, mango, 
and cocoa-nut trees are abundant, also line timber for cabi¬ 
net-work. The sago-palm grows along the shores. The 
hills are covered with the cajeput or leucadendron, from 
the leaves of which a medicinal oil is extracted. The clove 
produce varies much, but the average of ten years is about 
400,000 lbs. In a good year, a bearing tree gives about 
5 lbs. Sweet potatoes, coffee, pepper, indigo, rice, and 
fruits are grown. Fish are plentiful, and on the banks of A. 
beautiful shells are found. Deer are numerous on Hitu. 
There are hogs and goats, a few sheep, monkeys, civet-cats, 
ant-eaters, crocodiles, snakes, etc. Buffaloes, horned cattle, 
and horses are imported. The natives are for the most part 
civilized,though still very superstitious. They speak a Malay 
dialect, and observe customs which indicate a Hindu origin. 
Daughters are a source of wealth, a payment of jewels, 
slaves, or clothing being exacted from the bridegroom. The 
villagers are set apart for the clove cultivation, and employed 
in feudal service during one half of the year. The freemen 
follow handicrafts, grow fruits and vegetables, fish, make 
fragrant oils, and trade. The trade, which is small, is 
chiefly carried on by Chinese and Arabs. The Dutch took 
A. from the Portuguese in 1605. Pop. 28,000, fully one- 
half being Christians; the remainder, except 2,000 heathen, 
Mohammedans. 

Amboyna, the cap., is near the middle of the n.w. shore 
of Leitimor, on the bay of A., 3° 41' 40" s. lat, 128° 15' .e 
long. A wooden pier, where ships lie in 20 fathoms, leads 
to the town through Fort Victoria, in which are two com¬ 
panies of infantry and half a company of artillery, making 
a force of 271 men and 23 officers. The town is built at 
the base of Mount Soya. The streets are wide and clean: 
many houses are shaded by nutmeg trees. Principal build¬ 
ings are two Protestant churches, an orphan house, hospital, 
etc. Europeans live s.w. of the fort in low stone houses. 
There is a theatre, and there are well-kept markets. The 
Netherlands Missionary Soc. has a training-school for native 
teachers and ministers, with a printing establishment for 
lesson-books. The Reformed Church has 1,800 members, 
1,300 being natives, with 2 ministers who superintend other 
churches. Since 1854 A. has been a free port. Pop. 10,500. 

AMBREIN, AMBREIC : see under Amber. Ambrite, 
n. dm'brlt [so named from its resemblance to amber]: a 
fossil gum resin, found in the soil of New Zealand. 

AMBROSE, dm'broz, Saint, one of the most celebrated 


AMBROSIA. 

of the ancient fathers of the church: about 340-397; b. prob. 
at Treves, where his father, as prefect of Gaul, was wont to 
reside. A. received a fortunate omen even in his cradle: a 
swarm of bees covered the slumbering boy; and the aston¬ 
ished nurse, saw.that the bees clustered round his mouth, 
without doing him any harm. His father, perhaps remem¬ 
bering a similar wonder related of Plato, foreboded from 
this a high destiny for A. He received an excellent educa¬ 
tion, anti went with his brother Satyrus to Milan, in order 
to. follow the legal profession. He soon distinguished him¬ 
self so much that in 369 he was appointed, by Valentinian, 
prefect of Upper Italy and Milan. In this office his gentle¬ 
ness and wisdom won for him the esteem and love of the 
people, whose prosperity had been much injured by the 
troubles caused by Arianism. Accordingly, by both Arians 
and Catholics he was unanimously called to be bishop of 
Milan, 374. A. long refused to accept this dignity, and even 
ieft the city; yet he soon returned, was baptized, as hitherto 
he had been only a catechumen, and was consecrated eight 
days afterwards. The anniversary of this event is still cele¬ 
brated as a fete by the Catholic Church. As a bishop, A. 
won the universal reverence of all, by his mild and gentle 
character, though severe and unbending towards wickedness 
of every kind. Thus he repulsed the emperor Theodosius 
himself even from the door of the church, on account of his 
having caused the rebellious Thessalonians to be cruelly 
massacred by Rufinus, excommunicated him, and only re¬ 
stored him to the church after eight months of severe pen¬ 
ance. The best edition of his works, in which he followed 
in many things the Greek theological writers, is that pub¬ 
lished by the Benedictines (2 vols., Paris, 1686-90). The 
hymn Te Deum Laudamus is usually ascribed to A., but it 
is asserted by some authorities to have been written 100 years 
later. The Ambrosian ritual has also received his name, 
perhaps only because A. had made some changes upon it, 
which are retained at the present day in the Milanese Church. 
A commentary on the epistles of Paul, which was formerly 
ascribed to A., was probably composed by the Roman dea¬ 
con Hilarius, and is usually quoted as the Commentary of 
the Ambrosiaster. A. is the patron saint of Milan, and the 
Ambrosian library received its name in honor of him. 

AMBROSIA, n. dim-brb' zhi-a [Gr. ambrosia —from a , not; 
brolos, mortal]: said by the ancients to have been the food 
of the immortals; whatever is pleasant to the taste or smell. 
Ambro sial, a. -zhi-dl, pertaining to the food of the gods; 
pleasing to the taste or smell. Ambro sially, ad. -li. 
Ambro sian, a. -zhl-dn, of St. Ambrose; ambrosial. 

AMBROSIA: in Greek and Roman mythology, the food 
of the gods, which conferred immortal youth and beauty. 
It was brought by doves to Jupiter, and was occasionally 
bestowed upon such human beings as were the peculiar fa¬ 
vorites of the gods. A. was also used as a fragrant salve, 
which the goddesses employed to heighten their beauty; 
with which Jupiter himself anointed his locks; and which 
had the property of preserving bodies from corruDtion. 


AMBROSIAN CHANT-AMBRY. 


Hindu mythology has also its amrita [from a , signifying 
‘ without’ or ‘ not,’ and the Sanscrit root, allied to the Lat. 
mort, and Greek brot], or liquor of immortality, that resulted 
from the churning of the ocean by the gods; and the gods 
of the Scandinavian pantheon were preserved in perpetual 
vigor by eating the apples guarded by Idun. 

AMBROSIAN CHANT: the choral music of the early 
Christian church, introduced from the eastern church into 
the western by Ambrose, bishop of Milan, 4th c.; it was 
founded on the first four authentic modes of the ancient 
Greeks, and was sung antiphonally. It continued in use 
until the 6th c., when Pope Gregory the Great reformed the 
music of the church by introducing the Gregorian chant. 
There exists still another specimen of music by Ambrosius, 
now known only in the German Lutheran Church bythe air of 
one of Luther’s hymns, Nun kommt der Heiden Heiland; 
it is beyond a doubt 1,400 years old, and remains a beauti¬ 
ful specimen of melody, expressive of filial humility and 
submission. The A. C. continued to be sung in the cathe¬ 
dral at Milan long after Gregory’s reformation, and till this 
day, it is said, it may be heard there. 


AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, in Milan: so named in honor 
of Ambrose, patron saint of that city. It was established in 
1609 by the Cardinal Archbishop Federigo Borromeo, who 
employed learned men to collect books in Europe and Asia. 
This library was afterwards enriched by the acquisition of 
the MSS. of the Pinelli collection. Borromeo intended to 
establish, in connection with the library, a college of sixteen 
learned men, each having charge of a particular de¬ 
partment, to make known the works in the library, and as¬ 
sist strangers in their researches. The want of funds limited 
the number of members of this college. The chief acting 
officer, or prefetto , and four assistants are Doctores Biblio 
thecae Ambrosianae. The library contains 140,000 vols. of 
printed books, and 8,000 MSS. Among the many rarities 
belonging to it, besides the Palimpsests and other as yet un¬ 
edited MSS. discovered by 
Maio, Castiglione, and Maz- 
zuchelli, it contains a ‘ Ver¬ 
gil,’ in which Petrarch had 
written an account of his 
first meeting with Laura. 

AMBRY, n. am'bri, or 
Aumry, n. awm'rl, or Aum¬ 
bry, n. awm'bri,ov Almery, 
dlmer-i [F. armoire; Sp. 
armario; L. armarium or al- 
mdrium; Ger. aimer , a chest 
or cupboard; supposed by 
some a corruption of Al¬ 
monry'] : a niche in the wall 
of a church, shut in by a door; or a small cabinet of wood 
placed by the side of the altar, for the purpose of holding 
the vestments and utensils, such as the chalices, basins, 
cruets, etc., used for the service of the mass; also for the 



Ambry, Rushden, Northampton¬ 
shire—14th century. 


















































AMBS ACE-AMBULANCE. 

deposit of alms. In monastic buildings, ambries were used 
for various purposes, such as keeping plate, hanging towels 
for the monks to dry their hands with before dinner, and 
the like. In this sense the term A. seems to have been ap¬ 
plied to any kind of cupboard which w r as closed in and 
locked, and it is so used in Scotland at the present day 

AMBS ACE or Ames ace, n. dmz'ds [Norm. F. am - 
bezatz; L. ambo, both, and ace]: a double ace; two aces 
turned up at the same time at dice. 

AMBULACRA, n. plu. dm'bu la'krd [L. ambulacrum, 
that which serves for walking, a garden-walk]: peculiar 
organs of locomotion with which star-fishes and other 
Echinodermata are furnished. They are fleshy, more or 
less elongated, and terminated by suckers. They pass 
through orifices in the shell or other external integument 
of the animal, and are generally arranged in rows. Those 
of the Echini, or Sea-urchins, are long enough to extend 



Ambulacra of Star fish, 

As seen in a longitudinal and vertical section of one of the rays; and 
three of them in a separate figure on a larger scale in which they 
are shown in different conditions: a, a, a, tubular feet; b, b, b, in¬ 
ternal vesicles; c, the organ which supplies the fluid with which 
they are filled. 

beyond the point of the spines, and by means of them the 
animal is able to climb a perpendicular rock. They are 
tubular, and each has at its base a vesicle, filled with a fluid 
which, on the contraction of the vesicle, is forced into the 
tube, dilating it to its full extent, whilst, on the contrac¬ 
tion of the tube, the fluid returns again into the vesicle. 
The fluid is not secreted by these vesicles, but provided for 
them by distinct secreting organs. Am'bula'cral, a. -krai, 
pert, to 

AMBULANCE, dm'bu Ians [see Ambulant], originally, 
in France, the movable hospital attached to every division 
of the army; this was greatly improved during the wars of 
the first Napoleon, by Baron Larrey. The term now de¬ 
notes a special vehicle for conveyance of the sick or in¬ 
jured The A. used in the British r.rrny is a four wheeled 
wagon, provided with stretchers, marked on the canvas 
roof with the Geneva cross (see Geneva Convention), and 


AMBULANT. 

drawn by two horses, driven postilion fashion. Ten of 
these ambulances are attached to each division, and it is 
their province after an action to drive on to the field, pick 
up the wounded and carry them to the dressing station or 
field hospital. The French had ambulances during the 
Crimean war; but the British, having no such system, were 
obliged to borrow from their allies. In 1858 a commission 
for the purpose organized the A. service at present in use 
for the British army. Applied to the German army, the A. 
corps is termed a ‘Sanitary Detachment.’ The Knights of 
St. John in England and the St. Andrew’s A. Assoc, in 
Scotland have each organized a street A. system in most ot 
the large towns of those countries. Classes are trained in 
A. service by lecturers belonging to these organizations, 
and ambulances and, from their offices, attendants can be 
summoned by telephone or otherwise. Altogether, the best 
and completest form of A. has been devised and applied in 
the United States and generally copied throughout the 
world wherever such vehicles are in use. During the civil 
war the ambulances generally used were of the ‘ Wheeling ’ 
and ‘ Rucker' patterns. After the war, these vehicles being 
found unsuitable for the requirements of the A. service 
then being undertaken in New York, an entirely different 
wagon was constructed. The many years of study of the 
subject by the surgeons and carriage makers of New York 
have improved greatly on the form which at first was the 
best attainable, and an A has been produced which is be¬ 
lieved to meet all the needs of city service. The popularity 
of this pattern is shown by the great number which have 
been built in New York and sent to other localities, e.g., 
nearly all the principal American cities, London and Bristol, 
England, Panama, Guatemala, and other countries. The 
first vehicle used in New York as an A. was the old four- 
wheeled covered market w r agon, supplied with a mattress, 
pillows and blankets, and whatever articles were necessary 
to carry. The improvement has been slow but constant to 
the present perfected form. The improved A. in present 
use, as described, weighs from 1,100 to 1,300 lbs., and costs 
about $600. Eight persons can be carried in it if neces¬ 
sary; one sitting with the driver, three lying on the bed, 
two sitting on the surgeon’s cross-seat, supported by straps 
in the rear, and the surgeon riding on the step which hangs 
down from the rear end of the body. The wagons are 
painted black and dark green. The bed runs on small iron 
wheels, and is easily run in or pulled out from the body of 
the vehicle. The roof is of hard wood, the sides and rear 
furnished with adjustable leather curtains; the sides of the 
body are padded and covered with enamelled leather or 
rubber cloth. To the rear of the driver’s seat iron frames 
hold the medicine chest and a box containing antiseptic 
dressings and instruments. Each wagon is provided with 
one or more stretchers, upon which patients are brought to 
the ambulance 

AMBULANT, a am'bu lfint [F. ambulant — from L. am- 
bulans or ambulati'tem, walking]: walking; strolling; 
moving from place to place. Ambulance, n. am'bu Ians , 


AMBURY-AMELIORATE 

[F.]: vehicle for conveyance of the sick or injured (see 
above); in France, the movable hospital of an army. Am'- 
bula'tion, n. a walking about, the act of moving about. 
Ambulatory, a. am'bu la'ter ?, that has the power of 
walking, applied to a single limb, or to an entire animal 
N. a place for walking, spec in arch , the cloisters of a 
cathedral, college, etc. 

AMBURY: see Anbury 

AMBUSCADE, n. ambus-had' [F. embuscade , an am¬ 
buscade: It. imboscare, to hide in a wood; imboscata, an 
ambush—from F. bois; It boseo; mid L boscus (Eng. bush), 
wood— lit. , a lying hid in a wood or thicket]: a lying in con¬ 
cealment to attack an enemy by surprise, the place where 
troops lie in wait: V. to lie in wait Am busca ding, imp. 
Ambush, n. amboosh [F embuche, a snare. Norm. F. em- 
buscher, to lie in wait in a wood It. im, in; bosco, a wood 
or thicket]: a lying in wait, soldiers concealed in order to 
attack an enemy by surprise, an ambuscade: V. to lie in 
wait for; to surprise. Am bushing, imp Am bushed, pp. 
-booslit. Ambushment, n am boosh-ment , an ambuscade. 

AMBUSCADE, or Ambush one of the maneuvers adopted 
in war. It applies to any attempt to attack an enemy by 
lying in wait and coming upon him unexpectedly. In 
former days, when soldiers fought hand to hand more fre¬ 
quently than at present, the A. was much resorted to, but 
the tactics of modern times render it less available. An A. 
is neither an * attrck ’ Dor a * surprise,’ in military language; 
it is something more sudden and unexpected than either. 
See Col. Malleson, Ambushes and Surprises (1885). 

AMELANCHIER, dm-el-an ki- er: genus of plants of the 
natural order Rosacece(q v,), sub order Pomea; distinguished 
by having five ovaries, each of which is divided into two 
cells, with one ovule in each cell, the ripe fruit including 
3-5 carpels. It consists of a few species of small trees with 
deciduous simple leaves, abundant racemes of white flowers, 
and small fruit of the size of a pea, or a little larger, but 
soft, juicy, and agreeable. The common A (A. vulgaris) is 
a native of the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. The other species are 
natives of North America A . Canadense is the edible June- 
berry, or shad bush, named because flowering in shad time. 
It is common n., with its varieties boiryapium (meaDing 
grape-pear, formerly classed under Pyrus . which includes 
pears), oblongifolia , rotundifolia, almfolia (alder-leaved), 
and oligocarpa (few-fruited) 

AMELIA, d-male-d ( anc . Ameria ): t. of central Italy, 
prov. of Perugia, 21 m s w. of Spoleto, picturesquely 
situated on the mountains between the Nera and the Tiber, 
about 7 m. from the junction of the two nvers. It is the 
seat of a bishop, ar.d has a cathedral. Pop. of commune, 
3,000. 

AMELIORATE, v. d-melybrdt [mid. L. amelioratus, 
made better, made more vigorous—from L. ad, melwr , 
better: F. ameliorer, to improve]: to make better; to 
improve. Ameliorating, imp. Ameliorated, pp. 


AMEN -AMENDE. 

Ameliora'tor, n. -ter, one who. Amelioration, k 
d-mel'yo-ralshun, a making better; improvement. Amel 
iorative, a. a-mel'yb-rd'tiv, producing improvement. 

AMEN, v. admen' or a'men' [Gr.—from Heb.]: a Hebrew 
word of asseveration, equivalent to ‘Yea.’ ‘Truly;’ com¬ 
monly adopted in the forms of Christian worship (Ps. cvi. 
48): N. stability, firmness, truth (Kev. iii. 14; 2. Cor. i. 20). 
In Jewish synagogues, the A. is pronounced by the 
congregation at the conclusion of the benediction at parting. 
Among the early Christians, the prayer offered by the 
presbyter was concluded by the word A., uttered by the 
congregation. Mention is made of the practice in 1. Cor. 
xiv. 16. Justin Martyr is the earliest of the fathers who 
alludes to the use of this response. ‘ In speaking of the 
sacrament, he says that, at the close of the benediction and 
prayer, all the assembly respond “A.” According to 
Tertullian, none but the faithful were permitted to join in 
the response.’ A somewhat noisy and irreverent practice 
prevailed in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper until the 
6th c., after which it was discontiuued. ‘Upon the recep¬ 
tion both of the bread and of the wine, each person uttered 
a loud “A.;” and at the close of the consecration by the 
priest, all joined in shouting a loud “A.”’ The same 
custom was observed at baptism, wlfere the sponsors and 
witnesses responded vehemently. In the Greek Church, the 
A. was pronounced after the name of each person of the 
Trinity; and at the close of the baptismal formula, the 
people responded ‘A.’ At the conclusion of prayer, it 
signifies (according to the English Church Catechism) So be 
it; after the repetition of the Creed, So is it. 

AMENABLE, a. d-me’nd-bl [F. amener, to bring or lead 
into—from F. mener , to drive—from mid. L. mind,re, to 
drive, as cattle, to lead from place to place— lit. , capable of 
being managed or led]; liable to answer; liable to be called 
to account. Ame'nably, ad. -bit. Ame'nabil'ity, n. -i-ti, 
liability to answer. Amenage, v. dm'en-dj [AS. a, on, and 
menage for manage ]: in OK, to manage; to direct by force. 
Amenance, n. dm'en-dns, in OK., conduct; behavior.— Syn. 
of ‘ amenable:’ accountable; answerable; responsible; docile; 
liable. 

AMEND, v. d-mend' [F. amender, to amend—from L. 
emenddre, to correct, to improve—from L. ex, mendum, a 
fault or error]: to free from faults or errors; to correct; to 
make or grow better; to improve. Amend'ing, imp. 
Amended, pp. Amendable, a. -d-bl. Amendatory, 
a. -d-ter'i, corrective. Amend ment, n. a change for the 
better; improvement; the correction of an error. Amends, 
n. d-mendz', satisfaction; a recompense. To move an 
amendment, to propose a change, an alteration, or an 
omission in any measure before a public body, or even its 
rejection. Syn. of ‘amend’: to correct; reform; emend; 
rectify; improve;—of ‘amends’: compensation; remunera¬ 
tion; recompense; satisfaction; requital; reward; meed; 
guerdon. 

AMENDE, n. d-mongd [F. a fine or penalty]; reparation 


AMENDMENT— AMENTACEjE. 

Amende honorable, a-mongd on b-rabl [F. apology honor¬ 
able]: a full apology for insult or injury. 

AMENDMENT term in judicial and in parliamentary 
proceedings. In the former, it is a power of correction of 
any errors in actions, suits or prosecutions, which has been 
greatly extended of late, and which has largely improved 
and simplified the administration of law. In parliamentary 
practice A. applies to a motion (or the substance of a motion) 
intended to oppose, vary, or qualify a question or resolution; 
and in the case of bills, it is employed as a courteous method 
of dismissing the bill from any further consideration, by 
moving that instead of ‘now,’ it be read at the end of 
three months, six months, or any other term beyond the 
probable duration of the session. It is also competent to a 
member to move as an A to the question a resolution 
declaratory of some principle adverse to that of the bill, 
provided it be strictly relevant. A. in judicial proceedings, 
is the correction, by allowance of the court, of an error 
committed in the progress of a cause. Amendments at 
common law are in all cases in the discretion of the court 
for the furtherance of justice, and may be made at any ximo 
while the proceedings are subject to the control of the court. 
Amendments are, however, always limited by due consider¬ 
ation of the rights of the opposite party, and when by an 
A these would be prejudiced or exposed to unreasonable 
delay, it is not granted 

AMENITY, n. a-meriiti [L. amanitas, delightfulness 
—from amanus, pleasant: F. amenite\. pleasantness; that 
which delights the eye, suavity or evenness of temper. 

AMENOPHIS, dm e-no fis, Am unoph, or Amen hotep: 
name of three Egyptian kings, of the 18th dynasty. 
— A I reigned B c 1499-78 he warred against Canaan and 
Ethiopia, and beautified the city of Thebes. — A. II. suc¬ 
ceeded his lather, Thotmes III . he took Nineveh by as¬ 
sault and conquered the Ethiopians. Some writers identify 
him with Memnon, who fought in the Trojan war. — A. III. 
reigned B.c 1400-1364, when the Egyptian kingdom had 
its greatest extent, from the Euphrates into Etliopia. The 
Egyptian obelisk in the Palace de la Concorde, Paris, com¬ 
memorates his exploits, and among the many existing 
monuments of his period is 4 the Vocal Memnon.’ 

AMENORRHEA, or Amenorrhcea, n. a men o re 'a\G r. 
«, without, men, month, roia, flow], absence of the regu¬ 
lar monthly flow in a woman in whom it should naturally 
exist See Menstruation 

AMENTACEH3, d-men-tase-e: according to some botan¬ 
ists, a natural order of dicotyledonous or exogenous plants, 
consisting entirely of trees and shrubs, whose flowers are 
unisexual, the male flowers, and very often also the female 
flowers, disposed in amenta or catkins (q.v.), and the 
perianth either wanting or incomplete. This order, which 
contains many well known and important trees, is divided 
into a number of sub-orders,which by manvhave been erected 
into distinct orders,forming the Amental Alliance of Lindley. 
Under A. are ranked SalicineeB or Salicacm (see Willow^ 


\ 


AMENTHES—AMERCE. 

Myrkem (see Candleberry Myrtle), Casuarinaceee (see 
Casu arena), Betulacece (see Birch), Altingiucece , called also 
Balsamacece, but not to be confounded with Balsaminacm, 
or Balsaminece (see Liquidambar); by some also Corylacem 
or Cupuliferce (q.v.), and Platanece (see Plane), both of 
which Lindley excludes from his Amental Alliance, 
associating the former with Juglandacece (see Walnut), as 
a distinci alliance, and referring the latter to the Urticai 
Alliance . See Urticace^e. On the other hand, he unites 
with the Amental Alliance the order Blceagnacece. See 
El^eagnus. 

AMEN THES: Egyptian mythological word equivalent 
in meaning to the Greek word Hades, the unseen world. 
Plutarch explained it as signifying ‘ the giving and taking,’ 
an interpretation generally adopted, but erroneously. A. 
literally means ‘ the hiding ’ (-place understood). On 
Egyptian monuments is pictured the god Anubis leading to 
A. the souls which, in the form of birds, are escaping from 
the body through the mouth. He conducts them before the 
throne of Osiris, who sits as judge, with a council or jury 
of forty-two persons. The female deity, Ament, represented 
on monuments in Upper Egypt, is merely a female form of 
Ammon, and her name has no connection with that of A. 

AMENTIA, n. dmen'shi- d [L. amentia —from Gr. a, 
without; L. mens or mentem, the mind]: imbecility of 
mind; idiotism. 

AMENTUM, n. a-men'turn, or Ament, n. dm'ent [L. 
amentum, a leathern thong]: in hot., a catkin or spike with 
scaly bracts hanging somewhat like a rope or cat’s ^ail. 
Amentaceous, a. a-men-tashiis, producing amenta or 
catkins. Amentiferous, a. tif'er-us, denoting plants hav¬ 
ing amenta or catkins. 

AMERBACH, d'mer-bdk, Johann: a German printer, 
one of the first to use Roman instead of Gothic letters. 
From his press at Basel, he published the works of St. Am 
brose and St. Augustine. 

AMERCE, v. a mens' [OF. amercier; mid. L. amercidre, 
to impose a pecuniary fine on one guilty of crime: F. a, at; 
merci, mercy]: to impose a pecuniary penalty on one, that 
is, at the discretion or mercy of the court; to cause to pay a 
sum of money by w r ay of punishment. Amerc'ing, imp. 
Amerced, pp. d-merst'. Amercement, n. d-mersment, 
money paid by way of punishment or fine at the mercy of 
die court. Amer cer, n. -ser, one who. Amerceabue a 
& mers'd-bL 


AMERICA. 

AMERICA: one of the four quarters of the globe; smaller 
than Asia, but nearly as large as both Europe and Africa 
together. It is the only one of the four main divisions of 
the land that is washed by all the four great oceans—the 
Northern, the Atlantic, the Southern, and the Pacific. If 
Terra del Fuego and Greenland are included—as ought to 
be done on geological grounds—A. occupies about 150° of 
long., and about 135° of lat. 

Physical Aspect .—If Greenland, described under its own 
heading, be left out, and this continent be viewed as a whole, 
the chief feature is the great range of lofty mountains which 
runs with little interruption from n. to s. near the Pacific 
coast. This range is remarkable not only 'for its great 
length, but also for the fact that its general direction, n. to 
s., differs from that of the leading mountain ranges of the 
old world, which, at least in the n. hemisphere, mostly 
stretch e. and w. See Rocky Mountains: Cordilleras 
of Central America: Andes. 

Scarcely anywhere do these mountains consist of a single 
chain. In almost every part of their course, at least two 
ranges can be made out, separated by one or more valleys 
or plateaus, or, in s. Chili, where the w. range oc¬ 
cupies islands, by the sea. Where they begin, in British 
North A., three ranges, separated by valleys, are distinguish¬ 
able; but on entering the United States, the Rocky Mountain 
region expands into a vast tableland from which numerous 
detached ranges emerge, almost all of which run more or 
less n. and s. The only exceptions are the Uintah Range of 
Utah and Wyoming, and the Sweetwater Range in Wyom¬ 
ing, both of which run e. and w. Within this table-land is 
included a large area known as the Great Basin (q.v.), 
which has no outlet; and elsewhere it is a noteworthy fact 
that the rivers of the Rocky Mountains do not follow the 
course of the valleys separating the ranges, but cut across 
the latter, showing that the rivers already existed before the 
elevation of the mountains, and gradually deepened their 
beds as the mountains rose. The region immediately to the 
s. and e. of the Great Basin is highly remarkable on account 
of the enormous depth to which the rivers, more particularly 
the Colorado (q.v.) have worn their beds through the rocky 
plateaus, the sides of their beds rising almost, or in 
some places quite perpendicularly up, and forming what 
are known as canons. To the s. of the vast plateau region 
of the western states other separate plateaus of greater or 
less elevation occur, in New Mexico, Mexico, and Central 
A.; and at the Isthmus of Panama (q.v.), the range may be 
said to disappear for a short interval where the edevation 
sinks to between 500 and 600 ft. 

Beginning again on the other side of the depression, the 
s. half of these mountains, the Andes, have their parallel 
chains more continuous, and for the most part closer to¬ 
gether than in North A.; and here, too, the American 
mountains attain their highest elevation, the highest peaks 
of the Andes being surpassed only by those of the Hima¬ 
layas. Only in Peru and Bolivia do we meet with broad 
plateaus comparable to those of western North A. On the w. 


AMERICA. 

side, the slope of the Andes is very steep, descending rapidly 
down, n. of about 40° s., to a comparatively level strip of 
from 60 to 80 m. in breadth; while s. of that point, the 
mountains advance to the sea. 

Both in North and South A., the descent is much more 
gradual on the east side than on the west; in North A., 
indeed, the slope towards the plains of the Mississippi is so 
gradual as to be almost imperceptible. In both halves of 
the continent, too, the land rises again into mountains on 
the e. side; in North A., in the Laurentian Range (see Can¬ 
ada), the Green Mountains and the Appalachians (q.v.), and 
in South A. in the mountains of Guiana n. of the Amazon 
Valley, and the Serra do Espinhago and the Serra dos Orgaos 
and Serra do Mar in Brazil, to the s. of that valley. Other 
isolated ranges, such as those of Cordova, Velasco, and 
Aconquija, occur farther to the s. amid the plains of the 
Argentine Confederation. In the e. part of North A. the 
Appalachians form a very important feature, but the only 
fact of a general nature that need be alluded to here is 
the existence of a valley varying in breadth from 15 to 50 
or 60 m., running longitudinally through the whole extent 
of the system, forming in the extreme n.e. the valleys of the 
St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain, and the Hudson: while in 
Pennsylvania it forms Cumberland Valley, in Virginia the 
Shenandoah Valley, and in e. Tennessee the Tennessee 
Valley. 

Volcanic manifestations and phenomena of an allied 
nature are now confined to to the w. side of the continent. 
On the e. side, the volcanic fires are long extinct. There the 
oldest eruptive rocks, at least in North A., are melaphyres 
and so-called traps of secondary age. On the Pacific, or 
more recently elevated side (see below, under Geology), there 
are signs of recent volcanic activity through the whole length 
of the continent; and there are still active volcanoes at in¬ 
tervals along the whole 3 line from Terra del Fucgo to the 
Mexican plateau, and, again, in Alaska and the Aleutian 
Islands. The same regions, but more especially the west 
coast of South A., are more or less subject to earthquakes. 
On the great table-land of western North A., it may be re¬ 
marked, Dr. Archibald Geikie met vyith unmistakable evi¬ 
dence of volcanic eruptions, in a recent geological epoch, 
on a scale to which the volcanoes of the present day show 
no parallel, the molten matter having poured forth from 
huge fissures so as to flood the lower ground with horizon¬ 
tal sheets of basalt. In that region, at present, the chief 
sign of volcanic activity is in the celebrated geysers of the 
Yellowstone region. 

Climate— In comparing North A. with Europe and Asia, 
we must contrast not east and west with each other, but 
west with west, and east with east—neither Newfoundland 
with England, nor British Columbia with Kamtchatka, but 
Kamtchatka with Newfoundland, and England with British 
Columbia. Such a comparison show T s that the difference 
lies not, as is often assumed, between the two continents, 
but between the opposite shores of either continent within 
itself. For instance, at Nain, in Labrador, the mean tem- 


AMERICA. 

perature is 7° F. below freezing; while at Sitka, in Alaska, 
it is 12° above freezing. This difference of 19° between the 
e. and w. coasts of the new world is only a very little less 
than the difference between the e. coast of the new and the 
w. coast of the old; for the temperature of Gottenburg, in 
Sweden, is only 21° higher than that of Nain. It is to be 
remarked, however, that this difference between the opposite 
coasts of the two continents diminishes as we proceed south¬ 
wards. New York is only 7° colder than Naples; and 
Florida has the same temperature as Cairo. This difference 
between the two sides both of the old world and the new, 
and correspondence between the corresponding sides of the 
land of the two hemispheres, is due to the fact that the 
same influences act on both continents. In both cases, the 
n.e. shores are washed by cold currents flowing out of the 
Arctic Ocean; while the corresponding latitudes on the w. 
have their temperature maintained by the prevailing warm 
s.w. winds, and these winds have their temperature kept up 
by the warm currents which proceed in the same direction 
from the equatorial parts of the ocean. 

But whatever influences may be common to the climates 
of both continents, there are, as might be expected, interest¬ 
ing contrasts in respect of climate, due to the difference in 
physical structure between the old world and the new, and 
especially to the existence in the latter of that long back¬ 
bone of mountains described in the previous section, and the 
absence in the n. half of the continent of e. and w\ ranges 
corresponding to the Himalayas and some of the mountains 
of Siberia and Mongolia. The backbone of mountains 
exerts an important influence on climate through its entire 
course, mostly arresting the passage of the clouds and rains 
so as to make the windward slope a fertile garden, while 
the leeward slope is a barren desert. The exceptions to this 
rule will appear on considering the effects of this mountain 
barrier in different parts. 

The n. part of the range lies in a region where, as in the 
corresponding parts of Europe, the winds are very variable, 
but where the rain-bearing winds blow chiefly more or less 
from the s.w. Here, accordingly, the rainy side of the 
mountains is the w. side, and as in Europe, the heaviest 
rains are near the w. coast. The chief difference between 
Europe and this quarter of America lies in the fact, that in 
A. the proximity of the mountains to the coast causes the 
annual rainfall to diminish more rapidly to the east than 
anywhere in Europe except in Norway, where the borders 
of the Scandinavian plateaus have the same effect. The 
rainfall in the w. of Vancouver’s Island is much heavier 
than in the e., and here again the rainfall is much heavier 
than in the valley between the coast range of tbe mainland 
and the next range in the interior. At Esquimalt, in the s.e. 
of Vancouver’s Island, the annual rainfall is nearly 30 inches; 
while at Spence’s Bridge, in the valley referred to, the total 
annual precipitation (including snow converted into rain) is 
only about 10 inches. Further inland in these latitudes, 
where the rainfall is not so much dependent on w. winds, 
there are ample rains in summer and deep snows in winter. 


AMERICA. 

Farther a. is a region where the chief rain-bearing winda 
are still s.w. but where, e. of the mountains, rain is ex¬ 
tremely deficient. W. Oregon and the whole of Upper 
California w. of the Sierra Nevada have an abundant rain¬ 
fall, and are among the most fertile tracts in the world; 
while the e. base of the Sierra Nevada (which forms the w. 
boundary of the Great Basin mentioned in the previous 
section) is one of the driest regions on the globe; so dry, 
indeed, that in spite of the low temperature which charac¬ 
terizes the nights there in consequence of the excessive 
loss of heat by radiation, there is not even a deposition of 
dew (q.v.). The Great Basin is only part of a wide 
region which, stretching to the n., e., and s. of that 
basin, and embracing in all about 1,400,000 sq. m., has 
been called the Great American Desert; so called, however, 
with impropriety, inasmuch as, though remarkable for its 
deficiency of moisture, the region includes large areas richly 
productive as they are, and capable of being made by arti¬ 
ficial means still more so. The report of the U. S. land 
office for 187G-7, however, describes the whole region from 
the meridian of 100° w. in the e. to the Sierra Nevada and 
Cascade Region in the w., and from the Mexican frontier in 
the s. to the British frontier in the n., as one in which agri¬ 
culture in the sense in which it is pursued in the Mississippi 
Valley—agriculture without irrigation—is impossible; and 
a more recent American surveyor, Mr. Low, has furnished 
us with more precise details as to this arid region. He 
classes the districts of the United States in which there is a 
deficiency of moisture under three heads: First, treeless 
plains covered with grass, under which head fall Nebraska, 
Dakota, w. Kansas, and e. Colorado. Second, semi-desert 
regions, treeless tracts with little or no grass, but covered 
with low somewhat shrubby plants, such as atriplex, arte- 
misia (sage-brush), aplopappus; under this head fall Nevada, 
Utah, Wyoming, n w. Texas, the w. part of the Indian 
Territory, and New Mexico; but in most of them the 
mountains with which they are traversed occasion very 
numerous oases. Third, genuine deserts with only very 
scanty vegetation, or, over large tracts, with no vegetation 
at all, such as the Mohave Desert in s. California and w. 
Arizona, the Gila Desert in s.w. Arizona, and the Painted 
Desert in n. Arizona and s. Utah. 

South of these deserts is a region where the prevailing 
winds are from the e. This is within the tropics and the 
trade-winds (see Wind), and the modifications of the trade- 
winds produced by the configuration of the land surface 
must be considered. Throughout this region, as far as the 
valley of the Amazon, the rainfall on the e. side is for the 
most part divided between a rainy and a dry season, 
the rain being generally abundant during the former, and 
scanty during the latter. In this region are included the 
West India Islands generally. The peninsula of Yucatan, 
though included within it, is a comparatively dry region, 
for the surface is so low that it shares to some extent in the 
rainlessness characteristic the trade-wind region on the 
ocean. 


AMERICA. 

Before considering the w. side of the mountains in this 
region, it will be well now to look at the more easterly parts 
of A., which have not yet been considered, to the n. of this 
region, for there is seen another effect of the same mount¬ 
ain barrier. _ The lower part of the Mississippi Valley (the 
states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) has the highest 
rainfall in North A. outside of the tropics, with the excep¬ 
tion of the w. maritime strip already referred to. This rain 
is brought by winds charged with moisture drawn from the 
steaming area of the Mexican Gulf, and these winds maybe 
regarded partly as trade-winds which have had their course 
deflected by the obstruction of the Mexican mountains. In 
part, however, they are directly due to the great rarefaction 
M the air in the interior of the North American continent. 
The e. seaboard, again, derives its rain from the Atlantic; 
and here it is the Appalachian system which divides the 
rainier districts towards the’sea from the drier districts 
further inland. Here, as in the Mississippi Valley, the 
total annual rainfall increases as we go southwards. " Both 
in Florida and in the Mississippi states above mentioned, the 
average rainfall for the whole year reaches 60 inches or 
upwards. 

On the w. side of the mountain barrier in tropical and 
sub-tropical latitudes, first appears an exceptionally dry 
region in the n. (Low r er California and n.w. Mexico). 
But further to the s., where evaporation is more rapid, 
there is not the same dearth of rain. Here the mount¬ 
ain barrier has an opposite effect. It prevents the 
moisture due to the great local evaporation from being 
continuously carried aw r ay by constant winds, as occurs in 
the ocean where the trade-winds blow; and hence through¬ 
out the w’hole length of the tropical strip as far as lat. 4° s. 
there is an abundant rainfall. In the narrow Isthmus of 
Panama and in Costa Rica the rains are so abundant through¬ 
out the year that a rainy and dry season cannot even be dis¬ 
tinguished. 

But at the point mentioned, lat. 4° s., a sudden and very 
remarkable change takes place. From that point south¬ 
ward, there follows a strip on the w. side of the Andes, 
stretching to about 30° s., on which rain hardly ever falls. 
This, also, has been well shown to be directly due in part to 
the mountain barrier, of which w T e have seen various other 
effects on the climate of this continent. Partly it is due, 
beyond question, to a cold current wdiich flow’s n. along the 
w. coasts of South A. between the degrees of latitude 
mentioned, for in the n. the climate changes as if by magic 
where that current leaves the American shores. The 
direct effect of the current is to reduce the amount of 
evaporation. But on the w. coast of Africa there is a simi¬ 
lar cold current which has a much more limited effect on 
the climate. Even Damara Land and the so-called Kalahari 
Desert are by no means as dry as this parched strip in South 
A.; and farther to the n. there are in the corresponding 
latitudes of Africa abundant rains. But the effect of the 
Andes range is this: it cuts off the region of rarefied air to 
the e, from the Pacific Ocean, and the amount of rarefaction 


AMERICA. 

m the narrow strip to the w. is not sufficient to produce an 
indraught of moisture-laden air from beyond the cold cur 
rent. Hence the total absence of rain till a high elevation 
on the mountains is reached. 

On the high table-lands between the parallel chains of the 
Andes, the table lands known in Peru and Bolivia as punas, 
the rainfall is not very abundant, but is generally sufficient; 
but there is one extensive region where- the want of rain is 
as absolute as in the desert at the base of the mountains. 
This region lies in the same latitude as the most desolate 
part of the desert just referred to, in the s.e. of Bolivia, and 
mw. of the Argentine Confederation, and it bears the name 
of the Despoblado or Unpeopled. Darwin describes it as 
‘a valley of the grandest dimensions,’ yet ‘ completely dry, 
excepting, perhaps, for a few days during some very rainy 
winter.’ He adds that no considerable torrent could ever 
have flowed clown # this great valley, and as one proof of the 
absolute dryness of the region, he mentions that he observed 
in one place, where a side valley joined the main one, that 
the bed of the former was lower than that of the latter. ‘A 
mere rivulet of water in the course of an hour would have 
cut a channel for itself; but it was evident that ages had 
passed away and no such rivulet had drained this great 
tributary. ’ 

On the e. side of the Andes, within the latitudes of the 
desert strip on the w. side, the phenomena are entirely dif¬ 
ferent. The slopes of the Andes themselves on this side are 
almost constantly supplied with copious rains from the At¬ 
lantic, but in the lower regions the character of the rainfall 
varies. In the valley of the Amazon, which is directly ex¬ 
posed to the trade-winds, there is abundant rain, especially 
at certain seasons, and the length of the rainy season in¬ 
creases with the ascent of the valley. Further to the s., 
plenteous rains are confined to the maritime tracts beyond 
which the mountains of s. Brazil deprive the atmospheric 
currents of their moisture. Further inland the campos 
of Brazil, the whole of Paraguay, and the n. part of the 
Argentine Confederation, are rather deficient in rainfall. 

Still southward, beyond the tropics is a region in which 
the windward side is again the western, as in the temperate 
parts of North A., and here the rainfall increases on the w. 
cide of the mountains from about lat. 30°, until at Ancud, 
in the n. of the island of Chiloe, the rainfall for the year 
rises to about 130 inches. The whole of the southern archi¬ 
pelago, including Terra del Fuego, is deluged with rain; 
while the plains of Patagonia and the southern part of the 
Argentine Confederation are almost rainless. 

So much regarding the rainfall of the American continent. 
With regard to the temperature, there is lit tle to be said of a 
general nature in addition to what is stated at the beginning 
of this section. Here, as elsewhere, the temperature de¬ 
pends chiefly on latitude, elevation, and the character of 
the prevailing winds: for details as to the way in which 
these factors affect the temperature in different parts of the 
American continent, see the articles on the different coun¬ 
tries composing it. Besides the general fact already alluded 


AMERICA. 

to, that wherever a dry region is exposed to a hot sun thers 
are great extremes of temperature between night and day, 
there are two important circumstances relating to tempera¬ 
ture in the American continent. One of these pertains to 
North A., and is the effect of the second of the two differ¬ 
ences between the physical structure of that part of the con¬ 
tinent and the corresponding part of the old world—the dif¬ 
ference, namely, arising from the absence of e and w. moun¬ 
tain ranges in the former. The presence of such ranges in 
the old world shuts off the cold air which in winter accu¬ 
mulates to the n. of them from the regions lying further to 
the s.; while in North A., during the winter months (No¬ 
vember to February) that air from time to time sweeps 
down the Mississippi Valley, and rapidly reduces the tem¬ 
perature by many degrees, and then, reinforcing the trade- 
winds, strikes with violence against the w. coast of Mexico. 
Such winds, known in the United States as ‘ northers ’ and 
in Mexico as * nortes,’ bring down the mean temperature of 
the districts affected by them below that of most other places 
in the same latitude. Ice forms at the mouth of the Missis¬ 
sippi in lat. 30°; and even in the extreme s. of Texas, lat. 
i6° n., about the same as that of Patna in Bengal, the ther¬ 
mometer has been known to sink, on some occasions to 23° F. 

The other point to be noticed relating to the temperature 
of the American continent is that, owing to the greater ex¬ 
tent of ice in the s. Polar as compared with the n. 
°olar regions, and the greater openness of the Antarctic 
Ocean as compared with the Arctic, the s. parts of South A. 
have a much colder climate than places in corresponding 
latitudes in the n. hemisphere. On the w. coast, glaciers 
descend to the water’s edge at the parallel of 46° 30's., a 
latitude corresponding nearly to that of La Rochelle in 
France, or to the n. part of Cape Breton (q.v.) on the e. or 
colder side of the North American continent; and in the 
Straits of Magellan, the temperature of the warmest month 
does not exceed 46° F., and snow falls almost daily. 

Hydrography .—It is in its river system that the continent 
of A. possesses one of its chief advantages over the old world. 
For further information relating to the principal rivers, see the 
separate titles. All that is necessary here is to advert to some 
of the most striking facts regarding this part of the Ameri¬ 
can water-system, especially with reference to the facilities it 
affords for inland navigation. Thus it may be mentioned that 
the Amazon drains an area of between two and three millions 
of sq. m., and discharges a greater quantity of water than the 
Yenisei, Indus, Ganges, Obi, Lena, Amur, Hoang-ho, and 
Yang-tse-kiang all put together; while, as regards its navi¬ 
gation, steam-vessels can ascend (though not without inter¬ 
ruption) every one of its main branches nearly to the e. foot 
of the Andes, being thus able to avail themselves of several 
different routes, each 2,500 m. in length. The Mississippi, 
again, drains an area nearly, if not quite, as large as that of 
the Amazon, and although its discharge of water is not nearly 
so great, its importance as a channel for inland navigation 
is much greater, in consequence of the greater populousness 
of the country which it traverses. Its value in this last re 
Vol. 1 — 21 


AMERICA 

spect may be conceived from the fact that it has been found 
practicable, by means of this river, to send grain and flour 
entirely by water to Liverpool and Glasgow from St. Paul 
and Minneapolis, the ehief towns in Minnesota, the state in 
which the Mississippi has its sources. The St. Lawrence, 
too, possesses far more than an average value in relation to 
its length as an artery of internal communication. 

Of the Lakes of A , a brief notice here will be sufficient. 
The great lakes on the frontiers of Canada and the United 
States are well known to be the largest bodies of fresh water 
in the world, though they are not the largest inland seas, the 
Caspian Sea being much larger than all of them taken to¬ 
gether. The largest of the other fresh-water lakes of A. 
(Lakes Winnipeg, Athabasca, Great Slave Lake, Great Bear 
Lake, etc.) are all in the Dominion of Canada; but the most 
interesting geographical feature to notice under this head is 
the great number both of large and small lakes, mostly with 
rock bound shores, with which this part of the continent is 
studded, a feature in which it corresponds with the exten¬ 
sive area of crvstnlline rooks occupying Finland and Lapland 
in similar latitudes in Europe. The largest lake (except 
Lake Michigan) in the United States, the Great Salt Lake 
in the Great Basin; and the largest in South A., Lake 
Titicaca on the table land of Peru and Bolivia, are salt, or, 
more precisely, the first extremely bait, the latter brackish. 

The vast advantage in point of nuvial communication pos¬ 
sessed by the new world over the old. has already been ad¬ 
verted to. There is, however, a hydrographical feature in 
which one of the grand divisions of the e. continent is 
decidedly superior to A. The coast line of Europe, in pro¬ 
portion to extent of surface, is incomparably longer than 
that of even the n half of the western continent. This is 
at once apparent on glancing at the two maps. Europe and 
America are hydrographically so connected as to be the 
most accessible to each other of any two great portions of 
the earth. The dividing sea, besides being itself physically 
by far the narrower of the two intercontinental oceans, is 
virtually narrowed still more by its winds and its currents. 
Along a belt of about 30° on either side of the equator, the 
easterly trade-wind with its attendant current wafts the voy¬ 
ager westward from Africa; while above that belt the re¬ 
action, strengthened and accelerated by the peculiar forma¬ 
tion of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf cl' Mexico, is ready 
to carry him round again to Europe, under the double pres¬ 
sure of the Florida stream and its generally prevailing breezes 
from the s.w. Nor yet can the hydrographical relations of 
A. with Asia be denied their proportion of significance and 
influence, linked as the two continents are by Behring’s 
Strait, and twice bridged as is their ocean, first by the Aleu¬ 
tian Isles—-a continuation of the Kuriles and Japan—and 
then by the Polynesian clusters, that series of offshoots from 
the Indian Archipelago. 

History .—This may be glanced at under the three heads 
of Aboriginal Ages, Discovery, and Colonization. 

As to the Aboriginal Ages, there arises a question, too in¬ 
teresting to be overlooked, and yet too doubtful to be sol^£ 


AMEHICA. 

fis to the origin of the native tribes and peoples of A. With¬ 
out prejudicing the question (considered under Indians) 
whether the aboriginal inhabitants of A. are to be consid¬ 
ered, in an ethnological point of view, as substantially of 
one stock, it appears highly probable that they did not all 
spring from one and the same primeval band of adventurers; 
in other words, that different colonies, voluntary or invol¬ 
untary, must have reached the new continent at different 
times. This view, to say nothing of the direct testimony of 
local traditions, seems to be in itself more than probable, 
when we consider that through the length and breadth of 
the universal ocean even the most insignificant specks of 
land had each received at least one influx of human wan¬ 
derers. But beyond such probabilities and such traditions 
the view in question is strengthened by facts w r hich it is dif¬ 
ficult otherwise to explain—by diversities of language, by 
different degrees or kinds of civilization, and, above all, by 
monuments, architectural or otherwise, of defunct races of 
bygone days. On this supposition, whence came the suc¬ 
cessive shoals of invaders? To this question no direct an¬ 
swer can be given. We can only scan the various routes by 
which, previously to what w T e call the discovery of A., the 
old world was most likely to people the American continent. 
To begin with the natural routes on the side of the Pacific— 
Behring’s Strait, the Aleutian Isles, and the Polynesian 
Archipelagoes—we can hardly conceive anything but bar¬ 
barism having been conducted to A. by any one of them 
The country that stretches back from Behring’s Strait to 
the Kolyma may be asserted to be, without exception, the 
most inhospitable portion even of Siberia; and. moreover, 
the strait itself has more probably been a channel of migra¬ 
tion from A. than from Asia, the Tchuktchi of the latter re¬ 
garding themselves rather as a branch than as the stem of 
the Tchuktchi of the former. With respect, again, both to 
the Aleutian Isles and the Polynesian Archipelagoes, the 
successive stepping-stones in either series, instead of being 
presumed to have been so many halts for Asiatic Columbuses 
and Magellans, must rather be viewed as each a mother- 
country to a new colony, as each a point of departure for a 
fresh swarm. Thus w r ould the ever-aggravating blight of 
isolation— exemplified even in the old world among the Lap¬ 
landers, the Knmtchadales, and the Hottentots—prepare at 
each remove a deeper and deeper barbarism to land at last, 
on the w. shores of A. Further, if an ancient civilization 
ever did find its way to A., as certainly appears to have 
been the case, it must have come directly and immediately 
from the old world, and that under circumstances and con¬ 
ditions in no sense favorable In remote times such acci¬ 
dental or unintentional visits of Europeans and Asiatics may 
have occurred as are known to have actually taken place in 
more modern days. Japanese junks have repeatedly been 
driven by stress of weather across the Pacific to the new 
world; and again, on the Atlantic, the easterly trades, within 
ei"ht years after Columbus’s earliest voyage, w T afted the un¬ 
conscious Portuguese to Brazil, during their second voyage 
to India—the very first, in fact, which they had attempted 


AMERICA. 

by steering clear of the headlands of Africa. Such incidents, 
however frequently they might have happened, were much 
more likely to civilize existing communities than to found 
new ones; and it is at least a curious fact that the only ab¬ 
original nations which could be regarded as in any sense 
civilized at the date of the Spanish conquest, pointed in their 
traditions to such events as we have endeavored to describe. 
Mexico and Peru had each had its Cecrops, or semi divine 
civilizer—the former referring him to the e. across the At¬ 
lantic, and the latter to the w. across the Pacific. How far 
such hypotheses may account for the admitted facts is not 
left altogether to conjecture. Isolated individuals from Eng¬ 
land and other civilized lands cast the light of the present 
on the past. That which William Adams achieved in Japan 
two hundred years ago, and that which John Young and 
James Brooke haw more recently effected in the Sandwich 
Islands and in Borneo, perhaps may make more easily under¬ 
stood certain undeniable traces and traditions of aboriginal 
civilization. 

Discovery .—Whatever may have been the kind and degree 
of aboriginal civilization, A. was destined not to be the 
perpetual inheritance of the red man. New actors were to 
appear on the scene, before whom the old possessors were 
in a great measure to pass away. 

Before the times of Columbus, Europeans had certainly 
visited A. The Scandinavians, after having colonized Ice¬ 
land in 875, and Greenland in 983, had, by the year 1000, 
discovered A. as far down as 41° 30' n. lat., a point near 
New Bedford, Mass. These Scandinavians afterwards 
settled in the neighborhood—the mother-country, most 
probably through the intervention of Iceland and Greenland, 
maintaining an intercourse with the colony down to the 
14th c. But these enterprises do not appear to have left any 
special impress on the character or prospects of the new 
continent, being more akin, perhaps, to similar incidents of 
yet earlier ages, than to the long meditated and well matured 
scheme of the illustrious Genoese. After the Scandinavian 
discovery, and before that of Columbus, A. is believed by 
some to have been visited by a Welsh prince. In Cardoc’s 
Historic of Cambria it is stated that Madoc, son of Owen 
Gwynnedd, prince of Wales, set sail westward in 1170 with 
a small fleet, and after a voyage of several weeks, landed in 
a region totally different, both in its inhabitants and produc¬ 
tions, from. Europe. Madoc is supposed to have reached the 
coast of Virginia. Neither this, however, if true, nor the 
earlier Scandinavian expeditions, can be said even to have 
formed a connecting link between the A. of the red man 
and the A. of his white brother. Even if the northmen had 
possessed resources worthy of their heroic courage, the old 
world was not yet ripe for the appropriation of the new. 

At the end of the 15th c., however, science and politics 
were alike strengthening Europe for its task. The mariner’s 
compass and the astrolabe had facilitated long voyages out 
of sight of land; while, in almost every country of Christen¬ 
dom, various causes were consolidating government, and 
promoting the growth of population—a nosition which 


AMERICA. 

derives, perhaps, its best illustration from the fact that the 
capture of Granada—the last foothold of the Moslem in 
Spain—preceded by only a few months the discovery of A. 

Columbus (q.v.) set out on his great enterprise to discover 
A. under the patronage of the crown of Spaiu, 1492, Aug. 3, 
Friday; at which date, properly speaking, begins the deeply 
interesting history of A. Had the Atlantic been broader, or 
had not the easterly trades wafted Columbus almost on a par¬ 
allel from the Canaries to the Bahamas, he must have failed 
in his bold attempt; and, in fact, those same easterly trades, 
assisted by a still nearer approach of the two continents, 
speedily (eight years later) proved their own. value in this 
respect by carrying the Portuguese, without their own con¬ 
sent, to the shores of Brazil. Indeed, Columbus’s discovery 
of A., though not so accidental, was quite as unintentional 
as that of the Portuguese. It was towards the east that his 
hopes directed his western course, hopes whose supposed 
fulfilment still lives in the misapplication to the new world 
of the terms Indian and Indies. Much of our subsequent 
knowledge of A. has been owing to the same desire of 
reaching the East Indies that led to the discovery of the new 
continent. The gorgeous East was the aim alike of Davis, 
Baffin, and Hudson at the n., and of Magellan, Schouten, 
and Lemaire at the s., as also of the earlier enterprise of 
Balboa on the Isthmus of Darien; while, under a similar 
impulse, the French of Canada were ascending lake after 
lake as nature’s ready-made highway to the same goal. 
Even to more recent times may these remarks be applied. 
While the eastern coasts of Africa, and the upper shores of 
Asia, as not bearing on the grand question of oriental traffic, 
were comparatively neglected and forgotten, Cook and Van¬ 
couver, in quest of a passage between the two oceans, sur¬ 
veyed every indentation of the coast of A. from Columbia 
river to Behring’s Strait. Nor have the aspirations of 
Columbus and his noble band of successors and imitators 
been altogether disappointed. That same continent which, 
in their case, barred a westward advance along nearly the 
whole interval between the Arctic and Antarctic circles, has to 
Europe already become more than a substitute for the ocean 
which it was found so extensively to displace. By the rail¬ 
way across the Isthmus of Panama, the Caribbean Sea, 
whether for passengers or for goods, is brought near to the 
Pacific by a route nearly parallel to the line of the canal pro¬ 
moted by M. Lesseps. Nor is it merely across the narrow 
span of Central America that art has conquered the barriers 
of nature. In 1869, continuous railway connection was estab¬ 
lished between New York and San Francisco, and it became 
possible, apart from accidental delays, to travel from the com¬ 
mercial capital of the e. coast of the vast domains of the Union 
to the chief city on the Pacific shore in six days and eleven or 
twelve hours. Numerous railroads of the e. and s. connect 
with the Union Pacific railroad at Omaha in Nebraska; and 
from Ogden in Utah to the Pacific the connection is 
made by the Central Pacific railroad. From New York 
to San Francisco by the shortest route is about 3,400 m. 
Recently finished, or in progress, are the Southern Pacific, 


AMERICA. 

from Galveston to San Francisco; the Northern Pacific, 
from St. Paul to Burrard Inlet; and the Canada Pacific. 

Through Columbus’s discovery of the new world, coloni¬ 
zation, which, since the early ages of Greece, had slumbered 
for 2,000 years, received an impetus, which, after building 
up empires in the West, was to build up others in an East 
richer far than that which was so long the loadstar of Eu¬ 
ropean navigators—an East where, almost without a meta¬ 
phor, the grass w r as to be wool, and the stones to be gold. 

The first-fruits of Columbus’s enterprise were the Baha¬ 
mas, Watling’s Island probably being the spot where he 
landed, 1492, Oct. 11. Without attempting, in so summary 
i sketch as this, to distinguish the results of each of his four 
voyages from each other, it is sufficient to state that this 
great man, besides discovering Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, 
Cuba, Jamaica, and others of the Antilles, discovered and 
explored Central A. from Honduras southward along the 
coast of Veragua, and South A. from the mouths of the 
Orinoco westward, as far as Margarita. It was on this last- 
mentioned scene of his operations that he was followed by 
Hojeda, whose pilot, Amerigo Vespucci (q v.), though 
not claiming it for himself, has had the glory of giving his 
name to the new world. Within twenty years after Colum¬ 
bus’s first discoverv. Ponce de Leon discovered Florida; and, 
what was certainly of far more consequence, he ascertained 
that, through the strait -which separated that peninsula from 
the Bahamas, there constantly ran a strong current to the 
n.e. In 1513, one year later, Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed 
the Isthmus of Darien to the Great South Sea, or as it was 
afterwards named, the Pacific Ocean. About thirteen years 
before this last event, almost immediately after Columbus’s 
own continental explorations, the interval left between his 
most southerly point from Honduras, and his most westerly 
point from the Orinoco, was, in a great measure, filled up 
by the voyage of Bastidas. To the s. of the Orinoco, Pinzon 
and Solis sailed along the continent down to 40° s. lat. 
1500-14. The former after anticipating, by a few months, 
the Portuguese on the shores of Brazil, had seen the Amazon; 
and the latter, sent out for the express purpose of entering, 
if possible, Balboa’s Great South Sea, found his way into 
the La Plata or Plate, being there slain by the neighboring 
natives. Moreover, to return to the northward, by the year 
1519, different navigators had between them completed the 
examination of the Gulf of Mexico. Within twenty-seven 
years, therefore, after Columbus’s first departure from Spain, 
the eastern shores of South and Central A. had been almost 
continuously explored by the Spaniards down to within 15° 
of the southern extremity of the continent. 

Nor had other nations been idle in the north. The Cabots, 
on behalf of England, had discovered Newfoundland, and 
portions of the adjacent continent in 1497. In 1500, the 
Portuguese, under the Cortereals, sailed along the coast of 
Labrador nearly up to Hudson’s Bay, having, it is supposed, 
entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, long known among them 
as the Gulf of the Two Brothers Thus gradually there 
grew up the opinion, since proved true, that any practicable 


AMERICA. 

passage between the two oceans must be looked for towards 
the south of the Plate. Accordingly, in 1519 Magellan, a 
Portuguese in the service of Spain, undertook the voyage in 
which was discovered the strait that bears his name—a voy¬ 
age which furnished the first instance of the circumnavi¬ 
gation of the globe. Thus there remained little to be done, 
unless in the extreme north and the extreme south. In the 
extreme south, Schouten, a Dutch navigator, discovered, 
1610, the passage round Cape Horn; while six years there¬ 
after, Lemaire a mariner of the same nation, passed 
through the strait of his own name between Staten Land 
and Terra del Fuego. Towards the north, the French 
and English divided the labors and honors of the enterprise. 
Scarcely had Magellan’s companions—for he had been 
killed—returned to Europe, when Verrazzano, under the au¬ 
spices of Francis I. of France, sailed along what are now 
the Atlantic shores of the United States, thereby connecting 
the discoveries of tbe Cabots with those of Ponce de Leon; 
and again, about ten years later, Jacques Cartier, in the 
service of the same prince, explored the gulf and river of 
St Lawrence, penetrating as far to the westward as the island 
of Montreal. In the extreme north, however, the English 
may be said to have been without a rival. It is unneces¬ 
sary, in this summary sketch, to do more than mention 
names which tell their own story on every map—Davis, 
Baffin, Lancaster, and Hudson. (See these titles). 

To pass now to the western coast of A.: the conquerors of 
Mexico and Peru effected, in a few years, more perhaps than 
they left behind them for future ages to effect, ranging along 
the coast from the southern extremity of Chili to tbe peninsula 
and gulf of California. Beyond Lower California, the only 
direction in wi.ich there was much to do, the English Drake, 
whose voyage was in 1578, divided with the Spaniards the 
credit of having discovered Upper California. For nearly 
two centuries, excepting the half-fabulous voyages of Fonte 
and Fuca, the Spaniards and the English alike slumbered 
over their task; and it was not till towards the close of the 
last century that Cook and Vancouver co-operated with 
Spanish and American navigators in dispelling the mystery 
that had so long bung over the n.w. coast of A. 

To advert to inland discoveries: as early as 1537, within 
six years after the landing of Pizarro in Peru, and within 
two after the founding of Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards met 
each other on the eastern borders of Peru, from the oppo¬ 
site shores of the continent; and, in 1540, within three years 
more, they sent forth that eastward expedition which ended 
in Orellana’s exploration of the Amazon, from its source to 
its mouth. In the northern half of the continent, similar 
enterprises were of much later date. It was in 1682 that 
the French first descended the Mississippi; it was in 1771 
that Hearne traversed the wilderness from Hudson’s Bay to 
the mouth of the Coppermine; and it was respectively in 
1789 and 1793 that Alexander Mackenzie reached the mouth 
of the river that bears his name, and passed through what 
is now British Columbia, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. 

Colonization .—Among the European powers that colonized 


AMERICA. 

A., the most prominent were Spain, Portugal, France, and 
England. 

Spain took the lead, having, with few exceptions, ac¬ 
complished its task before any rival state had entered on the 
work. In one respect, its colonies differed from all others 
on the new continent. Spain alone came in contact with 
civilization, such as it was among the abcriginies; and, 
accordingly, in Mexico, and Peru, colonization required to 
be preceded by something like regular war and formal 
conquest. But, notwithstanding this peculiar obstacle, the 
colonies of Spain grew at first with a rapidity which, per¬ 
haps, has scarcely found its parallel even in the somewhat 
similar case of Australia. As an illustration of this—for the 
statement needs no proof—it was colonial resources that 
armed Cortes and Pizarro for their respective enterprises. 
Without the direct and immediate aid, in either instance, of 
the old country, Cuba, within twenty-seven years after the 
first discovery, equipped the conquerors of Mexico ; while the 
town of Panama, only twelve years later, sent forth the adven¬ 
turers that were to subjugate Peru. So unexampled a degree 
of vigor and vitality continued to advance in Spain’s trans¬ 
atlantic possessions, precisely while they were so organized 
and conducted as to afford scope to individual ambition. 
Never, perhaps, was this scope sufficiently free and full, for, 
even from the beginning, government often embarrassed 
and blighted the fairest schemes by its jealous and suspicious 
interference. But, for a time, it generally found its account 
in toleratiug the unrestricted liberty, or license, of its 
instruments. It was, therefore, only after law and order 
were established, and the original actors had disappeared 
from the scene, that the authorities of the mother-country 
stereotyped their despotism along the length and breadth of 
every colony. From that moment, vigor and vitality were 
succeeded by stagnation and torpor. Still, with such 
elements of prosperity on every side—above the earth and 
below it—material interests could not fail to flourish. But 
the scul had fled; the body alone remained. Under these 
circumstances, Spain, though continuing to claim the entire 
continent to the n., more especially on the Pacific, did very 
little to enforce its pretensions. To this New Mexico and 
Upper California were the only exceptions. It was not 
before 1594 that New Mexico was at all occupied; and it 
was not till a century later that the province, after ten year 4 
of bush-fighting, was finally subdued; while it was only in 
1767 that the Franciscans, on behalf of Spain, took posses¬ 
sion of Upper California. But Spain never abandoned the 
hope of extending its dominions towards the n.w. coast. 
As late as 1790, that power, while restoring Nootka Sound, 
and acknowledging England’s right of planting other settle¬ 
ments, took the precaution, useless as it proved, of expressly 
reserving a similar right to itself; and it was only in 1819, 
nearly thirty years later, that Spain formally ceded to the 
United States all its claims to the coast above the parallel of 
42°. See America, Spanish. 

The efforts of Portugal, in the cause of American coloniza¬ 
tion, were at first less energetic than those of Spam. Iu 


AMERICA. 

fact, Portugal, which had doubled the Cape of Good Hope 
in 1497, was so zealously engaged in the East as to allow a 
generation to pass before sending any colony to Brazil. The 
discovery of the country took place in 1500, but its coloniza¬ 
tion only in 1531, or rather 1548. Within thirty-two years 
thereafter, in 1580, Brazil, at the same time as Portugal 
itself, was annexed to the Spanish monarchy, soon after¬ 
wards falling, in this its new character, partly into the 
hands of the revolted Hollanders. In 1640, Brazil, as well 
as Portugal, threw off the Spanish yoke with the help of the 
Dutch settlers. But the continued presence of the latter 
retarded the progress of the colony. It was only after their 
expulsion, that the Portuguese, who had lost nearly every¬ 
thing in India, turned their attention more largely to Brazil. 
It accordingly became the most flourishing colony, as such, 
south of the English settlements; and, as the refuge of the 
House of Braganza from French domination, it received, 
about fifty years ago, an impetus which has rendered it, as 
an independent state, the most flourishing power of South¬ 
ern A. 

France, as the claimant to the basins of the St. Lawrence 
and the Mississippi, may be said rather to have pitched 
camps than to have planted colonies, in those vast posses¬ 
sions. She regarded A. chiefly as a supplementary battle¬ 
field for England and herself. Every French settlement 
was but an inert part of a political machine, powerful, 
indeed, but unwieldy, expensive, and unproductive. The 
government was everything, and the individual subject was 
nothing. Hence, neither Louisiana nor Canada at all 
realized the proper idea of a colony. In corroboration of 
this may be cited two authentic and official facts. As an 
encouragement to marriage, rewards and exemptions were 
held out to the parents of three children; and the erection of 
a dwelling on a lot of less than 40 arpents (about 32 acres) 
was prohibited by a royal ordinance. In 1762, France gave 
up Canada to England, and, as an indirect concession also 
to the same power, transferred Louisiana to Spain—events 
which, singularly enough, did much to facilitate France’s 
grand scheme, the separation from England of her old 
colonies. 

England, though the most energetic and successful of all 
in the work of colonization, was the last in the field among 
the four powers already mentioned. Among her continental 
colonies, excepting Newfoundland, Virginia, the oldest, 
was established in 1607, four years after the union of the 
crowns; and Georgia, the youngest, as late as 1733. With 
these two exceptions, the remaining eleven were, one and 
all, founded during that period of civil and religious troubles 
which, in the mother-country’s own history, serit one Stuart 
to the scaffold, and drove another into exile. In 1620, 
Massachusetts was occupied by the Puritan fathers; in 1623 
and 1631 respectively, New Hampshire and Connecticut 
were first settled; in 1634, Maryland was granted to Lord 
Baltimore, a Roman Catholic nobleman; in 1636,Rhode Island 
became a refuge from the religious intolerance of Massachu¬ 
setts; in 1653, North Carolina became an offshoot from 


AMERICA. 

Virginia; in 1664, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware 
were taken from the Dutch; in 1670, South Carolina was 
established; and in 1682, Pennsylvania was granted to 
William Penn, the Quaker, continuing to he a proprietary 
government down to the Revolution. In nearly all these cases, 
the civil and religious liberties for which chiefly the colonists 
expatriated themselves, were secuied by liberal, nay, vir¬ 
tually republican charters. Subject only to the appointment 
of a governor on the part of the crown, every colony was 
practically a state within itself; and it is a suggestive fact 
that the very earliest assertion of legislative superiority on 
the part of the mother-country was ? and 8 Will. III. c. 22, 
which, however, only operated negatively by forbidding 
every colony to make laws repugnant to those of England. 
With such aspirations and such institutions, the enterprising 
inhabitants of a new home could hot fail to prosper; while 
their prosperity was rendered more solid and permanent by 
the comparative poverty of a region where steady industry, 
in agriculture or in the fisheries, was a necessity. Under 
these circumstances, the germs of political independence 
were at work long before the year 1765; and it is not merely 
a probability, but a fact, that the expulsion of the dreaded 
power of France from Canada and Louisiana, 1762, was 
closely connected with the troubles which so soon began. 

American Antiquities. -The architectural remains already 
alluded to in connection with a general estimate of abo 
riginal civilization, are found in each of the grand divisions 
of the new continent. Those furthest north may be divided 
into three groups: one confined chiefly to the area now 
forming the state of Wisconsin; the second distributed over 
the valleys of the Ohio and the lower Mississippi, and along 
the coast of the Mexican Gulf from Florida to Texas; and 
the third in the remarkable canon region in the present 
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The structures 
belonging to the Wisconsin group are remarkable on ac¬ 
count of their shape, their ground-plan commonly present¬ 
ing rough but easily recognizable imitations of the forms of 
animals (quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and even men). They 
are usually found in groups, sometimes in long series, and 
are seldom surrounded by circumvallations. 

The Ohio and Mississippi Valley group vary in character 
from n. to s.; but throughout the region occupied by them, 
the structures bear a sufficient resemblance to one another 
to leave little doubt that they ought all to be referred to the 
same people. They are mostly confined to the river valleys, 
and consist of mounds generally pyramidal or conical, 
built of earth and stone, or both combined. The mounds 
are mostly truncated, and generally there are steps or a 
winding path leading to the top. The more northerly of 
these mounds are frequently in groups, inclosed by circum- 
vallations, which are sometimes regular, sometimes irregu¬ 
lar in shape, the latter being always constructed in adapta¬ 
tion to the nature of the ground, and manifestly intended for 
defense. The regular ones are mostly square or circular, 
but sometimes in the form of rectangles, ellipses, or poly¬ 
gons, and are all built on flat, carefully-selected river-ter 



AMERICA. 

races. These were constructed either to be used in con 
nection with religious services, or for some other non-war- 
like purpose. The structure of the mounds, or the nature 
of the remains found in them, shows that they were either 
places of sacrifice, places used in other ways for temple 
service, or places of burial. In the mounds have been found, 
besides human remains, knives axes, chisels, lance-heads, 
and other articles, partly of excellent workmanship. Silver 
and copper are the only two metals that the mound-builders 
can be shown to have been acquainted with. Many of the 
mounds are adorned with sculptures, the outlines of which 
are said to be simple but correct. The common animals still 
characteristic of A. are all represented in extremely beauti¬ 
ful style, the execution being sometimes, it is stated, not 
behind that of Greek art. The most extensive groups of 
mounds are always found at the junction of two rivers. 
Near Portsmouth, at the influx of the Scioto into the Ohio, 
are three groups forming one great series extending along 
the Ohio for m. In Ohio these remains are remarkably 
abundant, and the single county of Ross in that state con¬ 
tain nearly 100 circumvallations aud 500 mounds. Along 
the Gulf of Mexico circumvallations are extremely rare, and 
the mounds become larger and more elaborate in structure, 
so as to approach in form the Teocallis (q.v.) of Mexico. 
Scarcely any approximation can be made to the exact date 
to which these remains must be referred, but it is certain 
that they must be thousands of years old; for it is found, 
first, that they are never constructed on the most recent river- 
terraces; and, second, that in many cases the mounds and 
circumvallations are now overgrown by forests. 

The last group of North American antiquities, those of 
the canon region, are those which have been most recently 
brought to light and examined, and in some respects by far 
the most remarkable of all. They are distributed over an 
area now perfectly desert on the terraces of the precipitous 
cliffs overhanging the beds of the Rio Mancas, Rio San 
Juan, Rio Chaco, and other streams; and, from the region in 
which they are found, their builders are known as the ‘ cliff- 
dwellers.’ Where a wide stretch of flat land is to be found 
by a river’s bank, remains of a large town may be met with; 
but many of the habitations of these people were built on 
the sides of the cliffs themselves over yawning abysses, in 
‘mots which cannot be reached from above, and to which 
it is now equally impossible to climb from below. Recent 
explorations have shown that some of these remains 
belonged to a densely-populated settlement that must have 
extended for several thousand sq. m. over the adjoining 
parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico; and 
among other sculptures on the walls of the canons, there 
is to be seen a head of maize, showing apparently that this 
grain was cultivated by the inhabitants of that settlement. 

For the antiquities of Central and Southern A., see 
Mexico: Peru: Teocalli: Chichen: Palenque: Copan: 
Cholula: etc. A more thorough exploration of the an¬ 
tiquities of Mexico and Central A. than any hitherto under¬ 
taken is in progress under the conduct of M. Desir4 


AMERICA. 

Charnay, the cost being home by a wealthy American gen¬ 
tleman. Regarding the antiquities of the Mississippi Yalley, 
the most complete information is to be found in Squier and 
Davis’s Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley; and 
regarding those of the canon region, which have been ex¬ 
plored by Hayden, Wilson, Jackson, Holmes, and Ingersoll, 
in a report by Hardacre. 

Geology .—Of the geology of the American continent, as a 
whole, only enough is known to authorize a very general 
sketch of its geological history. It is known that in early 
Palaeozoic times, the present continent of A. was represented 
by a number of islands, the largest of which corresponds to 
the southern part of the Dominion of Canada, together with 
a large portion of the east and north-east of the United States, 
and the two next in importance to the modern Guiana and 
Brazil; while a large number of smaller islands in the west 
seem to have occupied the regions where the different ranges 
of the Rocky Mountains and the Audes now stretch. The 
greatest part of Greenland, and of the Greater Antilles, seem 
likewise to have existed in the form of islands at the same re¬ 
mote period. The subsequent geological history of the con¬ 
tinent of A. consisted mainly in the gradual tilling up of 
the gaps between these islands, so far as they are 3 r et filled 
up, and in the elevation of the mountain chains to their 
present height. But in A., as elsewhere, the process of 
tilling up gaps was not a continuous one, but varied with 
phases of emergence and submergence. The islands already 
referred to, however, remained throughout the whole 
period more or less as dry land, and the alterations of land 
and water affected chiefly the intervening spaces. 

Of all these islands, the oldest as well as the largest was 
that in the n.e. part of the northern half of the continent. 
It is here that we have the most extensive development of 
the oldest sedimentary deposits in the world, the strata 
forming the Laurentian System (q.v.) on the estuary of St 
Lawrence. This island, which consisted of two portions, 
one running more or less e. and w. through what is nov 
chiefly the Dominion of Canada, and another running n.e. 
and s.w. through the eastern states, was enormously en¬ 
larged after the close of the Silurian epoch, chiefly by the 
addition of new land within these two branches. This new 
land is represented by the Silurian deposits so extensively 
developed on both sides of the St. Lawrence, and to the s. 
of the great lakes. A still greater accession of land had 
been made by the close of the Devonian and Lower Car¬ 
boniferous epoch, when the dry land in this part of A. 
formed a somewhat compact island extending on the w. al¬ 
most everywhere to at least 95° w., while on the s. it ex¬ 
tended at two points on different sides of the present course 
of the Mississippi to at least 33° s., and on the e. was no¬ 
where very far from the present coast-line, which it actually 
attained from Long Island Sound northward. 

The climate of this vast island was warm and moist, and 
a large part of its surface was occupied by marshes covered 
with a vegetation that gave rise to the vast coal-fields of the 
Appalachian region and the Mississippi Valley (Illinois, 


AMERICA. 

Missouri, Kansas, etc.). As vet, however, the Appalachian 
Mountains were not. So far, the only mountains in the 
North American continent were the Green Mountains in the 
n.e. states, and the rudiments of the Rocky Mountain region 
in the west. Not till about the close of the Palaeozoic era 
did those folds and contortions take place which led to the 
elevation of the Appalachian Mountains, leading at the same 
time to the dislocations of the sedimentary rocks, in some 
cases to the depth of more than 10,000 feet. 

Meanwhile the w. part of the North American continent 
was still composed of islands, some large, some comparatively 
small; and this western portion of the continent was sepa¬ 
rated, even in Jurassic times, from the vast eastern island 
just described by a sea extending right up to the Arctic 
Ocean. During the Cretaceous period, this sea still ex¬ 
tended at least as high as the Saskatchewan Valley, and to 
this period belong those deposits from which have been ob¬ 
tained the remains of gigantic saurians of various kinds, as 
well as of toothed birds (Odontornithes, q.v.), for which 
American palaeontology is remarkable. 

The complete connection between the e. and w. halves of 
the North American continent was not effected till the 
close of the Cretaceous period, and even duriDg the 
Tertiary period, part of the intervening surface was covered 
with immense fresh-water lakes, the ancient beds of which 
have yielded mammalian relics (marsupials, ancestral forms 
of the horse and tapir, etc.) as interesting as the saurian 
remains of the previous age. At the same time the sea ex¬ 
tended on the side of the Gulf of Mexico up the present val¬ 
ley of the Mississippi to a little above the point at which that 
river is now joined by the Ohio, and from this point the 
coast trended s.w. through Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, 
to Mexico; and on the other side, s. through Tennessee 
and Mississippi, and then e. to Alabama, about 100 m. 
from the present coast. On the e. the coast had gained 
little since Jurassic times; but by the close of the Tertiary 
epoch the North American continent, as far as the s. of the 
United States, had been brought nearly to its present form. 
The Rocky Mountain region was now continuous dry land, 
and the mountains themselves had been raised to their full 
height. The most important additions of later (post-tertiary) 
times were the peninsula of Florida, wholly of coralline 
origin, and a strip of land along the n shore of the Gulf of 
Mexico. Another great change of post-tertiary date was the 
temporary submergence of the entire area of the great lakes, 
one great lake stretching far to the southward of the present 
lakes, and probably having a southern outlet through the 
Mississippi. 

As to the south of the United States, little can be added, 
but it may be mentioned that it is only in the n.w. of 
Mexico (in the state of Sonora) that we first meet with those 
granitic and ancient crystalline rocks which pass northward 
in a wide continuous stretch through the w. part of the United 
States. North A., there can be no doubt, was separated from 
South A. in very recent geological times, probably as late 
as the pliocene, by an arm of the sea lying where the Isth* 


AMERICA. 

mus of Panama now lies; and the final filling up of the 
intervals between the South American islands of Brazil, 
Guiana, and the Andes appears also of no earlier than 
tertiary date. To that epoch are referred the deposits now 
forming the llanos of the Orinoco, the valley of the Amazon, 
and the plains of the Argentine Confederation and Pata¬ 
gonia; while the superficial deposits of the pampas are of 
still later (quaternary or pleistocene) age. As in North A., 
the e. half of the continent was the first to reach its present 
elevation, and the Andes, like the Rocky Mountains, al¬ 
though long in existence apparently as an island, or series of 
islands, were first raised into lofty mountains during tertiary 
times. On the other hand, all the isolated ranges of the n. 
part of the Argentine Confederation appear to consist of the 
oldest igneous and metamorphic rocks, and must also have 
existed as islands or mountains from a very early period. 

The four largest of the West Indian Islands are all com¬ 
posed of a nucleus of granitic rocks, on which lie, in cer¬ 
tain places, limestones chiefly of Cretaceous, but partly also 
of younger age; and all the islands to the e., as far as Bar¬ 
buda and Antigua, are either Cretaceous or Tertiary; while 
to the s. of these last two islands all the members of the 
group are of volcanic origin, and appear (at least all those 
from St. Lucia southward) to have belonged at one time to 
a range of volcanic mountains forming part of South A., 
not to have been originally volcanic islands. Tobago and 
Trinidad must have been separated from South A. only in 
very recent times. In the west, this group seems never to 
have been connected with the mainland of A , except for a 
short time, and then the connection must have been with 
Yucatan, not with that portion of the continent which now 
forms the United States, and which, as has been already 
shown, was separated from the West Indies by a wide ex- 
panse of sea till a quite recent geological period. 

The tertiary and post-tertiary deposits of South A., like 
those of North A., are peculiarly interesting on account of 
their mammalian remains. From the tertiary deposits have 
been obtained both the Anoplotherium (q.v.) and the False* 
otherium (q.v.), the predecessors of our present ungulates 
so abundant in Europe also in tertiary times, and the more 
recent deposits of the pampas and the shores of Patagonia 
have yielded a number of very extraordinary extinct animals 
peculiar to South A., among which we may note the Glyp- 
todon, a huge armadillo like animal; the Macrauchenia, the 
nearest extinct ally of the llamas and alpacas of the present 
day; the Megatherium (q.v.) and its allies, the extinct 
representatives of the modern sloths; and the Toxodon, an 
animal as large as a Megatherium or an elephant, but shown 
by the structure of its teeth to be allied to the Rodents, the 
order which includes most of the smallest mammals at the 
present day. 

For the volcanic phenomena, see above, under Physical 

Asvect. 

Botany .—Considering the vegetation of A. first with 
reference to its affinities, and beginning in the n., we find 
there a remarkably close correspondence with the flora of 


AMERICA. 

the same latitudes in the old world. The Arctic flora of A. 
is in fact part of a common flora throughout the north polar 
regions, with only slight variations according to longitude. 
Out of nearly 400 species of flowering plants belonging to 
Arctic A., upwards of 250 are regarded by Hooker as Scan¬ 
dinavian forms. The general diffusion of this flora through¬ 
out the Arctic Regions points to the probability of a former 
land-connection between the old and the new worlds in the 
region of Behring’s Straits; and when the fact is considered 
that the deepest part of these straits is no more than 30 
fathoms, the probability of that connection is enhanced. 
Further south, the aflinity between the floras of the old and 
new world becomes less and less; and, what is more peculiar, 
there is greater aflinity between the flora of the e. side of 
North A. and that of Japan and Eastern Asia, than between 
the two floras on opposite shores of the Atlantic or the Paci¬ 
fic. This affinity w T as first pointed out by the American 
botanist and geologist Asa Gray, who at the same time 
divined the true explanation of the phenomenon. He 
maintained that in a former geological epoch, a much 
milder climate must have prevailed in high latitudes, and 
at that time the flora, which has representatives in the e. 
states of A. closely allied to those of Japan, must have been 
generally distributed throughout the Arctic regions, and 
that when colder climates supervened, this flora migrated 
southward along various meridians. In this southward 
migration, however, the flora became differentiated accord¬ 
ing to the differences of climate in lower latitudes, and as e. 
North A. and Eastern Asia correspond in climates, so also 
they came to correspond in the constituents of their flora. 
The main fact which lies at the bottom of this explanation, 
the extension of a flora now confined to more southern lati¬ 
tudes to regions far within the Arctic regions, was after¬ 
wards confirmed by the discovery of abundant remains of 
sucl) a flora in Tertiary (Miocene) deposits in Greenland, 
Spitzbergen, Grinnell Land, on the Mackenzie river, and 
elsewhere; and lmncc Engler has applied to this flora the 
name of the Arcto-tertiary element in vegetation. See 
Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants. 
It is this element which predominates in the vegetation of 
A. as far s. as the table-land of Mexico. And here a re¬ 
markable fact appears. The flora of the table-land of 
Mexico is almost totally distinct from that of the low lands 
at its base, although in most cases a highland flora is allied 
to the adjoining flora belonging to lower elevations. The 
reason of this is, that the table-land of Mexico was directly 
open to the reception of a flora suitable to it derived from 
more northern latitudes, while the flora of the lower regions, 
being tropical in character and accordingly perennial in its 
vegetation, could not so quickly adapt itself to the con¬ 
ditions of a table-land on which there was an alternation of 
summer vegetation with a winter’s repose. 

The table-land of Mexico may thus be said to form the 
boundary bet ween the regions in which the Arcto tertiary 
and Neotropical elements of Engler respectively predomi¬ 
nate. The latter element then prevails throughout the whole 


AMERICA. 

of South A. on the e. side of the Ancles to the s. of Pata¬ 
gonia, although with the widest possible difference in the 
general aspect of the vegetation in accordance with the 
differences of climate. In the valley of the Amazon we 
have the vegetation at the very height of tropical richness 
and variety; while further s., in the campos of Brazil, it 
becomes scantier, and then more and more sparse still 
fruther s. into and through Patagonia. It is this Neotropical 
region in which the flora of the new world presents least 
affinity to that of the old. 

There remains for consideration the chain of the Andes 
itself. The w. side of this chain, from about 34° S. to the 
s. extremity of the continent, including the whole of Terra 
del Fuego, bears a vegetation sufficiently peculiar in its 
composition to be regarded as distinct from that of the ad¬ 
joining parts of the continent. This strip is what is known 
as the Antarctic Forest region, and is characterized by the 
predominance in it of what Engler calls the Old Oceanic 
element, consisting of vegetable forms scattered over the 
islands of the southern hemisphere, including Australia and 
New Zealand, as well as the s. parts of the continents of A. 
and Africa. It is this element in the vegetation especially 
which gives to the flora of the Antarctic Forest region a 
greater affinity to that of the old world than that of the 
Neotropical region, and in particular which gives to it that 
affinity to the floras of Australia and New Zealand long ago 
pointed out by Hooker. This last affinity has been accounted 
for by the supposition of a greater extent of land-surface, 
together with a milder climate in the Antarctic regions in 
an earlier epoch, and this explanation, it may be remarked, 
is quite in keeping with the present theory of the Glacial 
Period (q.v.). But it is not merely this Old Oceanic element 
which shows the alliance of the vegetation of this part of A. 
to that of the old world. Another peculiarity of the same 
region is that it contains a very considerable number of 
Arctic and even Scandinavian plants. Hooker counts no less 
than 70 Scandinavian species in the flora of this region, and 
though other botanists find in a great many cases specific 
differences between the forms of the Antarctic Forest region 
and those of Scandinavia, this does not affect the closeness 
of tbe affinity. There can be no doubt that these forms 
must have reached their southern habitat by travelling along 
the American backbone of mountains; but in the opinion of 
Hooker, these mountains must at one time have reached a 
greater elevation in Central A. to enable them to traverse 
that interval in their southward migration. A certain 
proportion of Scandinavian forms are found at every part 
of the chain, but most have survived in the southern region, 
where the climate most closely resembles that of Scandinavia 
itself. 

As for the remainder of the Andes region, the portion to 
the n. of 34° s., its flora is regarded by Engler as being on 
the whole most closelv allied to that of the Neotropical 
region, to which he refers it; but it contains with the forms 
that indicate that alliance a considerable admixture of others 


<r 


AMERICA. 

derived both from the Arcto-tertiary element in the north 
and the Old Oceanic in the south. 

As might be expected from the geological history of the 
West Indian Islands (see above, under Geology), the flora of 
that group shows little special affinity to that of North A., 
from which it was separated till a quite recent geological era 
by a wide expanse of sea. As a whole, the flora is Neo¬ 
tropical in character, and that of Trinidad is entirely South 
American. 

When the vegetation of A. is considered with reference to 
its habit and general aspect, the correspondence between 
vegetation and climate is exhibited in a peculiarly striking 
manner, especially with regard to the presence or absence of 
forests. South of the region of Arctic vegetation, strictly 
so called (that is, s. of a line which rises to beyond the Arctic 
circle in the w., but sinks to about 59° n. in the e.), forests 
prevail, except where they have given place to cultivation, 
throughout the continent, wherever there is sufficient moist¬ 
ure. In the dry regions—which include, as was shown in 
the section on climate, almost the whole area of the United 
States west of the Mississippi to the Sierra Nevada, as well 
as lower California and Mexico as far as the tropic of Can¬ 
cer in South A.—the campos of Brazil, and almost the whole 
of the low-lying regions southward to the Straits of Magel¬ 
lan, and also the strip on the w. of the Andes from 4° s. to 
about 34° s., forests are absent and trees rare, except along 
the courses of the streams. Yet in South A. about two- 
thirds of the whole area is covered by dense forests. 

In the forests of the n.w. the trees are almost all conifers, 
but these gradually give place to foliage-trees towards the 
s.e.; and in the e. states of North A., foliage-trees pre¬ 
dominate. The forest region of the w. states, however 
—the region which covers the moist and equable western 
slopes of the Rocky Mountains—is quite peculiar in its 
character, being remarkable for its hosts of giant conifers, 
such as the Lambert pine, the Douglas spruce, and the Red¬ 
wood, a congener of the rarer mammoth tree or Welling- 
tonia (q v.: see also Puget Sound). In the tropics the 
forests are too varied in their character to be described in 
general terms, but it may be mentioned that here, in the new 
as in the old world, there is a remarkable abundance of 
palms; and further, that on the e. slopes, of the Andes, the 
cinchonas are so abundant within the tropics as to give a 
quite peculiar character to that part of the region. Further 
s., in the Antarctic Forest region, the characteristic trees are 
partly foliage-trees and partly peculiar conifers, such as the 
Araucaria and Podocarpus. 

In the drier regions of North A. vast areas are almost en¬ 
tirely covered with fodder-plants, such as that known by the 
name of the sage-brush (Artemisia), and grasses such as the 
buffalo-grass and grama. Further south, cactuses and yuc¬ 
cas (the Spanish bayonet) prevail. In South A., the most 
characteristic vegetation of the drier regions consists mainly 
of cactuses. 

Among the natural orders and sub-orders confined to the 
new world (chiefly to the Neotropical region) are the Brom^ 


AMERICA. 

liaceae, Sarraceniaceoe, Vochysiacese, Cactaceae (with the 
single exception of the genus Rhipsalis), Agaveae (a sub-order 
of Amaryllidaceae), Hydrophyllaceae, and the Gesneraceae. 

Maize is one of the most important of the botanical pro¬ 
ductions of A. It is the only important cultivated grain of 
American origin; it was in cultivation before the advent of 
Europeans, by whom its value was soon recognized, and it 
has now become an important crop in climates suitable for 
it in all quarters of the world. The other chief grains have 
all been introduced into A. by Europeans, with the sugar¬ 
cane, the banana and plantain, coffee, flax, and many other 
plants now generally cultivated both in tropical and temper¬ 
ate regions. The yam is regarded as among its native pro¬ 
ductions, common to its tropical regions with those of other 
quarters of the world. Tobacco is a native production of 
A., the cultivation and use of which extended from it to 
the old world, and rapidly became prevalent among a great 
part of mankind. More than one species, or at least vari¬ 
eties, of cotton were in cultivation among the natives before 
the arrival of the Europeans, but the species now most gen¬ 
erally cultivated in A. is of eastern origin and European in¬ 
troduction. But of all the vegetable productions of A., the 
potato is the most important and useful A. produces also 
the Jerusalem artichoke and several other plants, valuable 
for their roots and tubers, as the arracacha, the melloco, etc., 
the use of which has scarcely yet extended beyond their na¬ 
tive regions. With them may be mentioned the quinoa, 
which is not a grain (the seed of a grass), but the seed of a 
species of Chenopodium or goose-foot, resembling the seeds 
of the cereal grasses in its qualities, and extensively culti • 
vated on the high table-lands of Chili and Peru. Tapioca, 
arrowroot, cocoa, vanilla, pimenta or Jamaica pepper, and 
Cayenne pepper are among the native productions of the 
tropical parts of A. The Agave (q.v.) or American aloe, 
valuable both for its fibre and its juice, has now become 
common in the warm parts of Europe, and in similar cli¬ 
mates in other quarters of the globe. The pine apple is a 
native of tropical A . although now naturalized, or nearly 
so, in other tropical regions. Tropical A. and the West In¬ 
dies produce also many other fine fruits, among which are 
the guava, different species of anona or custard-apple, and 
of granadilla or passion-flower.—The forests of North A. 
yield much valuable timber, chiefly different kinds of oak 
and pine The black walnut and hickory of the United 
States are much esteemed. The West Indies and neighbor¬ 
ing parts of the mainland yield mahogany; and from the 
same regions comes logwood, one of the most useful dye- 
woods. The tropical forests of South A. produce many 
valuable timber-trees, of which perhaps the most deserving 
of notice are the Greenlieart (q.v.) or Bibiri, and the Mora. 
Brazil wood and Pernambuco wood are among their dye- 
woods. One of the most remarkable productions cf this 
region is the Cow-tree (q.v.), the juice of which possesses 
many properties in common with milk, and is used instead 
of it. The milky juice of some other trees of tropical Av 


AMERICA. 

thickens into caoutchouc.—Different parts of South A. pro* 
duce Mate (q.v.) or Paraguay tea, a species of holly, the 
leaves of which possess properties similar to those of tea and 
coffee, and afford a beverage extensively used, although not 
yet an article of export to other parts of the world; and the 
Coca (q.v.), a shrub of which the leaf has been, from a re¬ 
mote period, employed by the Indians as a narcotic. 

Zoology. —A. forms the Nearctic and Neotropical regions 
in the scheme adopted by Mr. Wallace in his treatises on 
distribution. See Geographical Distribution of Ani¬ 
mals and Plants. The former includes all temperate 
and North A., including Greenland, and its s. boundary is 
fixed by Mr. Wallace at a line running from the Rio Grande 
del Norte on the e. coast to a point nearly opposite Cape St. 
Lucas on the w., in such a manner, however, as to include 
the whole of the Mexican table-land in the more northerly 
of the two regions. In this respect it agrees with the botani¬ 
cal line of demarcation indicated in the section on Botany. 

With regard to the fauna of the Nearctic region, the most 
notable fact, perhaps, is the same as that already mentioned 
in relation to the flora—the close agreement between it and 
that of the corresponding latitudes of the old world, and es¬ 
pecially in the higher latitudes. ‘ At first sight/ says Mr. Wal 
lace, ‘ the mammalia of North A. do not seem to differ much 
from those of Europe or Northern Asia. There are cats, 
lynxes, wolves and foxes, weasels, bears elk and deer, voles, 
beavers, squirrels, marmots, and hares, all very similar to 
those of the eastern hemisphere, and several hardly distin¬ 
guishable. Even the bison, or “buffalo,” of the prairies, 
formerly so abundant and characteristic, now rapidly disap¬ 
pearing, is a close ally of the now almost extinct “ aurochs ” 
of Lithuania .’—Island Life. But besides these forms which 
North A. shares with the corresponding region of the old 
world, the former region has likewise distinctive forms 
sufficiently numerous to mark it out as a separate region 
geologically. Thus among mammals it has ‘three peculiar 
genera of moles, one of which, the star-nosed mole, is a most 
extraordinary creature, quite unlike anything else;’ three 
peculiar genera of weasels, including the well-known skunk; 
the raccoons, a highly distinctive family of carnivora; in the 
Rocky Mountains, the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra), 
and the mountain-goat of the trappers (Aplocerus); many 
peculiar rodents, such as the family of the pouched rats 
(Geomyidae), the so-called prairie-dog (Cynomys), a remark¬ 
able creature between the marmots and the spermophile 
squirrels, very abundant on the prairies; further, the tree 
porcupine and the opossum (Didelpliys), the last belonging 
to an order of mammals (the Marsupialia) not known in the 
present geological epoch in the old world outside the bound¬ 
aries of the Australian region. Among birds there is an 
absence of the characteristic families of Muscicapidse, 
Sturnidae, and Sylviadae (true fly-catchers, starlings, and 
warblers) of the old world; while there are present such 
peculiar forms as the American fly-catchers and starlings 
(Tyrannidae and Icteridae), in addition to mocking-birds, 


AMERICA. 

muejays, tanagers, humming-birds, turkey-buzzards, and 
wild turkeys. And among reptiles, there are true rattle¬ 
snakes, several genera of Iguauidse (an exclusively American 
family), and an unusual number of tailed Batraehians; in¬ 
cluding the two peculiar families of the Sirens and Amphi- 
umidse, and the equivocal axolotl, an ally to the European 
Proteus. 

The correspondence between the fauna of the Nearctic 
region and that of the Palaearctic region (the name applied to 
the similarly situated region of the old world) is not difficult 
to account for, in view of the probable land-connection be¬ 
tween the two continents in the region of Behring’s Straits 
already referred to in the section on Botany. What seems 
much more difficult to account for is the very marked de¬ 
gree of peculiarity which characterizes the more southerly 
of the two regions into which the American continent is 
geologically divided. For in spite of the fact that this 
region, the Neotropical, is continuous with the former 
(except in the West Indies, which are included in it), ‘ no 
other region,’says Mr. Wallace in his Distribution of Ani¬ 
mals, ‘ can approach it in the number of its family and 
its generic types,’ and in his more recent Island Life, he adds: 
1 Whether . . . we consider its richness in peculiar forms 
of animal life, its enormous variety of species, its numerous 
deficiencies as compared with other parts of the world, or 
the prevalence of a low type of organization among its 
higher animals, the Neotropical region stands out as un¬ 
doubtedly the most remarkable of the great zoological divis¬ 
ions of the earth.’ 

As to its peculiarities, there is the same authority for 
stating that out of 168 families of vertebrates, 44 are pe¬ 
culiar; out of 130 genera of mammals, 103 o r 79 per cent, 
are peculiar, while no other zoological region has more than 
64 per cent, of mammalian genera peculiar to it; and out 
of 683 genera of birds (more than twice as many as in any 
other zoological region, though the Neotropical is one of the 
smallest in area), 576 or 84 per cent, are peculiar, while in 
this case also no other region has more than 64 per cent, 
peculiar. 

To enter more into detail, among peculiar mammals are 
prehensile-tailed monkeys and marmosets, blood-sucking 
bats, coati-mundis, peccaries, chinchillas, agoutis, sloths, 
armadillos, and certain ant-eaters, besides llamas and alpacas, 
the last two constituting the genus Auchenia (q.v.), interest¬ 
ing as the only genus of ruminants confined to South A., 
and also as being so widely separated from its nearest allies, 
the camels of the old world, with which, however, it is con¬ 
nected through the extinct camels of North A. Then among 
birds peculiar to this region there are the sugar-birds, or 
Ccerebidse, an immense variety of tanagers, tree-creepers of 
the family Dendrocolaptidae, and parrots (especially ma¬ 
caws); richly-colored chatterers, toucans, puff-birds, trumpet¬ 
ers, and 400 species of humming-birds. In its reptiles* gm 
phibians, fresh-water fishes, and insects, the region is equally 
peculiar. 


AMERICA. 

.No less characteristic, as above indicated, are the defi¬ 
ciencies of the region. The whole order of the Insectivora 
is wanting, except for a few species found in Central A. 
and the West Indies. The wide-spread family of the Viver- 
ridae or civets is also absent; and there are no sheep, oxen, 
or antelopes in the native fauna. Then in the avian fauna 
there are none of the tits, shrikes, starlings, or pheasants of 
the old world; none of the sun-birds, bee-eaters, and rollers, 
so abundant in Africa. The low type of organization above 
referred to as characteristic of the higher animals of the 
region is shown by the predominance of edentates, marsupials, 
and rodents among the mammalia. 

Like the flora the fauna of the West Indies is on the whole 
Neotropical in character, but the remoteness of the land 
connection of this archipelago with the mainland is shown 
by its extreme poverty in mammals. Great numbers of 
North American birds, however, migrate hither in winter. 

The subjoined tables show the political distribution of A., 
and were compiled chiefly from census reports and official 
estimates. The figures after the most important govts, indi¬ 
cate the date of such report or estimate. Many discrepan¬ 
cies in reports of population are due to the local habit of in¬ 
cluding or excluding aborigines. Thus, in the United 
States only those Indians who belong to the five civilized 
tribes in Indian Terr, are included in the census; Chili ex¬ 
cludes 50,000 wild Indians from her census; and Paraguay 
excludes 60,000 semi-civilized and 70,000 wild Indians. 
The treaty (1881) between Bolivia, Chili, and Peru, largely 
altered the area and population of each country, Chili secur¬ 
ing an increase in both from her defeated antagonists. 

1. Governments op North America. 


Governments. 


Area, 
sq. m. 


Pop. 


Capitals. 


Denmark: 

Greenland, 

Faroe Islands, 

Iceland, 

France: 

St Pierre) 

Miquelon f 
Great Britain: 

Dominion of Canada,0891) 


Newfoundland, (1891) 

Labrador,E. coast of (1881) 
Bermuda, (1891) 

British Honduras, (1891) 

United States of America, (1890) 
Mexico, (1892) 

Salvador, (1891) 

Nicaragua, (1888) 

Honduras, (1888) 

Guatemala, (1891) 

Costa Rica, (1892) 


(1890) 

(1891) 

(1891) 

(1891) 


34,015 

514 

40,457 


10,516 

12,954 

69,224 


Godthaab. 

Thorshavn. 

Reykjavik. 


90 


5,983 


St. Pierre. 


3,315.647 

40,200 

120,000 

19 

8,291 

3,602,990 

761,640 


4,832.679 

193,121 

4,211 

15,743 

27.668 

62,885,518 

11,885,607 


18,720 777,895 

51.600 282,845 

39.600 381.938 

44,800 1,452,003 

19,980 262,700 


Ottawa. 

St. John’s. 

Hamilton. 

Belize. 

Washington. 

Mexico. 

San Salvador. 
Managua. 
Tegucigalpa. 
Guatemala. 
San Jos6. 


Total, 


8,098,563 83,100,635 




















AMERICA. 


2. West Indian Governments. 


Governments. 


Area, 
sq. in. 

Pop. 

Capitals. 

Haiti, 

(1S87) 

9.500 

960.000 

Port au Prince. 

Dominican Republic, 

(1888) 

18 000 

417,000 

San Domingo. 

Spain- 





Cuba. 

(1892) 

45 881 

1.521.684 

Havana. 

Porto R'co, 

3 596 

806,708 

San Juan. 

Great Britain: 





Jamaica, 

(18911 

4.192 

639,491 

Kingston. 

Trinidad, 

(lh9l) 

1.751 

198.747 

Port of Spain. 

Barbados, 

(1891) 

166 

182,206 

Bridgetown. 

Grenada, and Grena 
dine Islands, 


138 

49.337 

St. George. 

St Vincent, 


147 

40.548 

Kingston. 

Tobago, 

St. Lucia, 


114 

18.051 

Scarborough. 


243 

42.504 

Castries. 

Antigua. 


108 

34.321 

St. John's. 

Montserrat. 


47 

10 033 

Plymouth. 

St Kitts, Anguilla, 


103 

43.774 

Basseterre. 

Neirs. 


50 

11.704 

('harlestown. 

Virgin Islands, 


64 

5,287 

Roadtown. 

Dominica. 


275 

28.211 

Roseau. 

Bahama Islands, 

(18911 

4,466 

49,500 

Nassau. 

Turks,Caicos Islands,(1891) 

169 

4,778 

Grand Turk. 

France: 





Guadeloupe, 

(18911 

721 

165,154 

Basseterre. 

Martinique. 

(1891) 

381 

175.863 

Port de France. 

St Bartuolomew'Sp 


8 

2,898 

Gustavia. 

Netherlands 




St Martin | 

Curasao j 

(1890) 

227 

29,729 

Willemstad. 

Denmark 





St Thomas, 

(1891) 

33 

14,389 

Charlotte Amelia 

St. Croix. 

(1891) 

84 

18,430 

Ciiristianstadt, 

St. John, 

(1891) 

22 

944 


Total, 

90,483 

5.471,341 



3 Governments of South America 


Governments 

Area, 
sq. m 

Pop 

Capitals. 

Venezuela, 

(1891) 

623,695 

2,323,527 

Caracas. 

Colombia, 

(1881) 

604,773 

3.878.600 

Bogota. 

Ecuador, 

(1892) 

12u,000 

1.27u,000 

Quito. 

Peru, 

(1888) 

503.000 

2,699,945 

Luna. 

Bolivia, 

11880-89) 

567,240 

1,192.162 

Sucre. 

Argentine Confederation, 




with Patagonia, 

(1889) 

1,125.086 

4,0%.492 

Buenos Ayrea. 

Uraguay. 

(1889) 

72,110 

683,943 

Montevideo. 

Paraguay, • 

(1887) 

145.000 

329.645 

Asuncion. 

Chile, 

(1892) 

29 3,970 

2,817,552 

Santiago. 

Brazil, 

(1888) 

3.209 

14,002,335 

Rio de Janeiro. 

Brit Guiana. 

(1891) 

109 000 

287,981 

Georgetown. 

French Guiana(Cayenne),(1891) 

30 463 

25,796 

Cayenne 

Dut<-h Guiana (Surinam), 

46,060 

74,132 

Paramaribo. 

Falkland Islands, 

(1891) 

6.500 

1.890 

Stanley, 


Total, 

7.356.775 

33 674,000 


Grand total of America, 

15,425,821 

122,241.765 



An estimate in 1903 gave the total area as 16,076,332 sq. 
m., and the total pop. as 127,182,261. Spain had lost Cuba 
and Porto Rico, and a treaty for the sale of the three Danish 
West India iolands to tne United States was pending. 
































AMERICA—AMERICANISMS. 

AMERICA, British: in mere extent, almost equal to the 
American republic. The term was commonly used to 
describe the British colonies in North America, now united 
to form the Dominion of Canada, together with the island 
of Newfoundland still a separate colony. In this sense its 
area, more than 3,500,000 sq. m., is little less than that of the 
United States. If the name be taken as synonymous with 
the British possessions in America—north, south, and cen¬ 
tral—there must be added Belize, the Bermudas, the British 
West Indies, and the Ealklands; making a total of 3,613,712 
sq. m.—exceeding the area of the United States by 10.000 
sq. m. Since 1878, when the present commercial policy 
of Canada was adopted, there has been considerable agita¬ 
tion in Canada and the United States for a more practical 
commercial union. While a sentiment has been developed 
in the United States against further enlargement of trade 
with Canada till the two countries become politically unit¬ 
ed, Canadian liberals ask for unrestricted reciprocity, and 
conservatives wish to limit reciprocity to natural products. 
The subject of union has been stimulated bv the introduc¬ 
tion of a joint resolution in congress 1888, Dec., authoriz¬ 
ing the pres, to invite negotiations for complete union; the 
declaration of Premier Mercier of Quebec 1889, Nov. 10, 
that a Urge number of Canadians desired a change; and 
the exp.e.>sed belief of many English publicists during 
1889 that Canada would meet with no opposiiion from Eng¬ 
land if she really desired annexation. Any sm h desire in 
Canada has evidently diminished in recent years. See the 
separate divisions. 

AMERICA, Russian: name long given to Alaska, now 
a territory of the United States, which was purchased from 
the Russian government in 1867 for $7,200,000. It forms 
the n.w. extremity of the American continent. It was 
discovered by a Russian expedition conducted by Behring 
(q.v.), which sailed from Kamtchatka 1741. Its prin¬ 
cipal town is New Archangel (now called Sitka), on the 
island of Sitka. See Alaska: Sitka: United States. 

AMERICA, Spanish: now shrunk into Porto Rico and 
Cuba, belongs rather to history than to geography. Yet for 
many years it practically embraced all South and Central 
America and great part of North America as well. See 
the separate divisions. 

AMERICAN, a. a-mer'i-Mn : of or from America. 
Americanism, n. - izm , an American peculiarity of speech 

AMERICAN ALOE: see Agave. 

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR : organiza¬ 
tion of workingmen, formed at Columbus, O., 1886, Dec. 
It consists of about 96 national labor organizations, com¬ 
prising 1,378 local unions, affiliated for united action. Its 
membership is about 2,000,000. 

AMERICANISMS: words and phrases current in the 
United Stales, not current in England. These peculiarities 
are much more prominent in conversation than in writing; 
indeed, in the American writers that are usually considered 
classical, it is difficult to detect anything of the kind. The 


AMERICANISMS. 

number of absolutely new words introduced into the English 
language in America is not great. As an instance may be 
mentioned caucus, for a secret political assembly. This is a 
corruption of calk-house, a calker’s shed in Boston, where 
the patriots before the revolution had usually held their 
meetings. The term Yankee (an Indian corruption of the 
French Anglais) is another. The great body of A. consist 
in giving an unusual sense to existing words: as clever, in 
the sense of amiable, and smart for clever; wagon for a very 
light kind of carriage; look-store for book seller’s shop; wilted 
for withered; creek for a small river, instead of a small arm 
of the sea. 

The several divisions of the Union have their characteristic 

{ jeculiarities. Thus, in the New England States—Yankee- 
and proper— ugly is used for ill-natured; friends for relations 
(so used also in Scotland); and guess for a great variety of 
things—to think, presume, suppose, etc. This use of guess 
is found chiefly in New England; the inhabitants of New 
York and of the Middle States generally employ expect iD 
the same way; while those of the Southern States reckon 
and those of the Western States calculate. Several words 
which became current first in the Middle States, and are 
now more general in their use, are of Dutch origin, as 
loafer for a vagabond, from the Dutch loopen, to run; and 
loss for a head workman or employer. The Southern States 
have a more limited range of peculiarities than the other 
divisions. In the Western States, though the people of 
culture, now numerous, show a linguistic correctness equal 
to those of any other part of the country, there are extensive 
regions in which there is hardly any recognized standard of 
speech, and in some districts 4 it would hardly be an exagger¬ 
ation to say that every prominent person has his own private 
vocabulary.’ The verb to fix is made to do duty for express¬ 
ing every conceivable kind of action. The vague use of 
this word is common all over the Union, but in the West 
the abuse is carried to the extreme. Help , in the sense of 
servant, is common to the West and to New England, but 
is nearly unknown in the Middle States. The well-known 
phrase gc ahead is a coinage of the West; it is sufficiently 
expressive of the leading characteristic of the American 
people. Posted-up or posted on a subject, for ‘ well in¬ 
formed,’ is one of a class of metaphors indicative of the 
prominence of mercantile pursuits. 

The tendency to the use of slang is excessive in America, 
especially in the Western States. 

A variety of causes have been enumerated to account for 
the American deviations from standard English; such as, 
the influence of the Indian languages; the various tongues 
- spoken by settlers from Europe other than English; the 
original provincial peculiarities of portions of the English 
settlers, etc. For instance, Prof. Scheie de Yere, whose 
work, The English of the New World (1873), is the best on 
the subject, states that the largest number of so-called A. 
are good old English words which have become obsolete or 
provincial in the mother-country. But even supposing the 
language of the; United States were at this moment in every 


AMERICAN JOURNALISM—AMERICUS. 

respect identical with that of England, and to be henceforth 
unaffected by the importation of foreign elements, the 
complete identity could not be expected to continue long. 
Not only do new circumstances and wants make new terms 
necessary, and modify the application of old, but those 
changes of structure which constitute the organic growth of 
every living tongue, are evolved more or less rapidly ac¬ 
cording to the industrial and political activity of those that 
speak.it. To complain, then, that the English language in 
America, or in any of the British colonies, should exhibit 
deviations from the standard of the mother-country is as 
unreasonable as to complain that an animal should exhibit 
changes in its coat or its habits when removed from one 
climate to another. Though it is certainly desirable that the 
language of the various sections of the Anglo-Saxon race 
should be substantially one, yet the general adoption of a 
new term or mode of expression by a great community may 
be presumed to have a cause deeper than any that can be 
controlled by criticism. 

As the Americans of Anglo-Saxon origin do not exceed 
one-third of the whole population of the United States, it 
seems wonderful that the English language should have held 
its ground so well—that it should not have been completely 
corrupted, or even in some places supplanted by other 
tongues. Yet there is apparently no danger of this. The 
original Dutch of New York has disappeared, with the 
exception of a few stray words; and although French is still 
spoken in one-half of the city of New Orleans, it has been 
preserved at the expense of the speakers isolating themselves 
and losing their due influence. The proximity of the 
German-speaking and the Welsh-speaking population that 
still hold out in Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc., has no sensible 
effect upon the language of their English-speaking neigh¬ 
bors; while, on the other hand, the influence of the English 
is reducing the language of the Germans to a corrupt patois, 
swarming with English words.—See The English Language 
in America, in the Cambridge Essays for 1855; Bartlett’s 
Dictionary of Americanisms' (1858). 

AMERICAN JOURNALISM; see Newspapers. 

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, The: institution at Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., designed to provide advanced courses of 
study for graduates of colleges; chartered 1891, May 28. 
It has since been placed under the patronage of the Meth. 
Episc. Chh. It has a board of 50 trustees, of which 
the pres, and vice-pres. of the United States, the chief 
justice of the supreme court, and the speaker of the 
house of representatives are ex-oflicio members. Bp. J. F. 
Hurst, D.D., LL.D., is pres, of the institution, which is 
not yet organized for instruction. A fine site of 90 acres 
on Massachusetts Ave. has been given by the citizens of 
Washington for the erection of buildings. The institution 
is designed for the co-education of the sexes. 

AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS: see Volunteers. 

AMERICUS, a-mer'i-kus: city'', capital of Sumter Co., 
Ga. It is situated on the Georgia and Alabama and the 


AMERIGO VESPUCCI. 

Central Georgia raiboads 71 m. s.w. of Maxn. It con¬ 
tains a college for women, and is the centre of a stock- 
raising and cotton-growing country. 

AMERIGO VESPUCCI, a-md-re'go ves-pot’che: 1451, 
Mar. 9-1512, Feb. 22; b. Florence: a naval astronomer, 
from whom America accidentally received its name. His 
father was a notary. The education of A. was intrusted to 
his uncle, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, a monk, and apparently 
a man of superior enlightenment. The youth made small 
progress in his Latin grammar, though he showed great 
aptitude and liking for natural philosophy, astronomy, and 
geography—at that period favorite objects of study, on 
account of their commercial importance. It is not precisely 
ascertained when he first went to Spain: in 1486, he was 
there, in mercantile pursuits. He was at the head of a 
large Florentine firm in Seville, 1496, when Columbus was 
making preparations for a second voyage to the new world. 
The success of the great discoverer inflamed A. with a 
passion for discovery, and having abandoned ‘ business,’ he 
sailed from Cadiz, 1499, May 20, in the expedition com¬ 
manded by Admiral Hojeda, and, after a voyage of 37 
days, arrived at that portion of the continent of America 
now called Cumana, explored the Bay of Paria, lying be¬ 
tween the isle of Trinidad and the mainland, and some 
hundreds of miles along the coast. He returned m the 
autumn of the same year, but commenced a second voyage 
under Admiral Pinzou in December, which resulted in the 
discovery of a crowd of small islands on the s. of the Gulf 
of Mexico. He was now allured by promises into the 
service of Emanuel, king of Portugal, and undertook two 
other voyages with Portuguese ships; the first, 1501, May 
10; the second, 1503, May 10. His purpose was to sail 
westward, in hopes of discovering a passage to Malacca, the 
extreme point of discovery in the East. He lost one of his 
ships; and after encountering great perils, the other five 
found refuge in All Saints’ Bay, on the coast of Brazil. 
The monarch gave orders that some remains of the ship 
Victoria , in which A. made his last voyage, should be sus¬ 
pended in the cathedral of Lisborn, but fulfilled none of the 
promises which he had made. A. consequently returned to 
Spain, and in the year 1508 succeeded in obtaining the office 
of piloto-major. He died at Seville. 

The character of A. V. has been covered with unmerited 
obloquy. He has been accused of endeavoring to claim the 
honor of discoveries which he never made, and has been 
commonly regarded as an unprincipled adventurer. Hum¬ 
boldt, however, has successfully vindicated him from such 
aspersions. He had a very considerable knowledge of vari 
ous branches of science, and it was on account of his superior 
attainments in these that he was selected to accompany the 
expeditions as naval astronomer. He was a prompt and 
skilful inspector of the commissariat while under his con¬ 
trol; vigorous, practical, and severe in his demands for in¬ 
creased knowledge on the part of the naval functionaries 
under him; an earnest navigator and close friend of 


AMERSFOORT—AMES. 

Columbus in the last years of the great admiral’s life. How 
America came to receive its name from him is not quite 
clear; but it is certain, from Humboldt’s investigation, that 
A. himself had nothing to do with it. The name of the 
new world probably originated in Germany. A selection 
from A.’s narrative of his American voyages found its way 
into that country. Martin Waldseemtiller, of Freiburg, in 
Baden, translated it for a bookseller of St. Diez, in Lorraine. 
As the first account of the wonderful discovery, it was 
greedily devoured. Edition after edition was printed off, 
and, according to Humboldt, it was Waldseemuller who 
proposed that the new world should be called America in 
honor of the author. Afterwards, this name was generally 
employed by geographical writers, and even the Spaniards 
and Portuguese adopted it. 

AMERSFOORT, timers fort': ancient town in the Nether¬ 
lands, prov. of Utrecht, on the Eem. which flows into the 
Zuyder Zee. It has a large trade in grain. Tobacco is grown 
in the district, and cotton and woolen goods, leather, soap, 
beer, etc., are manufactured. The church of St. Joris was 
comnleled in 1248. A has a Janspnist, college and court of 
justice. Here the statesman Oldenbarneveld was born. 
A. has railway connection with Amsterdam. Pop. (1883) 
14,182; (1891) 15,694. 

AMES, aim, Adelbert. soldier, U. S senator, and gov. 
of Mississippi: b. Rockland, Me., 1835, Oct. 31 He 
graduated from West Point 1861, fought in the war of the 
rebellion, and was brevelted col. and maj.geu U. S. vols. 
He was mustered out 1866 as brev. maj gen U. S. A., and 
promoted to lieut.col. 24th U. S. infautry. He was ap¬ 
pointed provisional gov. of Miss. 1869; elected U. S sena¬ 
tor from Miss. 1869-73, and gov. 1873-76 Gen. A. s ad¬ 
ministration aroused the hostility of the democrats—the 
white population, riots ensued aud many atrocities, and 
the returns of the election 1876 showed demociatic suprem¬ 
acy. At the beginning of the war against Spain (1898) 
he was appointed a brig.-gen. of volunteers. 

AMES, Edward Raymond bishop of the Meth Episc- 
Church. 1806, May 20—1879, Apr. 25; b. Baltimore He 
was educated at the Ohio State Univ., and opened a high 
school at Lebanon, 111 , 1828, which afterward became 
McKendree College. He joined the Indiana Meth. Episc. 
Conference 1830, and became an itinerant. He was a pie¬ 
siding eider 1844-52, and w as then chosen bishop. During 
the civil war he w 7 as a member of several important com¬ 
missions Bp. A. was abundant in zeal and Christian 
labor. He died in Baltimore. 

AMES, Fisher: statesman and orator 1758, Apr. 9— 
1808, July 4; b. Dedham, Mass , son of Nathaniel A., M.D. 
He graduated at Harvard 1774; aud after teaching for 
several years, studied law and began practice 1781 He 
soon gained reputation, not only as a lawyer but as a 
writer of political essays, aud 1788 was elected representa¬ 
tive in the state legislature, and member of the convention 


AMES—AMESBURY. 

to ratify the federal constitution, iu which his speeches 
were of extraordinary eloquence and power. He' joined 
the federal party, was elected to congress, and served 
through Washington’s two administrations. His most 
eloquent and impressive speech was delivered 1796, Apr. 
28, iu advocacy of the appropriation for execution of Jay’s 
treaty with Great Britain: at its close the taking of a vote 
was objected to, because of the excitement of his heaiers. 
He retired from public life on account of failing health. 
In 1804 he declined the presidency of Harvard College. A 
collection of his works, with a life, was pub. Boston 1809 
(enlarged, 2 vols. 1854).—A.’s speeches were mostly ex¬ 
temporaneous as to words, though his theme was carefully 
thought out. His diction was felicitous, luminous, and 
often sublime. He was a brilliant talker, a sparkling 
letter-writer, and of gentle manners and amiable dispo¬ 
sition. 

AMES, Joseph: artist. 1816-1872, Oct. 30, b. Roxbury, 
N. H. He began painting portraits in early life and 
opened a studio in Boston, where though wholly self- 
taught he was very successful. He went to Rome, where 
he painted a portrait of Pius IX. He returned to Bostcp- 
but after 1870-1 he resided iu New York. His portrait: 
include *hose of many prominent persons 

AMES, Oakes: manufacturer. 1804, Jan. 10—1873, May 
8; b. Easton, Mass.; eldest son of Oliver A., a blacksmith 
noted for making excellent shovels. He received a public 
school education, acquainted himself with his father’s 
business of making shovels, and established the firm of 
Oliver Ames& Sons. The firm did an enormous business; 
also were heavily interested in the construction of the 
Union Pacific railroad, but transferred their contracts to 
the Credit Mobilier, which gave rise to a serious financial 
scandal. A. was a member of the executive council of 
Mass. 1861, and served in congress 1862-73. He d. at 
North Easton, Massachusetts. 

AMES, Oliver: manufacturer; b. North Easton, Mass., 
1831, Feb. 4; son of Oakes A., and nephew of Oliver A , 
who was pres, of the Union Pacific railroad. He received 
his education at schools and academies, and at Brown 
Univ., where he did not enter till after a five years’ ap¬ 
prenticeship at the family trade of shovel making. He 
continued in that business until the failure of the Ames 
Manufacturing Co., when he administered the estate so 
judiciously that he restored it and made a large fortune 
for himself. He was elected to the Mass, state senate, 
1880, 1 lieut gov. 1882-86; and gov. 1887-90. Died 1895. 

AMES-ACE- see Ambs-ace. 

AMESBURY town in Mass., one of three co.-seats of 
Essex co., on the Merrimac river, and on the Boston and 
Maine railroad; 42 m. n.e. of Boston, 27 m. n. of Salem. 
It has manufactures of boots, and shoes, woolen and cot¬ 
ton goods, machinery, and carriages. Pop. (1880) 3,335; 
(1890)9,473. 


AMETABOLIC—AMHERST. 

AMETABOLIC, a. dm-etd-bbl'ik [Gr. ametab'blbs, un 
changeable—from a, without; metdbole, change]: applied to 
insects not possessing wings when perfect, and which, tliera 
fore, do not pass through any marked metamorphosis. 

AMETHYST, n. am'e-thist [Gr. amethus' tos, without in¬ 
toxication] : a variety of quartz, forming a precious stone of 
various colors—generally of a purple or viclet-blue coior, 
like wine mixed with water. Amethystine, a. dm'e-this'tin, 
having the violet-blue tinge peculiar to the amethyst; per¬ 
taining to. Amethystoline, n. dm'e-this'td-lin, a name 
applied to the volatile fluid found in the minute cavities of 
the amethyst. 

AM ETHYST: a variety of quartz (q.v.), differing from 
common quartz and rock-crystal chiefly in it3 beautiful violet- 
blue or purplish violet color—well known as amethystine — 
which is owing to the presence of a little peroxide of iron or 
of manganese. It is one of the most esteemed varieties of 
quartz, and is much employed for seals, rings, etc., although, 
being comparatively abundant, it is much inferior in price 
to the true gems. An amethystine tinge is frequently to be 
observed in specimens of quartz, which yet are not perfect 
A. The tinge is often very faint, and is frequently confined 
to the summits or edges of the crystals. The finest speci¬ 
mens of A. are brought from India, Ceylon, and Brazil. It 
abounds as masses of crystals at L. Superior and in the 
Rocky Mts. It frequently occurs lining the interior of 
balls or geodes of agate, and in veins and cavities in green¬ 
stone and other rocks. The ancients imagined it to possess 
the property of preventing intoxication, and persons much 
addicted to drinking therefore wore it on their necks. The 
name is derived from a Greek word which signifies unin¬ 
toxicated .—Not to be confounded with this mineral is that 
sometimes called the oriental A., which is a variety of co¬ 
rundum having an amethystine color, and is a very valuable 
gem.—False amethysts made of glass c r paste are very com¬ 
mon, and in general very coarse; but a nearly perfect imita¬ 
tion can be, and sometimes is, made. 

AMHARIC, n. tim-hdr'lk: the modern language of Abys¬ 
sinia—so named from Amhara, one of its provinces. It is 
of Semitic origin, and is related to the aucient Ethiopian or 
Geez, having the Ethiopic alphabet with some added let¬ 
ters; and like that language it has close resemblance to the 
Arabic. See Ethiopia. 

AMHERST, dm’erst: t. in Hampshire co., Mass., 82 m. 
w. of Boston. It is near the Connecticut l iver, in the midst 
of picturesque scenery, and has six or eight, churches, a 
weekly newspaper, and several paper-mills. The beautiful 
village is the seat of Amherst College (q.v.), and of the 
Mass. Agricultural College. Pop. (1890) 4,512; (1900) 
6,028. 


AMHERST—AMHERST COLLEGE. 

AMHERST: town in Hillsborough co., N. H., 30 m. s. 
of Concord, 48 in. n. w. of Boston. Horace Greeley was 
b. here. The village is a summer resort. Pop. (Id JO) 1,231. 

AMHERST, am'erst: sea port of Tenasserim (q.v.), on 
the shore of the Bay of Bengal; at the mouth of the 
Sal wen. It was founded 1826, as the commercial capital, 
being named after the then gov.gen. of India; but the plan 
has failed, the harbor being defective; and A. has no com¬ 
mercial importance. ThedwLofA., 15,190 sq.m.; pop. 
(1881) 301,086; (1891)417,312. 

AMHERST, Jeffery (Baron Amherst): British soldier: 
1717, Jan. 29—1797, Aug. 3; b. Riverhead, Kent, England. 
He was an aide-de-camp under Marlborough, in the wars 
on the continent, and fought at Dettingen and Fontenoy. 
In 1758 William Pitt recalled him to England, had him 
commissoned maj gen.; and sent in command of an expe¬ 
dition to America. He captured from the French the 
stronghold of Louisburg, July 26. During the revolu¬ 
tionary war he succeeded Abercrombie in command of the 
Brit, army in N. America; captured Ticonderoga, Crown 
Point, and Montreal, thus gaining control :>f all Canada; 
whereupon he was made gov.gen. of the Brit, possessions 
in America. Iu 1773 he was made gov.gen. of Ya. In 
1776 he was created Lord A., and 1787 Baron A.; and was 
appointed field marshal 1796. 

AMHERST, William Pitt, Earl of: 1773—1857, Mar. 13; 
nephew of Baron Jeffrey A. His embassy to China 1816 
failed because of his manly refusal to kneel before the em¬ 
peror in the degrading * kotow.’ Earl A. was gov.gen. of 
India 1823-28. The first Burmese war, with its triumph, 
made his administration notable. 

AMHERSTBURG: town in the prov. of Ontario, Canada, 
on the river Detroit, which empties Lake St. Clair into Lake 
Erie. It is one of the oldest settlements in Upper Canada, 
being named from Lord Amherst, who. by the capture 
of Montreal in 1760, completed what Gen. Wolfe had. 
begun at Quebec in 1759. It occupies the s w. extremity of 
the province, the turning-point of climate and character to 
the basin of the St. Lawrence, the spot where its waters, 
after having gained southing from the 50th to the 42d paral¬ 
lel, suddenly assume a direction which carries them back to 
their original latitude above the island of Anticosti. A 
large business is done here in timber. In the days of 
slavery in the United States. A. being a frontier town, was 
a place of refuge for fugitive slaves. Pop. (1901) 2,222. 

AMHERST COLLEGE: in Amherst, Mass.: founded 
1821, in part through the exertions of Noah Webster, 
ll.d. , then a resident of Amherst. Zephaniah Swift 
Moore, d.d., was called from the presidency ot Williams 
College to the same office in this institution, which opened 
1821. Sept. 19, with two teachers and 47 students. The 
following year a second edifice was built, the two still 
standing as ‘North’ and ‘South College.’ Soon after¬ 
ward a large chapel was erected between the two, all 
fronting a magnificent westward view of the Connecticut 
river valley, from Mt. Holyoke on the south to Mt. Tom 


AMHERST COLLEGE 

on the north. The successive presidencies have been as 
follows: Heman Humphrey, d.d., 1823-45, Edward Hitch¬ 
cock, d.d., ll.d. , 1845-54; William A. Si earns, d.d., ll.d. , 
1854-76, Julius H. Seeley, d.d , ll.d., 1876-90, and Mer¬ 
rill E. Gates, ph.d., ll.d., 1890-99; George Harris, d.d., 
ll.d., since 1900. Noted profs, have been Ebenezer S. 
Snell, ll.d., 1829-76; Jacob Abbott, d.d ; Nathan W. 
Fiske (father of ‘Helen Hunt’); Edwards A. Park, d.d., 
ll.d,; Henry B. Smith, d.d., ll.d.; Charles U. Shep¬ 
ard, m.d.. ll.d.; Edward Tuckerman, ll d.; and Will¬ 
iam S. Tyler, d.d., ll.d., the latter’s service dating 
from 1836. The whole number of alumni to 1908 was 
4,341. The catalogue of 1902-3 enrolled 36 professors, 
7 instructors, and 404 students; the classes, excluding 
graduate students, averaging 82 each. The under¬ 
graduate courses, of four years, with much liberty of 
optional studies after the first year, may have in view 
the degree of bachelor of arts, or of science; the de¬ 
gree of ph.d. is conferred on a two years’ post-grad¬ 
uate course in science or literature, and special students 
not in the degree courses may receive certificates. The 
work in science has been much strengthened by new 
chemical and physical laboratories and equipment, at a 
cost of $100,000. Other facilities of the institution in¬ 
clude the Mather art collection of antique and modern 
casts; an observatory with a 7| inch telescope; the Woods 
geological cabiuet, including the rich Shepard collection, 
of meteorites, and Pres. Hitchcock’s suites of specimens 
from the survey of several New England states; the 
Appleton cabinet building, with 1,400 ichnological slabs, 
the Audubon collection of birds, the large Adams collec¬ 
tion of shells, etc.; the Pratt gymnasium, aud the Pratt 
athletic field of 13 acres. A beautiful Gothic church of 
stone, the gift of a son of Pres. Stearns, crowns the east 
brow of the college lull. The Henry T. Morgan Library, 
of stone, contains 60,000 vols., audits porch is adorned with 
sculptured slabs from the palace of Sardanapnlus, ob¬ 
tained by the missionary Henry Lobdell. The college was 
a pioneer in American geology as represented by Pres Ed¬ 
ward Hitchcock, father of the geologist Charles H. Hitch¬ 
cock, and was also first in developing systematic physical 
culture under the lead of another sou, Edward Hitchcock, 
m.d. This institution has taken the lead also in a system 
of government known as ‘ the Amherst system ’ of a col¬ 
lege senate, by which to a considerable extent the students 
govern themselves. The college buildings number 13; 
the entire property with endowments is valued at more 
than $2,000,000, and the annual income from all sources is 
about $65,000. There are three fellowships (that of Rufus 
B Kellogg for original research, yielding $1,500 a year to 
the appointee); aud very numerous prizes and scholarships); 
also a ‘charitable fund’ of $83,500, with other large 
funds for aid of those who have in view the Christian 
ministry. Among the largest benefaclorsof the institution 
(each $50,000 or more) have been Dr. William J. Walker 
of Newport, R. I.. Samuel A. Hitchcock of Brimtield, 


AMIABLE—AMIDES. 

Mass., Samuel Williston of Easthampton, Mass., Henry 
Winkiey of Philadelphia, an unnamed donor, and the 
Fayerweather estate. The college is of the New England 
type, unsectarian, but under Congregational auspices: and 
like most institutions of this type, its original motive was 
earnestly religious. 

AMIABLE, a. d'mi-d-bl [F. aimable; OF. amiable, 
agreeable, friendly—from L. amdbilis, lovely, for L. 
amicdbilis, friendly—from amp, I love]: worthy or deserv- 
\ng of love or affection; pleasing. Amiability, n. ami-d- 
bili-ti, sweetness of disposition. A' mi able'ness, n. -nes, 
loveliness; agreeableness. A'miably, ad. -bli .— Syn. of 
‘amiable’: lovely; beloved; charming; pleasing; delightful. 

AM I ANTE, n. dm'i-dnth, or Amianthus, n. arn'i-an’- 
thus [Gr. a, without; miaino, I soil or pollute]: thatvarietv 
of asbestos (q.v.), or of serpentine, like delicate silky 
fibres. Am'ian'thifobm, a. [L. forma, shape]. Amlan- 
thoid, a. -thoyd [Gr. eidos, form]: having the form or like¬ 
ness of amianthus. 

AMICABLE, a. dm'i-kd-bl [L. amicdb'ilis, worthy of 
love—from amicus, a friend: OF. aimiable (see Amiable)]: 
friendly; peaceable; disposed to friendly. intercourse. 
Amicably, ad. -bli, in a friendly way; with goodwill. 
Amicableness, n. dm'i-kd-bl-nes, the disposition to preserve 
friendship and goodwill.— Syn. of ‘amicable’: peaceable; 
friendly; harmonious; kind. 

AMICE, n. dm'is [L. amictus, an outer garment: F. 
amid]: a cloak, generally worn by pilgrims; an oblong 
piece of linen, resembling an embroidered collar, tied about 
the neck of a Rom. Cath. priest. 

AMID or Amidst, prep, a mid! or a-midst' [AS. a, on: 
Icel. midr, the middle]: among; in the middle. 

AMIDE, n. dm'id, or Am'mide, n. -mid [Gr. ammi, a 
plant; am'ulon, starch: probably made up of am, of am- 
monium, and ide\: a chemical compound formed from 
ammonia by the replacement of one or more of its hydrogen- 
atoms by an acid radical. Amidin, n. dm'i-din, a substance 
resulting from the action of hot water on starch. Amidogen, 
n. d-mido-jen [Gr. genndo, I produce]: a hypothetical radi¬ 
cal of ammonia and the amides. Ammonide n. dm on-id, 
an amide. Amine, n. dm-en' , a compound ammonia, in 
which hydrogen is replaced by an alcohol radical. 

AMIDES, dm'idz: group of organic compounds, derived, 
under certain conditions, from ammonia (NH 3 or NHIIH), 
by the exchange of one or more atoms of hydrogen for a 
corresponding number of atoms of a metal, or a com¬ 
pound radical. The first of these compounds that was dis¬ 
covered was that in which one atom of hydrogen was re¬ 
placed by one of potassium (NHHK, or NHoK). the result¬ 
ing product being regarded as a compound of NH 2 ( amidogen ) 
with potassium, and being termed amide of potassium. At 
present, the term amide is restricted to the case in which one 
or more atoms of hydrogen are replaced by an acid radical, 
and the amides are called primary, secondary, or tertiary, 


AM1D0GEM —AMIEN S. 


according as one two, or all three of the atoms of hydrogen 
are replaced by the acid radical The primary A. may be 
obtained in various ways, of which are here noted two: 
(1 ) If an ammoniacal salt be heated, two atoms of water are 
given off and the amide corresponding to the acid is left; 
thus ammonium acetate NH .C 2 H*0 2 — H 2 0 - acetamide 


C 2 H 3 0 

H where 

H 


C 2 H 5 NO, w hich ex 


pressed typically is N 


C 2 H 3 0 is the radical of acetic acid. (2) If an anhydride be 
submitted to the action of ammonia, there are formed si¬ 
multaneously an amide and an ammoniacal salt. Thus 
valerianic or valeric anhydride Cu>Hi b 0 3 + ammonia 
2NH 3 =■ ammonium valerate NH*.C 5 H 9 0 2 -f valeramide 
C 5 H 9 0 2 .NH 2 , which expressed typically is C 6 H 9 



N 


where C 6 H 9 0 2 is the acid radical of valeric acid. The 
A. ai;e. for the most part, capable of being obtained 
in a crystalline form, and are fusible volatile bodies. 
For a description of the more complicated forms of 
A., and for a history of their general properties, the reader 
is referred to the article ‘ Amides ’ in Watts’s Dictionary of 
Chemistry , and to the chapter on A, in the 2d edition (1867) 
of Naquet's Principesde Chimie, vol ii , pp. 344-368. If, in 
place of an acid radical , a base radical replaces one or more 
atoms of hydrogen in ammonia, a class of compounds, 
termed amines, is formed, for whose composition see Or 
ganic Bases. 

AMIDOGEN, d-mido-jen: a substance procured by the 
action of the metal potassium on dry gaseous ammonia. 
The latter eontains one atom of nitrogen to three atoms of 
hydrogen (NH S ), while A contains one to two (NH 2 ). A. 
forms a very important class of organic compounds called 
amides (q.v.), and gives rise to a number of substances 
closely allied to the alkaloids, many of which, indeed, may 
be regarded as natural amides, 

AMIENS, aJmi dug : ancient city in the plain of Picardy, 
cap. of the dept, of Somme, France; the seat of a bishop 
and of a court of justice; has a citadel and fortifications. 
It possesses a college, an academy, a theol seminary, 
an industrial school, a school of medicine, a public 
library, a picture gallery, a botanical garden, and several 
literary and scientific institutions. Among its public 
buildings, the cathedral is a noble edifice, built 1220, 
esteemed a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Peter the 
Hermit was born here. A. has considerable manufactures 
of velvet, silk, woolen and cotton goods, ribbons, and 
carpets. The place owes its celebrity chiefly to the ‘ Peace 
of A.,’ a treaty signed in this city, 1802, March 27, by 
Joseph Bonaparte, the Marquis of Cornwallis, Azara, and 
Schimmelpennink, and intended to settle the disputed points 
between England, France, Spain, and Holland. By this 
treaty, England retained possession of Ceylon and Trinidad, 
and an open port at the Cape of Good Hope; France re- 


Vol. 1 — 22 


AM IO T—AM LE TH. 

ceived back her colonies; the republic of the Seven Islands 
was recognized; Malta was restored to the order of the 
Knights of St. John; Spain and Holland regained their 
colonies, with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon; the 
French were to quit Rome, Naples, and Elba; and Turkey 
was restored to its integrity. These terms were not received 
with satisfaction by the English, and war was declared 
against Bonaparte in 1803. In the Fran co-Prussian war of 
1870, A. was taken by the German general Manteuffel, an 
event which contributed to the fall of Paris. Pop. (1881) 
73,630, (1891) 83,654; (1901) 90,758. 

AMIOT, a'me-o' , Joseph: 1718-94; b. Toulon, France: a 
celebrated Jesuit and oriental scholar, who lived as a mission¬ 
ary in China from 1750 till his death. His knowledge of the 
Chinese and Tatar languages enabled him to collect many 
valuable notices of antiquities, history, language, and arts, 
in China. Many of his writings may be found in the 
Memoires concernants V Ristoire, les Sciences et les Arts des 
Chinois (15 vols. Paris, 1776-1791). His Bictionnaire 
Tatar-Mantchou-Fran^ais was edited by Langles, 1789. 

AMISS, a. a-mis' [AS. a, on; misse, in error: Dut. missen, 
to fail]: wrong; faulty; out of order: N. fault; error: 
Ad. in a faulty manner. 

AMITY, n.‘ am'i-ti [F. amitie —from L. amicitia, friend¬ 
ship—from amo, I love]: friendship; harmony. 

AM'LETH, or Hamleth: Prince of Jutland: said to 
have lived b.c. 2d c. According to Saxo-Grammaticus, he 
was the son of Horvendill and Gerutha; and after the 
murder of his father by his uncle Fengo, w T ho married 
Gerutha, he feigned himself a fool, to save his own life. 
Saxo relates a number of little things regarding A., which 
are a curious medley of sharp and lively observation, and 
apparent madness. We are told that, on one occasion, when 
he visited his mother, suspecting that he was watched, he 
commenced to crow like a cock and dance idiotically about 
the apartment, until he discovered, hidden in a heap of 
straw, a spy, in the person of one of Fengo’s courtiers, 
whom he immediately stabbed; he then so terrified his 
mother by his reproaches, that she promised to aid him in 
his intended revenge on his father’s murderer, and according 
to the old chronicler, really did so. Scandinavian traditions 
confirm the existence of a prince of this name. A field is 
still pointed out in Jutland with a tomb bearing the name 
of A. In the vicinity of Elsinore is shown the spot w T here 
the father of A. was assassinated. Saxo himself does not 
mention the manner or circumstances of his death; but his 
French translator says he was murdered at a banquet. Most 
of the recent historians of Denmark consider the history of 
A. fabulous, but Muller thinks there is a substratum of fact 
in the old myth. It is the source of Shakespeare’s tragedy 
of Hamlet, and thus possesses a perennial interest for the 
civilized world. 



THE CATHEDRAL OF AMIENS. 

Built in 1220. 

A MASTERPIECE OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. 




















AMMAN—AMMON. 

AMMAN, dm!man , Jost: 1539-91: Swiss artist and en¬ 
graver; notable for productiveness, for correct and spirited 
drawing, and for accuracy in costumes. Many of his 
works (copper-plate and wood cut) are in the Berlin col¬ 
lection of engravings. 

AMMANATI, dm-d-nd'te, Bartolomeo: 1511-92; b. 
Florence: architect and sculptor. He was at first a pupil 
of Baccio Bandinelli, afterwards of Sansovino at Venice. In 
1550, he married Laura Battiferri of Urbino, celebrated for 
her poetical gifts. Pope Julius III. employed him in the 
decoration of the capitol, and Cosmo de Medici appointed 
him his architect. He completed the Pitti palace, begun 
by Brunelleschi. His works all have a certain grandeur, 
but are somewhat marred by a quaint mannerism. His 
bronzes show great delicacy. 

AMMEN, amen , Daniel: rear-admiral: b. Ohio, 1820, 
May 13. He entered the naval service as midshipman 
1836, July 7, and was in the Wilkes exploring expedition, 
and 'he Mediterranean and E. India squadrons. He served 
with the Paraguay expedition 1853-4, and on the U. S. 
steam frigate Merrimac 1859-60. In 1860 he was made 
executive c 'cer of the N. Atlantic squadron, and in 1861 
was in command of the Seneca in the attack on Port Royal. 
Appointed commander 1863, he was present Mar. 3 in the 
attack on Fort McAllist:r. In 1864 he was ordered to Cal¬ 
ifornia on board a passenger steamer, in charge of 220 
seamen, and was successful in suppressing a mutiny which 
broke out among them. He was engaged in the Fort 
Fisher expedition 1864-5; was commissioned capt. 1866, 
July 26; served on special duty till 1878 when he was re¬ 
tired as rear-admiral. He died 1898, July 11. 

AMMERGAU MYSTERY: (Ober-Ammergau): see 
Mysteries and Miracle Plays. 

AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, dm'mi-d'nus mar'cel- 
ll'niis: Roman historian of the 4th c.; present in several 
campaigns in Gaul, Germany, and the East, and afterwards 
lived at Rome, engaged in literature. Though a Greek by 
birth, he wrote in Latin a history of the Roman empire 
from a.d. 91 to 378, in 31 books, of which 13, containing 
the years 91-352, are lost. This work, which commenced 
with the accession of Nerva, may be regarded as a continu¬ 
ation of Tacitus, and though the portions remaining have 
many faults of style, they are valuable on account of the 
author’s love of truth, his careful descriptions of countries 
and events from personal observation, and especially his re¬ 
marks on Germany. The work of A. has passed through 
several editions, of which the best are the Leyden edition 
(1693) b Gronovius, and the two Leipsic editions (1773 and 
1808). The latest ed. is Gardthausen’s (1875), 2 volumes. 

AMMON, am'mon, or Amon (No-Amon), or Amen: an 
Egyptian deity, styled Amun on hieroglyphic monuments; 
compared by the Greeks with their supreme deity Zeus. 
The sacred name of Thebes, A. ’s city (‘ No-Ammon' in the 
Old Test., Nah. iii. 8), was therefore translated into Greek 
by Diospolis. In the temples of this town, his peculiar 


AMMON—AMMONIA. 

residence, A. is represented as sitting on a throne, holding 
the symbols of life and power, and -wearing a crown with a 
peculiar ornament of two feathers and a band falling be¬ 
hind and hanging down to his feet. He was especially the 
god of Thebes: though his temples are found in other 
places, as at MeroC, and over the whole of Nubia and Libya. 
The name Amun or Amen signifies the hidden, unrevealed 
deity; and in Egyptian mythology, he held the highest 
place. His undefined character may serve to explain how 
other deities were identified with A. After the eighteenth 
dynasty, we find in hieroglyphics the name Amun-Ra fre¬ 
quently inscribed, indicating a blending of A. with the sun- 
god Ra. Similarly the representation of A. wdth a ram’s 
head shows the blending of him with Kneph. The worship 
of A. spread at an early period to Greece, afterwards to 
Rome, where he was identified with Zeus and Jupiter. 
Temples for his worship were erected in Thebes (Boeotia), 
Sparta, Megalopolis, and other places. 

AMMON, dm'on, Christoph: Friedrich: 1766, Jan. 
16—1850, May 21: German theologian, chiefly known by 
his -work on the Development of Christianity as a Universal 
Religion (4 vols., Leip. 1833-40), in which he argues in 
favor of such liberal development of doctrine as may keep 
theology in harmony with the progress of science. A. was 
a leader of the rationalist school. He was a man of exten¬ 
sive learning, united with great industry and earnestness, 
and was generally respected in Saxony, where he resided. 

Friedrich Augustus A.: 1799-1861: second son of the 
above, known in Germany as the writer of several works on 
practical medicine and surgery. 

AMMONIA, n. dm-md'ni-a [Ammon, Egyptian god cor¬ 
responding to Jupiter; also, from district Libya, wkere first 
found]: a transparent gas having a strong, pungent, 
peculiar smell, consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen, and 
possessing alkaline properties; a substance used in medicine 
and the arts, from which hartshorn is made; the volatile 
alkali. Ammoniac, a. dm-mo'ni-ak, pertaining to: N. a 
gum brought from Persia, and used in medicine as an ex¬ 
pectorant. Ammoniacad, a. am'md-ni'd-kal, pertaining tr 
ammonia; pungent. Ammo nium, n. -ni-um, the supposed 
metallic base of ammonia. Salammo'niac, in chem., the 
salt usually called muriate of ammonia or ammonic chloride. 
Ammonic, a. dm-mon'ik, denoting a compound whose basic 
constituent is ammonia—as, Ammonic carbonate, the 
common smelling-salts of the shops; Ammonic chloride 
or Salammoniac. Ammonia or Gas liquor, a liquid 
substance produced during the destructive distillation of 
coal. 

AMMONIA, or Hartshorn, or the Volatile Alkali: one 
of the few substances known to the chemistry of the 
ancients; being referred to by Pliny under the name of 
vehement odor, which he evolved by mixing lime with 
nitrum (probably sal ammoniac). It derives its name A. 
from its being obtained from sal ammoniac, which w T as first 
procured by heating camels’ dung in Libya, near the temple 


AMMONIA. 

of Jupiter Ammon The atmosphere contains a minute 
quantity of A , amounting to 210-237 parts in 10,000,000,000 
parts of air, which is equal to 1 volume of A in 28.000,000 
of air. It is likewise present in rain water in variable pro¬ 
portion. The supply of A to the atmosphere is its evolu¬ 
tion during the putrefaction of animal and vegetable sub¬ 
stances, during the vinous fermentation, and the combustion 
of coal. It is likewise present in respired air, and is there¬ 
fore a product of the daily vvear and tear of the animal sys¬ 
tem. The principal source of A at the present time is the 
destructive distillation of coal, as in gas making. The ma 
terials which pass over from the retort are partly uncon 
densable and truly gaseous, and these are carried to gas-jets 
and burned, but in other parts they are condensable, and 
are received during the purification of the gas as a mixed 
tarry and watery liquid. On allowing this liquid to settle, 
the water portioa containing A , can be separated, and, 
hydrochloric acid being added to it, there is formed a com¬ 
pound of A. and hydrochloric acid, called chloride of am¬ 
monium, which can be obtained dry, by evaporating the 
solution down in shallow vessels Pure A. is manufactured 
from this impure chloride of ammonium by mixing it with 
its own weight of slaked lime in a retort, and applying a 
gentle heat, when the A. as a gas passes over, and is re¬ 
ceived in a vessel containing water. The solubility of A. 
in water is very great, 1 volume of water dissolving 670 vol¬ 
umes of ammoniacal gas, increasing in bulk and forming a 
liquid (liquor ammonia of the chemist, and hartshorn of 
the shops), lighter than water, its density being 891. The 
solution of A. is transparent, colorless, and strongly alka 
line. In taste it is acrid caustic, and in odor very pungent. 
Applied to the skin in a concentrated form, it blisters. Ex¬ 
posed to the air, the A. escapes, and the solution thus be¬ 
comes weaker, and, reduced to—40° F.. it freezes. As 
generally obtained, eveu in the gaseous condition, it exists 
as a hydrate, or is accompanied by the corresponding 
amount of water to give the formula NH 4 .HO. Dry A. 
can be procured by passing the vapor of A., as ordinarily 
obtained, over fused chloride of calcium, when the water is 
abstracted, and true gaseous A. is left, having the composition 
1 nitrogen and 3 hydrogen (NH 3 ). Gaseous A. can be lique¬ 
fied under pressure and cold, and then yields a colorless, 
clear, mobile liquid, with the characteristic odor and other 
properties of A. much intensified. A. combines with acids 
to form a class of salts of considerable importance.. Thus, 
the crystallized ammonium sulphate, (NH 4 ) 2 S 04 , is much 
used as a top dressing by farmers, and is also mixed with 
manures where an increase of ammoniacal matter is desir¬ 
able. The chloride of ammonium is also employed in 
agriculture; likewise largely by the Russian peasantry, as 
a condiment for flavoring food in place of common salt. 

In medicine, the gaseous A. has been rarely used. The 
solution of A. is employed as a means of rousing the respir¬ 
atory and vascular systems, and for the speedy alleviation 
of spasm. It is used also as a local irritant and antacid. It 
is serviceable in dyspeptic complaints with preternatural 


AMMONIACUM. 

acidity of stomach and flatulence; to produce local irritation 
or destruction of certain parts, and to render comparatively 
harmless the bites of poisonous animals, such as serpents 
and insects. 

Ammonium is a hypothetical metal, said to consist of 1 
volume of nitrogen with 4 of hydrogen. It has never been 
produced in an isolated state; but a singular amalgam of 
Ammonium and mercury may be formed, by subjecting a 
globule of mercury, surrounded by a little water of am* 
monia, to the action of the galvanic current; when the gal 1 
vanic agency ceases, this amalgam is decomposed into mer¬ 
cury, ammonia and water. Ammonium may likewise be 
prepared by acting on an amalgam of sodium and mercury 
with a solution of chloride of Ammonium. A portion of 
mercury is slightly heated in a porcelain vessel, and pieces 
of sodium introduced, when the sodium and mercury com¬ 
bine, and form an amalgam of sodium and mercury, which 
is a semi-solid substance, and scarcely occupies more space 
than the bulk of the mercury employed. If this be intro¬ 
duced into a vessel containing a strong or saturated solution 
of chloride of Ammonium (NH 4 C1), the chlorine combines 
with the sodium (Na) of the amalgam, forming chloride of 
sodium (NaCI). and the Ammonium unites with the mer¬ 
cury, forming the amalgam of Ammonium and mercury. 
As the change referred to proceeds, the amalgam increases 
in size many times, and forms a spongy mass of the con¬ 
sistence of butter, which rises through the saline solution 
and floats on the surface. The amalgam of Ammonium 
and mercury very readily decomposes; hence the difficulty 
of determining its exact composition. 

AMMONIACUM, am-mo-nl'ak-itm, or Ammoniac, am¬ 
mo ni-ak: a gum resin, used in medicine on account of its 
stimulant and discutient qualities; obtained from DoremaA., 
a plant of the natural order Umbelliferm, a native of Persia— 
a perennial, about 7 ft. high, with large doubly pinnate 
leaves. The leaves are about 2 ft. long. The whole plant 
is abundantly pervaded by a milky juice, which oozes out 
upon the slightest puncture, and which hardens, and be¬ 
comes A. The A. exudes from punctures made by an in¬ 
sect, which appears in great numbers at the time when the 
plant has attained perfection. Much of it is sent to India, 
and it is generally imported into Britain from Bombay, 
although sometimes from the Levant. It occurs in com¬ 
merce either in tears, or in masses formed of them, but 
mixed with impurities. It is whitish, becoming yellow by 
exposure to the atmosphere, is softened by the heat of the 
hand, and has a peculiar heavy unpleasant smell and a 
nauseous taste, at first mucilaginous and bitter, afterwards 
acrid. It is not fusible, but burns with white crepitating 
flame, little smoke, and strong smell.—It was for some 
time erroneously supposed to be the produce of a species of 
Heracleum, the seeds of which were found inclosed in it. 

A similar substance is obtained from Ferula Tingitana, an 
umbelliferous plant, growing on light sandy soils in the n. 
of Africa; and is said also to be obtained from F. Orientalis, 
a native of Asia Minor and of Greece. Both these plants 


AMMONITE—AMMONITES. 

have branched stems, and very compound leaves, somewhat 
resembling fennel. It would seem that the A. of the an¬ 
cients was the gum resin of the Ferula, which has a more 
faint odor and less powerful medicinal properties than that 
of the Dorema. 

AMMONITE,n. dm'mon-it, one of an extinct genus of 
Cephalopoda in which the shell is coiled into a flat spiral, 
so called from a resemblance to the horns of the statue of 
the ancient Egyptian god Jupiter Ammon. Ammostcixd.^ 
n. plu. am'mon-it'i-de, the family of fossil shells of which 
the ammonite is the type. 

AMMONITES, dm'mbn-its: a Semitic race, living on the 
edge of the Syrian Desert; descendants of Ben-ammi the 
son of Lot (Gen. xix. 38). They inhabited the country lying 
to the n. of Moab, between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok, 
i.e. the desert country e. of Gad. Their chief city was 
Rabbath-Ammon, to which the Greeks afterwards gave the 
name of Philadelphia. The Israelites were often at war 
with them and their other Bedouin confederates. Jephthah 
defeated them with great slaughter. They were also over¬ 
come by Saul, David, Uzziah, and Jotham; but after the 
fall of the kingdom of Israel, b.c. 720, spread themselves 
in the districts of Judaea e. of the Jordan. In b.c. 582, they 
were subdued by the Babylonians. After the captivity, 
they recommenced their feuds with the Jews, but were 
conquered by Judas Maccabaeus. The intermarriages of 
Jews with the A., which had been frequent, were prohibited 
by Nehemiah. The chief deity worshipped by the A. was 
named Milcom, who in his character seems to have resem¬ 
bled Moloch. Justin Martyr affirms that in his time the A. 
were still numerous. 

AMMONITES: genus of fossil shells, nearly allied to 
the recent genus Nautilus , being, like it, chambered and 
spiral. The molluscous inhabitant appears to have lodged 
in the last and largest chamber of the shell, the spaces left 



Ammonites: 


1. Ammonites obtusus; 2. Section of Ammonites obtusus, showing the 
interior chambers and siphuncle; 3. Ammonites nodosus. 

behind as it increased in size being successively converted 
into air-chambers, and all connected by a tube {siphuncle), 
so that the animal could at pleasure ascend or descend in the 
sea; while the transverse plates dividing the chambers gave 
strength to the whole structure without great increase of 







AMMONIUM-AMMONIUS SACCAS. 

weight. A. have long been popularly called Cornua Am - 
monis, from a fancied resemblance to the horns on sculp¬ 
tured heads of Jupiter Ammon. They are found through¬ 
out the entire series of fossil-iferous rocks from the transition 
strata to the chalk. They abound in the cretaceous and 
oolitic groups. Particular kinds distinguish particular 
formations, a circumstance which renders them of peculiar 
interest and importance to the geologist. The number of 
species is very great, considerably above two hundred; and 
several genera have been constituted, as Baculites, Hamites, 
Scaphites, Turrilites, forming with Ammonites , the family 
of Ammonitidce. A. are of very different sizes, from a very 
small size, to 2, or even 3 or 4 ft. in diameter. The larger 
ones were in former times ignorantly mistaken for petrified 
snakes; and impositions have been practiced upon collectors 
by adding to specimens nicely carved snakes’ heads; while 
the general absence of the heads w T as popularly accounted 
for by a legend of a saint decapitating the snakes, and 
turning them into stone. 

AMMONIUM, dm'mo-ni'um, now known as the oasis of 
Siwah, in the Libyan Desert: about 150 m. from the 
Mediterranean; lat. 29° n., long. 26° e.; about 15 m. long 
by 12 m. broad. In ancient times it was celebrated on 
account of the oracle of Ammon, the unfortunate expedition 
of Cambyses, and the subsequent journeys of Alexander the 
Great and Cato. Besides the temple of Jupiter, placed in 
the centre of a grove of palms, the ruins of which still exist, 
and which contained an image of the god, composed of 
smaragdus and other gems, A. was remarkable for the palace 
of its ancient kings, surrounded by a triple wall, in the 
very heart of the oasis, and for its ‘ Well of the Sun,’ of 
which the waters were coldest at noonday, and warmest at 
midnight. Here the emperor Justinian built a Christian 
church. 

AMMONIUS: name of several learned men in the later 
periods of Greek history: A., the master of Plutarch, who 
lived during the reign of the emperor Adrian, and, like A. 
Saccas, taught a species of eclecticism in philosophy; A., 
the Christian philosopher of the 3d c. who wrote a Harmony 
of the Gospels; A., son of Hcrmeas, a peripatetic philosopher 
of the 5thc. and disciple of Proclus; A., the famous surgeon 
of Alexandria, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus; A., 
the Grammarian, at first high-priest in an Egyptian temple, 
sacred to the god Apis, and afterwards (389) teacher at 
Constantinople, where he had the church historian Socrates 
for his pupil. 

AMMONIUS SACCAS, am-mo'ni-us sak'Tcas: d. Alexan 
dria, 241; Greek philosopher, founder of the Neoplatonic 
School; said to have been in his earlier days a porter in 
Alexandria. His parents were Christian, but he himself is 
said to have abandoned his early religion, in which he had 
been instructed by Clemens Alexandrinus, and to have 
devoted himself to the study of heathen philosophy under 
Athenagoras; although both Eusebius and St. Jerome deny 
that he ever formally apostatized from the Christian faith. 


AMMOPHILA. 

His great endeavor was to harmonize, through a compre¬ 
hensive eclecticism, the various philosophical theories which 
prevailed in the Roman world, especially those of Aristotle 
and Plato. He also labored to amalgamate with these the doc¬ 
trines of the Magi and Brahmans; but instead of boldly an¬ 
nouncing the result as his own, he claimed for his system 
the highest antiquity. His most distinguished pupils were 
Longinus, Herennius, Origen, and Plotinus, the last of whom, 
by far the most subtle and profound of the Neoplatonists, 
always expressed the highest respect for his master. He 
left no writings at his death. 

AMMOPHILA, d-mdf'i-la: genus of Grasses, closely 
allied to Arundo (see Reed), and distinguished by a spike¬ 
like panicle, and by the glumes being nearly equal, keeled, 
longer than the palm of the single lloret, and surrounded at 
the base by a tuft of hairs.— A. arundinacea, formerly called 
Arundo arenaria —a grass about 2-3 ft. high, with rigid 
bluish leaves, the edges of which are rolled in, and very 
creeping roots; is native of N. J., also of the Great Lakes 
and the continent of Europe. It is sometimes called Sea 
Reed or Sand Reed, and sometimes Mat Grass, the culms 
being wrought into foot-mats, coverings for stairs, etc., in 
the manufacture of which many families residing along the 
coast of Ireland are employed most of the year. It is also 
called Marum , Marram or Marram , by which name it is 
designated in laws both English and Scottish, by which the 
destruction of it was prohibited under severe penalties, 
because of its great utility in fixing the shifting sand. In 
Holland, and in Norfolk, it is extensively employed—along 
with the sea Lyme Grass (q.v.)—in preserving the banks of 
sand which prevent the inroads of the sea. It is of little 
value as food for cattle, although they eat the very young 
leaves. The fibre has been used instead of flax, but is too 
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